[thelist] What type of monitor do you use?

Stephen Rider evolt_org at striderweb.com
Mon Feb 21 13:52:59 CST 2005


On Feb 21, 2005, at 8:38 AM, Amy Johnson wrote:

> Are the flat screen monitors very good
> for displaying colors or do they have the same problems as the laptop
> screens?

CRTs are traditionally better at color representation than flat-panel.  
(Of course, there are cruddy CRTs and excellent flat-panel 
monitors....)

Personally, I use my laptop all the time for web design, but I am far 
from a pro graphic designer.

I believe that new flat-panel technologies are starting to close the 
gap.

The flip side is a question of how strict your standard is:
Go to the computer store and you'll probably see one of those dark blue 
monitors with the hood sticking out over the top and sides.  Many 
high-end graphics pros like these because they say the brightness of a 
normal beige monitor throws off their color perception, and the hood 
blocks glare from sides and above.

Another anecdote on the topic is that when Mac OS X first came out, 
graphic designers complained that all the bright blue OS buttons threw 
off their sense of "neutral" color.  Apple responded in 10.1 by 
introducing an option to make the OS buttons grey instead.

Unless you're doing work where it is absolutely vital that your 
screen's color matches a finished product, you're probably okay with a 
good quality flat-panel monitor.

Also, on Mac OS X, (don't know about Windows or <insert OS here>), 
there is a ColorSync utility that lets you calibrate your monitor's 
settings to improve the accuracy of color display.

Steve



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