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Around the back you’ll find two DVI-I ports and a power socket all vertically mounted. These ports support both analogue and digital signals so regardless of which type of output your computer (or computers) has, you’ll be able to hook up the CG220 with one of the cables supplied by Eizo. A USB2.0 hub completes the connection array, with one upstream and two downstream ports, although why Eizo didn’t mount both on the front or side of the chassis is a little puzzling? I prefer to use monitor USB ports for peripherals that I’m regularly removing (memory keys, PDAs etc), and having to reach round the back is a bit of a pain. That said, the single port on the right side can be used for that, and I guess Eizo intend the rear one to be used for more permanent desk peripherals such as mice and keyboards.

Of course, one of these USB ports will be needed for the colorimeter when you calibrate the CG220. Calibration is achieved in a similar manner to that of the SpectraView 1980, although thankfully there isn’t a lengthy online registration procedure to complete before the software can be used.

Using a GretagMacbeth Eye-One Display 2 (an optional extra) and Eizo’s own ColorNavigator software (also compatible with Eizo’s ColorEdge CX1 colorimeter), it’s simply a case of setting your preferred workflow targets for brightness, black level, white point, and gamma, then hanging the mouse-like colorimeter over the display, initialising the calibration program, and waiting the 10 minutes or so to complete the routine.

Basically what you’re doing here is calibrating the monitor to your chosen values, and then letting the software define the 256 most appropriate tones based on the monitor’s factory-set 10-bit Look Up Table. This ensures that an ideal gamma curve is followed and a smoothly graduated greyscale is maintained. Of course, the backlight brightness can fluctuate due to temperature changes or aging, and this will impact on the display’s performance. However, the CG220 uses an embedded light sensor that monitors and controls the brightness in order to compensate for these changes. That way your greyscales should remain consistent throughout your workflow, especially if you're passing the image through a team working on different monitors.

If, at the end of the calibration process you feel a bit of tweaking is needed to get a closer match to the final print, ColorNavigator also lets you adjust the hue and saturation of all six colours (red, green, blue, cyan magenta and yellow), as well as the white balance, brightness, black level and gamma. After you’re happy with the result the whole process culminates in the generation of an ICC (International Color Consortium) monitor profile that can be utilised by Windows. In addition, the “CAL” light on the CG220’s touch-sensitive control panel will illuminate indicating that you’re working in a calibrated mode.

This isn’t all that ColourNavigator can do. Up to 20 different ICC profiles can be saved for different working environments. For instance, I created one profile for the job I do here where I’m purely editing pictures specifically for the web, and another with the gamma set to 1.8 for a Mac OS system. And if you want to be reminded to recalibrate after a set period of time (50 – 1000 hours) a timer can be set that will light up the “Cal. Alert” LED when the hours have elapsed.

As for the rest of ColorNavigator’s features, there’s another one that may come in handy - the “Emulation” function. With this you can use a profile obtained from another monitor and load it into the software so that the CG220 will emulate that monitor’s colour characteristics. Useful, especially when different monitors and users are involved at various proofing steps of a professional workflow.

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