About this test chart
Three years after the release of my first AdobeRGB test chart it was downloaded thousands of times and I hope it was helpful for people that care about the quality of their prints and the calibration of their computer displays. But, being only 1500×1000 pixels, it is very often too small for today’s large monitors and printers with A4 or Letter size. It is absolutely useless with larger printers. So, this have to be corrected.
The new chart I offer you now is significantly bigger: it is 4252×2835 pixels and is calculated to cover a 60×40 cm print at 180 dpi. With this size it covers also all the displays on today’s market.
The chart has an AdobeRGB color profile embedded!!! You should understand color management and use of color profiles, otherwise you may get some unexpected results.
Click this preview to open the full-size chart in a new tab or window!
How to use the test chart
If you use the chart to judge the quality or calibration of your display, simply look at it. Please be aware: most of the browsers (especially on PC) do not understand color profiles, so the only reliable way to see the correct colors is to open the test chart in Photoshop or other image editor or viewer with proper color management. If you are using a browser/software that has not color management capabilities, you’ll most probably see some soft and desaturated colors.
If you are using the chart to test your printer, you must be aware of the proper use of color profiles and color management. Read carefully your printer’s user guide and especially that color management part.
What should you look at?
1. The background of the chart is neutral grey and it should render/print neutral – this shows if there is a problem with the color balance.
2. The color gradient should render/print smoothly, without banding or artifacts – this shows how accurately your printer/display handle the wide gammut of the AdobeRGB space.
3. The grey gradient should render/print without banding and/or corrupted sections and in neutral grey from black to white – this shows the capabilities of your display or printer to render/print accurately the greyscale gammut.
4. There are 4 photos in this chart – two stills and two portraits. The stills contain colors outside the sRGB gammut, and this is useful for displays and printers with gammut wider than sRGB. The portraits shows how your display or printer renders/prints grey gamma portraits and color portraits. Human skin color accuracy is essential if you do photograph people.
5. At the bottom there are five black rectangles on the black background and five white rectangles on the white background. You should discern them all, especially the right ones – this shows how your display or printer handles the darkest and the lightest tones.
Some things to consider
While this test chart has a wide AdobeRGB color space, it can be seen/printed properly only on wide gammut monitors and printers.
Legal notes
You can freely distribute the chart.
You are not allowed to resize, re-save or modify in any way the original file!
