Monitor Color Test
  

Use these images to test the color capacity of your monitor.

  
 
Image with 256 shades
  
 


The first image consists of the 256 shades between pure red and pure yellow. Do you see vertical bands of colors, or one continuous, completely smooth transition of colors? If the image you see is smooth and continuous, your monitor is set in the 16 million color range. If you see color bands, your monitor is set at 256 to a few thousand colors, or it is not set at its optimum resolution. 

  
 

Browser safe image

  
 


The second image started out identical to the first, but it's color palette has been reduced to the 216 color "browser safe" palette.

  
 

In the second image you should see six distinct bands of colors, with no dithering*. Does it look the same as the first one, or substantially different? If it looks the same, your monitor is set at only 256 colors. The larger the difference, the more colors your monitor is set to display.
  

 

 

*If you see the shades of each color band lighten slightly along the left edge of the band, you are witnessing a purely physiological phenomena. Your eyes are fooling you! The colors are actually constant across each color band. Skeptical? Hold up a piece of paper against the your screen and cover up the three colors on the left side. The lightening along the left edge of the uncovered color band next to the paper will instantly disappear! Take the paper away and the lightening reappears.

 

  

 

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