How to Calibrate Dell Wide Gamut Monitors

In the past, hardware calibration feature was limited to premium wide-gamut models from companies like NEC or Eizo. Those models offer wide gamut, great uniformity and advanced calibration features…but at a fairly high price. Affordable wide gamut solutions with hardware calibration started in 2013 with Dell and after that other companies like LG, BenQ and Samsung begun to offer “similar” products with more or less success. It is important to point out that LG and Samsung wide gamut models cannot be properly calibrated internally with the i1Display Pro colorimeter using their software and the same applies to some BenQ models like SW2700PT and its Palette Master Elements software. The main issue with those models is that they bundle an outdated X-Rite SDK (Software Development Kit) in their software without GB-LED support, which is the current main* (see the footnote at the end of the article below) LED wide gamut backlight technology. Hence, their software won’t get the same accurate readings as with the proper correction, which in turn leads to less accurate calibration than it should. The BenQ PG2401PT and its Palette Master software, on the other hand, come with proper GB-LED support.

Updated on 06/06/2018: X-Rite / Dell released a new version of DUCCS software 1.6.5 – please see the notes below. All current Dell Wide Gamut monitor owners are highly encouraged to update and recalibrate their screens to get better accuracy.

These low-budget wide gamut monitors were an interesting option for hobbyists and professionals, who cannot or do not want to spend more than $1,500 on a fully-featured premium wide gamut monitor from NEC or Eizo. The release of Eizo CS240 in late 2014 lowered that budget gap, since it is a near fully-featured wide gamut monitor for $850-900 USD and was one of the most sensible and affordable choices.

Since 2013 Dell has released several GB-LED models with hardware calibration. Here is a brief overview of their features: