ArgyllCMS vs pacsDisplay
ArgyllCMS
argyllcms.compacsDisplay
pacsdisplay.orgSide by side
| Figure | ArgyllCMS | pacsDisplay |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| API | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 3 | 1 |
| Spec score · Display Calibration Software | 9.1 (#1) | 7.5 (#14) |
| Founded | 2000 | 1999 |
| Installation | There is no installer or installation script; users manually place executables, configure PATH, and set up USB instruments. | The Windows installation moves files to Program Files, the Public Users folder, and the Start Menu, without changing the registry or system services. |
| License | The package is licensed under AGPLv3, with commercial licensing available for code copyrighted by Graeme Gill through ArgyllPRO. | The software is distributed under the GNU General Public License v3.0. |
| Purpose | ArgyllCMS is an open-source ICC-compatible color management system for creating profiles and calibrating devices. | pacsDisplay is an open-source project for generating and installing DICOM grayscale LUTs and performing quality control on DICOM-calibrated displays. |
| Support | The maker directs support and bug reports to the ArgyllCMS mailing list and offers direct email contact with Graeme Gill. | Users can report bugs through GitHub Issues and contact the maintainer by email at nick 'at' pacsdisplay.org. |
Plans
ArgyllCMS
- ArgyllCMSFree
- ArgyllCMSFree
- Commercial/non-AGPL licensingPriced on request
In their own words
ArgyllCMS
ArgyllCMS is a free, open-source ICC-compatible color management system for creating profiles and calibrating devices. Its command-line tools support scanners, cameras, film recorders, displays, and RGB, CMY and CMYK printers. It can create device-link profiles with options such as video calibration standards and 3D LUTs, and work with spectral samples, selectable illuminants and observer types, and paper fluorescent-whitener compensation. Color conversion tools handle 8-bit raster data and fully accurate 16-bit conversion. Documentation lists direct support for measurement instruments from JETI, Klein, X-Rite and Calibrite, DataColor and other manufacturers; some chart results can be converted into Argyll CGATS format. ArgyllCMS runs on Windows, macOS and Linux, but does not include a graphical interface. DisplayCAL, The Little Argyll GUI and CoCa are listed as front ends that use it. The package is licensed under AGPLv3; commercial licensing is available for code copyrighted by Graeme Gill through ArgyllPRO. On Linux, native display calibration and profiling under Wayland are not currently supported; the maker recommends X11 for color-managed displays.
pacsDisplay
pacsDisplay is an open-source project for calibrating DICOM grayscale displays and checking their image quality. Its calibration tools measure luminance response and create DICOM GSDF lookup tables. The iQC tool shows interactive quality-control patterns, including TG270-pQC, TG270-sQC, and TG270-ULN. For uniformity checks, uniLum collects luminance measurements and reports deviation from the median and mean luminance deviation. Other tools assess ambient lighting and measure luminance and illuminance. The listed compatible photometers include X-Rite i1Display Studio, Pro, and Plus; NEC SpectraSensor Pro; ColorMunki Display; Calibrite Display Pro and Plus HL; and rebranded meters. Version 6A supports external-display measurements in lumResponse and uniLum. The current release supports Windows 10 and 11. Its pdQC toolkit can be deployed from a USB drive or network without installation. The Windows installer places files in Program Files, the Public Users folder, and the Start Menu without modifying the registry or system services. Development began in 1999, and the project is distributed under the GNU General Public License v3.0.