What's wrong with glossy?

[sukanas]

i was wondering why everyone here hated glossy so much

it seems to look really nice and the blacks comes out real well
is it really unaccurate for color (photo editing?)

..am i missing something?

[i0Nic]

Some people don't like it and are vocal about it because they fear that it will create glare if a light source hits the screen at an angle at which it will be noticeable. It depends on the way your room is setup where you will keep the iMac, if there is a window behind where you are sitting and light often passes through it then it could be a problem.

The other reason why people don't like the glossy screen is because some photographer's who need to use a machine for professional purposes believe that the glass produces an image with richer colours that is not accurate once printed. Also, if you are working with very dark images and you need to concentrate on the work, you may find that you are staring back at yourself as the iMac's screen is almost mirror-like.

For most consumers neither of those two issues should pose a problem, just make sure that if you have positioned your iMac in the direct view of a window that the window has blinds or some sort of covering. The deeper colours and glossy appearance make for a very nice looking screen for the consumer.

[gehrbox]

i was wondering why everyone here hated glossy so much

it seems to look really nice and the blacks comes out real well
is it really unaccurate for color (photo editing?)

..am i missing something?

Nothing. I have a glossy HP 22 LCD and a new 24" iMac. Glossy is good to me.

[aaquib]

Personally, I love glossy screens. The picture is just so much more colourful and sharper. But, for people with light beaming at the screen, its a pretty big pain in the @ss watching the screen with all the glare.

[PlaceofDis]

some people love 'em, some people don't.

on forums you always hear the negatives more than the positives, the nature of things. if you like glossy, thats cool. i prefer it personally, but everyone is different.

[Jon.Stewart87]

some people love 'em, some people don't.

on forums you always hear the negatives more than the positives, the nature of things. if you like glossy, thats cool. i prefer it personally, but everyone is different.

I agree.

no matter what apple or any company does, everyone will want more - this is a good thing I think as it drives the market forward but it also can become annoying.

I have the 24'' glossy and love it.

I get the westward sunset right in my screen since my blinds for my room are on order right now - and it is annoying somewhat. But overall, I think the glossys are great for my purposes (home/college/some gaming) and highly recommended.

[sushi]

I am one of those who prefers matte screens.

Glossy screens give me headaches after using them for a while. I find the glare way to distracting as well.

But that's just me. Other like glossy screens and prefer them over matte screens.

To each his own.

[Father Jack]

i was wondering why everyone here hated glossy so much

it seems to look really nice and the blacks comes out real well
is it really unaccurate for color (photo editing?)

..am i missing something?
Unfortunately glossy screens are not suitable for serious photo editing as the screen image will not be the same as the final printed image (even when the monitor is calibrated) ... :(
The screen image is much more contrasty than prints.

As long as you don't need accurate colour and reflections aren't a problem, glossy is fine. Glossy is great for movies, surfing and general computer work, but not for photography etc. Image pro's will always use matte.

[jasko]

I am thinking about getting a new iMac as well, but the way my room is set up, I have a window directly behind me. A rather large one. Given, I have blinds...

.. I was wondering if anyone is in the situation I'm in?

Has anyone heard anything about or have any personal experience with those anti-glare stick on things that they sell?

[sukanas]

hrm.. so is the white 2.16 24" imac best for me?

im sorta into the digital photography but i dont see myself getting serious as printing them... but i guess the whole contrast and black issue does make the color accuracy unbalanced.

dam... i personally really like the aluminum models.
do you think those "stickers" you put over the screen to make em matte or less reflective will make it just as accurate as using a matte screen?

oh and do the white imacs suffer from bleeding like the aluminum ones do?

[gehrbox]

I am thinking about getting a new iMac as well, but the way my room is set up, I have a window directly behind me. A rather large one. Given, I have blinds...

.. I was wondering if anyone is in the situation I'm in?

Has anyone heard anything about or have any personal experience with those anti-glare stick on things that they sell?

Talking about this product?
http://www.photodon.com/lcdprotect-sheet.htm#charttop

Here's a video review of the product:
http://www.gottabemobile.com/Screen+Protector+Shootout+Photodon+AntiGlare.aspx

[czachorski]

The screen image is much more contrasty than prints.

