[GUIDE] Setting ICC (ICM) Profile on FW 16 on Linux

Framework Laptop 16
1

Intro
This is a guide on how to apply an ICC profile to Framework Laptop 16. The reason why I am creating it is simply because all online resources I found do not provide the needed info to tackle this issue.
ICC Profile Link (from notebookcheck): https://www.notebookcheck.net/uploads/tx_nbc2/BOE_CQ_______NE160QDM_NZ6.icm
ICC Profile Link (extracted from FW driver pack): Samo Kosík / Framework ICM Profile · GitLab

Problem
The key problem consists of 3 parts:

  1. Display not calibrated from factory: FW 16’s display is not calibrated from factory. This means that if you want accurate colors, you need to use an ICC/ICM profile.
  2. The need to use wayland: If you decide to purchase FW 16, you will probably want to use wayland and 150% scaling. Unfortunately, fractional scaling with xorg is quite cumbersome and you may experience no-so-smooth edges.
  3. Colord and wayland do not play nicely together

Original solution for Wayland and why it does not work
Many threads (such as archwiki: ICC profiles - ArchWiki) online suggest using colormanager to apply a profile. However, due to the 3rd problem, it usually does not work because command colormgr get-devices produces empty output. Hence you cannot get the ID of the display and proceed further. Below are some possible workarounds regarding the applicatiion of ICC profile.

GNOME + Wayland
On GNOME, use gnome-color-manager and set the profile via it in Control Center.

KDE + Wayland
Open System Settings, search for Display Configuration and there is a section for applying the needed color profile labeled as Color Profile

Other Wayland WMs/DEs
If you do not use KDE/GNOME, you can apply the profile via dispwin /path/to/BOE_CQ_______NE160QDM_NZ6.icm. For verification whether everything works, use dispwin -v, which stands for verbose. The command is part of a package called ArgyllCMS (https://argyllcms.com/). Pay attention to the fact that when the computer restarts, the setting is discarded, so you have to put it to a startup script.

Xorg
If you decide to use xorg, it should be possible to set it up via xiccd: ICC profiles - ArchWiki

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Thank you for reading and hopefully this helps someone.

6 Likes
2

I’ve been looing for something like this, thank you!

1 Like
3

xorg does support fractional scaling and in 150% some programs on Wayland is slightly blurrier than on xorg

4

Thank you for correction. May I know some examples of smooth edges? Honestly, I have tried FW16 with xfce and it was far less smooth than wayland.

5

You can also get the icc / icm file by unzipping the windows fw driver pack on Linux.

6

Afaik the NotebookCheck ICC profile is calibrated for the specific unit that NotebookCheck received. There is a bit of random variation between units and what is best for one might not be the best for others.

I am using Framework’s official ICC profile. I do not know for sure, but I assume that it is designed to be as accurate as possible for the average panel. Framework’s official ICC profile can be obtained by unzipping the driver installation exe file.

1 Like
7

Thanks, maybe can you send the file directly to me? Feel free to send it to framework@samokosik.tk

Why? I will upload it to cloud and add a link at the beginning of the thread. I am currently away from home and need to use mobile data, so I don’t really want to download the whole driver pack :sweat_smile:

8

Here’s an example X11 program on Wayland: HNSKY planetarium
Apply scaling themselves, the letters are a bit small

Waylandappscalthemselves
Waylandappscalthemselves2140×1365 290 KB

Scaled by the system, the rendered constellations are blurry
Waylandscaling
Waylandscaling2016×1344 486 KB

X11, as a reference
x11
x111957×1374 282 KB

I’m using Plasma KDE on Arch, your mileage may vary

9

That actually looks quite nice. I myself also have KDE on arch but I am using wayland and tbh never booted into Xorg. I will have to try it.

10

I added the official ICM in the case anyone needs it.

1 Like
11

Thank you for this. I have applied the official icm file on KDE for my FW16, but reds are still quite saturated on my laptop.

Are there any resources for further adjustments for my display?

12

For the ICC colour profiles. I used the file from the Windows driver pack, unzipped and then installed on Linux.
I find that it applies correctly on “Ubuntu on Xorg”, but does not seem to apply properly on “Ubuntu on wayland”.

13

What results do you get from the unofficial one? The one from notebookcheck.

14

Hey, Im using Fedora 40 and with the ICC profile everything looks over saturated. Is there something wrong that I am doing or a way to fix this? Thanks