INTONATION - Testing it ?

Hi everyone - I'm a new uke player. I've read about intonation and wonder about testing it. I have a D'Addario/Planet Waves Mini-headstock tuner. It uses color bars to indicate when in tune. I tune one of my ukes and notice that for most of the frets up to the 12th, the note isn't perfectly in tune. (The color bars aren't dark green and centered as it is when perfectly tuned.) But, each note is correct - that is, if the note is supposed to be C, that is what is on the display. If its supposed to be a C, it doesn't show a D, for example.

My question is, how close should it be for a uke to be considered to have good intonation ? Are expensive, high end ukes right on, perfect all the way up the fretboard ? Thanks for your comments

Well I am just a beginner so I don't really know, but I do know that I got my Uke from HMS where they do a set up and each fret does tune exactly the same as the next. Even if its not centered each fret will be uncentered ( is that a word? )in the same way. My granddaughter has a dolphin from UKE Republic who also do set ups and hers also is the same. We just checked . Don't know if this was even what you meant so I hope it helps!

Yes when you check the intonation it should be the same open string and on the 12th fret.....most tuners are close but not that accurate....I tune by ear though..
what you can do is tune it with your tuner and fine tune by listening for the pitch.. of course you can buy a high end tuner like a peterson for 60.00 and it will be almost or accutate.
aside from that Get a good setup from a good luthier..Like Laura said but from an established reputable company like HMS, MIM, Uke Republic and Mainland Ukes.. as they do setups the best
for most all ukes that go out...even though you think you are paying more..you're not actually... because after you go to your luthier, it'll probally add up to more...Good Luck
PS... choose a Good Reputable luthier to do your setup who specializes in ukes....

The uke is a Makala Dolphin and it was set up by one of the sellers listed above. It actually sounds quite good for what it is (at least to my inexperienced ear).
My question was more of a general one in terms of what to look and listen for when buying ukes in the future. I wondered if the note would have to be drastically off in order to be considered "poor intonation". Thanks

you already got the basic idea: a single half step from fret to fret. Not more, not less. Just make sure you apply the same "fretting pressure" everywhere (not too much, just enough to let the string ring clearly). All notes should sound equally good, no dull notes allowed (sometimes you will find "dead spots" where a string simply doesn't produce a nice and clear note). Buzzing should also not occur.
Get used to tuning by ear as well: not necessarily the exact notes, but get the intervals between the strings right. I.e. c string in 4th fret is e; when tuned correctly, plucking the fretted C string will make the E string vibrate as well.

Thanks Louis0815. Very good info.

(And I like the little uke symbols below your post !)