Which is exactly why I love it. I stopped printing photos in the 90's, and everything is in iPhoto and viewed on the 24" big screen, or the 47" HDTV. This is a perfect example of how polarizing this question can be: if you print your stuff, you don't like, if you are like many typical consumers who now view photos primarily on the computer screen, you love it.

[bluedoggiant]

Ya know what? I'm just gonna say it, I'm sick of this ****.

No matter how much light shines on my 24" Al iMac, the glare doesn't bother me, its the crap glare I get when using anti-glare screens. Yes. Yes I just said that anti-glare screen's glare are terrible.

[craig1410]

In my experience people who are most vocal about hating glossy screens have never actually owned one. In fact before I saw my first Aluminium iMac back in August last year I hated the whole idea of a glossy screen but when I went along to view a new iMac, expecting to hate it, I bought it there and then! I've never had any regrets since and many of my friends and family are in awe of the quality of the display - it really is fabulous! Reflections are no better or worse than on a matte display - the reflections are just sharper and not diffused. It is not difficult to position the iMac to avoid reflections all together.

As has been said above, fewer and fewer people actually bother to print their pictures these days since it is a hassle and can be quite expensive to do it well. Unless you are a professional photographer who must print photo's and you don't use a digital printing agency then the glossy screen is very unlikely to cause you any problems. Look at it this way, if you don't own a screen calibrator then a glossy iMac will do you just fine because, with respect, you need a calibrator if you are a serious photographer who prints photo's. For the record I don't have a calibrator since I don't often print photo's - I just set up the display the way I like it which isn't difficult on a 24" iMac!!

In a word - gorgeous!!

Good luck,
Craig.
:)

[gehrbox]

As has been said above, fewer and fewer people actually bother to print their pictures these days since it is a hassle and can be quite expensive to do it well. Unless you are a professional photographer who must print photo's and you don't use a digital printing agency then the glossy screen is very unlikely to cause you any problems. Look at it this way, if you don't own a screen calibrator then a glossy iMac will do you just fine because, with respect, you need a calibrator if you are a serious photographer who prints photo's. )

In addition most people don't realize that their inkjet or color laser printer is only able to reproduce a narrow range of the colors that can be represented on the screen. CMYK printers do a fine job and are getting better all the time, but an RGB illuminated device has a much greater range of color. Calibrated display or not, it comes down to the ability of the printer to match the colors. If color matching is your job, the display is the least of your concerns when it comes to matching colors.

[redwarrior]

I love my glossy, have no issues with glare whatsoever, even in the car. I don't do photo editing for print, only for web.

Also, I must say that after getting my glossy mbp, I purchased a dell:eek: for my husband, and decided to go glossy on it as well. Not a good idea. The dell glossy does have issues with glare. I don't know what is different about the two screens, but they are definitely different. I think anyone who is trying to decide between the two should go to an Apple store and check them out.

[craig1410]

I love my glossy, have no issues with glare whatsoever, even in the car. I don't do photo editing for print, only for web.

Also, I must say that after getting my glossy mbp, I purchased a dell:eek: for my husband, and decided to go glossy on it as well. Not a good idea. The dell glossy does have issues with glare. I don't know what is different about the two screens, but they are definitely different. I think anyone who is trying to decide between the two should go to an Apple store and check them out.

Yeah this is why I expected to hate the glossy iMac - because my only previous experience of glossy displays was with my work laptop (a Toshiba) which in the finest traditions of my employer was purchased for the least amount of money possible with little regard for productivity and usability. It is horrible!

It has been said before that Apple produce (or procure) some of the best quality displays on the planet for use in their notebooks and desktops and from my experience this is most certainly true!

Cheers,
Craig.

[Sam Yikin]

In certain lighting situations it has absolutely terrible reflecting problems, which can be distracting. If your screen is positioned correctly it looks great.

[bluedoggiant]

In certain lighting situations it has absolutely terrible reflecting problems, which can be distracting. If your screen is positioned correctly it looks great.

