PDA

Click to See Complete Forum and Search --> : Glossy Display Calibration Question


stevie boy
09-03-2007, 11:05 AM
There has been quite a big reaction to them from people involved in graphics so I was wondering if anyone with more experience in calibration/or with design use of the new mac could answer a couple of questions.

At the moment my workflow essentially relies on the print house to help me out with final colour matching (which they are very good at.) As far as printed proofs go, I match my monitor as much as possible to the proof printer but no intense calibration is used. Once designs and colours are finalised using the approximate colours in the proofs, I work with the printer using the Pantone swatches etc and his proofs to finalise exact colour.

While I realise certain designers use exact colour matching and try and get their colours to match the printer as much as possible, is my situation such that using a glossy screen would be acceptable, or would this type of monitor pose a problem even in the screen designing stage.

What I'm essentially trying to figure out is if the new iMac (24") and the old one have similar or the same panels in them, how does the glossy screen affect things when designing in my situation. I have heard reports that the gloss makes detailed editing on small variations in photos for example can be more difficult than on a matte panel.

If anyone knows calibration well or the specific differences between the screens any comments would be welcomed.

SurfPark
09-04-2007, 05:24 PM
Glossy monitors often oversaturate/over contrast colors. You'll see colors a little bit darker than usual. A matte screen diffuses light, so the image appears lighter. The Mac OS usually tries to manage this with the software.

Since print is so important to your business, I would suggest the glossy screen but also purchase a monitor calibrator. The Panotone Huey (http://www.pantone.com/pages/products/product.aspx?pid=79&ca=2) is $125 (US) and the ColorVision Spyder2 Express (http://www.colorvision.com/product-mc.php) goes for about $80 (US).