just got a color munki and used it to calibrate my dell monitors, (2407wphc and 2408wfp) during the process im asked to lower the brightness so it matches the target brightness as much as possible (its reading room light as 120 LUX and setting the target luminance to 80 LUX). that means lowering the monitor brightness to 0 and after calibration the monitors are lower in contrast and much darker then im used to.

is that normal or am i missing something?
i also dont see a huge difference in the before and after. i used to calibrate the monitor with the huey pro

i did not calibrate with a print yet, that is next
thanks

It is normal that when you turn down the brightness from where you've gotten used to it - to where it is supposed to be, that you think it is too dark. You've already taken at least a day to get used to it, so take a look at it again. Wear this new luminance around for a few days and see if it starts to look normal after awhile. The real goal of all this is to get your monitor to match your printer output, and you'll probably find that this won't happen unless your display is close to this lower level.

Check out the White Paper test in this article:
http://www.colorwiki.com/wiki/Printer_to_Match_my_Screen

Thanks!
i tried your advice and it does look better, i guess i also got used to the lower contrast.
here is the reply from tech support:
"Answer:

Our recommended workflow for an LCD monitor is to select the “Advanced” method and then select “Set the luminance level of my display to the following target value:” and set and LCD to 120 with a “Target White Point” of D65. This will profile your display to the settings that the photo industry has determined as recommended settings.

If this seems to provide unsatisfactory results, feel free to contact our technical support at 888-826-3044, option 3.

Have a great day! "

There is no correct default cd/m2 value for luminance other than the one that results in a match to a print viewed by the display under a controlled viewing booth. It might be 120, 140, 150, 123, your mileage may vary considering the luminance of the print viewing conditions have not been defined. If the print appears too dim/dark compared to the display, you either have to raise the print viewing luminance if possible, or lower the display luminance. In the same way, your white point is also going to depend on the print viewing conditions. Starting at D65 is a good idea (even better, Native White Point if available) but if there’s a color mismatch, the correct white point is the one that results in a match.

I also have a Dell 2408WFP and have calibrated using the Munki I too had to turn the brightness right down to "0" but, quite frankly, it has worked great for me ever since.

I have created ICC printer profiles for my papers and now see very little if any reason to apply a curves boost. The soft-proof in CS4 looks almost exact withour adjustment. This has never happened before I got the Munki.

Don