For me, the anti-glare is worse in those situations...

[greekpaz22]

I had a really hard time choosing between the glossy and the matte screen. I think the biggest difference for me, as has been noted by many others is the reflection that you get when using a glossy screen. I found it to be annoying and distracting but I think its basically a matter of personal preference. Go to the store and check it out!

[BRLawyer]

i was wondering why everyone here hated glossy so much

it seems to look really nice and the blacks comes out real well
is it really unaccurate for color (photo editing?)

..am i missing something?

I saw these negative opinions a thousand times before buying my new iMac.

FACT 1:

Even with an open window behind it and lights nearby, I couldn't care less about reflection or glare...it's NOTHING close to what you seem to read in these forums, and doesn't disturb any of my activities AT ALL, be it night time or daylight.

FACT 2:

Colors and crispness of images are WAY better than matte screens. You may argue whether this is "realistic" for professionals that need the most accuracy, but 99.9% of users will NEVER need that degree of accuracy.

FACT 3:

All those talks about bleeding LCDs and gradient issues are equally overblown in these forums. I've received my iMac and I can't notice a single issue with the screen. It's by far the best LCD screen I've ever seen on a computer. Another myth: with comments like these in the forums, you tend to think Apple is the worst. Just check MacFormat's latest review of a TOP-OF-THE-LINE LCD from Nec, which costs more than a 2,000 USD alone...they identified gradient/brightness differences even in that outrageously expensive "best in class" monitor.

CONCLUSION:

Go check them, confirm this information for yourself and buy it...you won't regret the new iMacs, because they are simply the best desktop computers on Earth, by a LONG shot.

[queshy]

colors are nicer on glossy but reflection is annoying. Matte is much soother on the eyes :) Nothing wrong w/ glossy though. Most people don't even care.

[czachorski]

I saw these negative opinions a thousand times before buying my new iMac.

FACT 1:

Even with an open window behind it and lights nearby, I couldn't care less about reflection or glare...it's NOTHING close to what you seem to read in these forums, and doesn't disturb any of my activities AT ALL, be it night time or daylight.

FACT 2:

Colors and crispness of images are WAY better than matte screens. You may argue whether this is "realistic" for professionals that need the most accuracy, but 99.9% of users will NEVER need that degree of accuracy.

FACT 3:

All those talks about bleeding LCDs and gradient issues are equally overblown in these forums. I've received my iMac and I can't notice a single issue with the screen. It's by far the best LCD screen I've ever seen on a computer. Another myth: with comments like these in the forums, you tend to think Apple is the worst. Just check MacFormat's latest review of a TOP-OF-THE-LINE LCD from Nec, which costs more than a 2,000 USD alone...they identified gradient/brightness differences even in that outrageously expensive "best in class" monitor.

CONCLUSION:

Go check them, confirm this information for yourself and buy it...you won't regret the new iMacs, because they are simply the best desktop computers on Earth, by a LONG shot.

++

Well put, BR.

[SaSaSushi]

All those talks about bleeding LCDs and gradient issues are equally overblown in these forums. I've received my iMac and I can't notice a single issue with the screen. It's by far the best LCD screen I've ever seen on a computer.

I don't recall the OP asking about bleeding and gradient issues. :p

I also don't presume to minimize the complaints of those who have problems with their iMac panels just because I have a good one, which seems to be exactly what you're doing.

You have no problems and that's fine but that doesn't mean the people that do are not being honest about their situations.

Back to the topic, I have no issues with glossy myself. I love the vibrant colors of my 24" iMac. I upgraded from a 20" Core Duo white model with a matte screen and much prefer the glossy. However, as so many others so eloquently explained already in this thread it is entirely a matter of personal preference. Some like glossy and some don't and what a bunch of people in a user forum think should have no bearing over what you personally prefer anyway.

Go see the screen and if you like it, buy it. :D

[Michael CM1]

I am one of those who prefers matte screens.

Glossy screens give me headaches after using them for a while. I find the glare way to distracting as well.

But that's just me. Other like glossy screens and prefer them over matte screens.

To each his own.

