Hello -
I have been researching monitors in the hopes of getting a new and very accurate monitor for color correction and general prepress work. The reason I started looking is that my ACD monitor flaked out and was not properly rendering subtle transitions in the highlights. Basically I was getting a hard edged halo around 0% hardness brush strokes, which made creating shadows extremely difficult. I was able to cut this issue back after fighting with calibration issues but I am still getting a bit of banding in the rendering of subtle transitions. I have an Eye1 Calibrator.
I had not been too picky about the monitor type before because I was not happy with any LCD monitors abilities. I was used to manually calibrating a nice 21" CRT for doing any really color critical work. I have been reading about new technology that has been bringing the LCDs up to and maybe even beyond what I need for prepress color work. My concerns are:
Wide Gamut - Does this amplify subtle color differences on screen to the point where they are distracting or misrepresentative of final printed pieces? Or is it finally able to display and capture all the colors I need?
LED Backlighting - This seems to be a big step in creating a uniform representation of color across the entire viewing area of the panel. Is there any reason I wouldn't want this in a monitor?
IPS Panel - Is it worth the extra money over the VA panels?
All the images I work on are ending up 4/c offset. Some are separated for overseas printing using icc profiles for specific printers. I have been looking specifically at the Eizo CG243w and the NEC 2690WUXI2-BK for a replacement monitor. Is this overkill for prepress color work? Is my Cinema display just wonked and needs to be replaced? Are there any recommendations for a monitor for prepress color correction?
Thanks.
I have been researching monitors in the hopes of getting a new and very accurate monitor for color correction and general prepress work. The reason I started looking is that my ACD monitor flaked out and was not properly rendering subtle transitions in the highlights. Basically I was getting a hard edged halo around 0% hardness brush strokes, which made creating shadows extremely difficult. I was able to cut this issue back after fighting with calibration issues but I am still getting a bit of banding in the rendering of subtle transitions. I have an Eye1 Calibrator.
I had not been too picky about the monitor type before because I was not happy with any LCD monitors abilities. I was used to manually calibrating a nice 21" CRT for doing any really color critical work. I have been reading about new technology that has been bringing the LCDs up to and maybe even beyond what I need for prepress color work. My concerns are:
Wide Gamut - Does this amplify subtle color differences on screen to the point where they are distracting or misrepresentative of final printed pieces? Or is it finally able to display and capture all the colors I need?
LED Backlighting - This seems to be a big step in creating a uniform representation of color across the entire viewing area of the panel. Is there any reason I wouldn't want this in a monitor?
IPS Panel - Is it worth the extra money over the VA panels?
All the images I work on are ending up 4/c offset. Some are separated for overseas printing using icc profiles for specific printers. I have been looking specifically at the Eizo CG243w and the NEC 2690WUXI2-BK for a replacement monitor. Is this overkill for prepress color work? Is my Cinema display just wonked and needs to be replaced? Are there any recommendations for a monitor for prepress color correction?
Thanks.
