Using GIMP: Correcting and Touching Up Your Images - GIMP 2.6 for Photographers: Image Editing with Open Source Software - page 99

Even without Adobe, you can download QuickGamma , a free program
for Windows. QuickGamma can be downloaded at http://quickgamma.de/
indexen.html . The help function in the program will lead you through the
procedure of calibrating you monitor. For QuickGamma, you should set your
monitor to sRGB beforehand.
Here are some other freeware monitor calibrating programs:
• MCW Monitor Calibration Wizard (Windows): http://www.hex2bit.
com/products/product_mcw.asp
• CalibrationAider (Windows, Mac OS X, Linux): http://www.
i m a g i n g a s s o c i a t e s . c o m . a u / c o l o r / s o f t w a r e / c a l i b r a t i o n a i d e r.
jspx#download
• Monica (Linux): http://linux.softpedia.com/get/Utilities/Monica-40032.
shtml

You can use an assistant program to calibrate you monitor under Mac
OS X; choose System Preferences > Display > Colors > Calibrate . An individual
profile will be created for the monitor. Alternatively, you can load the color
profile default setting. All installed color profiles for Mac OS can be found in
Applications/Utilities/ColorSync/Profiles. .
Windows 7 also offers its own monitor calibration settings: Start Menu >
Control Panel (View by: Large icons): > Display: Calibrate color .

Color Management in GIMP

Apart from calibrating your monitor, you can install an updated driver to get
rid of problems with color rendition and brightness in your prints. Generally
speaking, the home printer and photo printer can't be calibrated. This option
is only available for professional printers. Nevertheless, with the help of color
profiles, most printers can be adjusted to the color rendition of monitors/
programs. This is where color management is necessary in GIMP. Since GIMP
2.4, it is a standard feature.
You can find the Color Management settings ( Edit > Preferences ) in the
image window. GIMP doesn't have color profiles in its program. If you want to
use color profiles in GIMP, you can load them into the program via Preferences:
Color Management . From the respective drop-down menu, for instance the
one at RGB profile (see figure 2.33 ), choose Select Color Profile from Disk and
search your computer for the color profile. In Windows, you will find this
under C:\WINDOWS\system32\spool\drivers\color, and in Mac OS X, under
Applications/Utilities/ColorSync/Profiles. .

• NOTE
The sRGB color profile is optimized
for gamma 2.2 and a color
temperature of 6500 Kelvin (D65)
and hence for your monitor, for
the Web, and for photo prints.
AdobeRGB could be better for
printing your pictures from your PC.