This is exactly why I don't get why Apple doesn't give us a choice like they used to and they do on the notebooks. This isn't like AMD vs. Intel processors. This is how you see the stuff you're doing. If they don't have a matte screen option, they should at least market the crap out of an anti-glare cover of some sort, although those things would be a major PITA for a 20" screen.

[motulist]

Ugh! This topic AGAIN?!?

If you want to know people's opinions about which is better and why, just search the forum! There are already a zillion and one threads on this topic which explain everyone's opinion on the subject from every possible angle.

There is nothing left to discuss on this topic.

If you prefer glossy, use glossy. If you prefer matte, use matte.

[sushi]

This is exactly why I don't get why Apple doesn't give us a choice like they used to and they do on the notebooks. This isn't like AMD vs. Intel processors. This is how you see the stuff you're doing. If they don't have a matte screen option, they should at least market the crap out of an anti-glare cover of some sort, although those things would be a major PITA for a 20" screen.
I wish Apple did give us the option of glossy or matte on all of their computer offerings.

An MBA with a matte screen would be fantastic for me. :)

At least I could pick up a MBP with a matte screen.

[iToaster]

To be quite honest, I've owned two glossy Macs before (a MacBook and MacBook Pro), and I loved them both and chose glossy over matte. With the acquisition of my new hardware, I've found that I much prefer matte now, perhaps the reflections being non-existent (nobody uses a Mac Pro in broad daylight, so that doesn't matter seeing as I know that sunlight causes the anti-glare to be come one big glare) or perhaps it's nice how my pictures print out more or less how they looked on screen (I tried that stuff with glossy... uh, no, didn't work for me), or maybe it's both of those and more, but all I know is that while I don't mind glossy, I'd prefer to have matte (MBA, I mean you).

[ChrisA]

i was wondering why everyone here hated glossy so much

it seems to look really nice and the blacks comes out real well
is it really unaccurate for color (photo editing?)

..am i missing something?

Yes. If you need accurate color then you don't want glossy. However most people mostly play media (like movies, web pages, games and so on) and don't create media. For them glossy is nice because it makes the color "pop" with more contrast. It is like those boom box speakers some people like that loud thumping bass sound even if it is totaly unaccurate. Audiophile and musicians hate that sound but it's populaor with some consummers. The glossy screen are the same, popular with some consummers but people who know "color" and work with it a lot prefer ":accurate" to "pop".

Then there is ths deal with reflections on the screen. You need to arainge the lighting so that it is dark to your back.

The real reason Apple uses there new screens is because they cost less.

[Bad Paper]

My iBook is matte and my Macbook is glossy. I thought I would not like the glossy, that it would glare and shine or something. I love it. I don't do photo editing, and I'm a little colorblind anyway, so I don't care. But wow do movies POP on this thing! Such a clear picture! Glossy all the way.

but just in case, I have a 24" matte monitor that I can use to watch movies from across the room.

[craig1410]

The real reason Apple uses there new screens is because they cost less.

Yeah right - the 24" S-IPS screens in the iMac's are cheap...:rolleyes:
NEC were selling monitors including this display for something like $1599 when the new iMac's were first released.

Comparing these displays to cheap speakers is misleading at best and utter nonsense in my opinion. When buying a display most people couldn't care less what the image might look like on paper - they want the picture to look good on the display!! Besides, as mentioned elsewhere printers are more of a problem than displays in most cases, especially the typical £60 inkjets that most people will have with refilled £2.99 cartridges. Believe me, display calibration is the least of their worries!!

Professionals should be using professional equipment and this means having calibration equipment and expensive printers/scanners/cameras. Only when you have all that do you need to worry about whether you have a glossy display or not (in my opinion of course). ;)

As for the comment about having to rearrange your lighting to ensure that the room behind you is dark - I didn't and don't have any problems. My walls are light cream coloured and I have normal room lighting and don't have any problems. Common sense is all that is required to avoid reflections.

Cheers,
Craig.

[BamaDMD]

If you like the Aluminum, buy it. Don't let people talk you into this professional crap usage. If you are some famous photographer or you make your living doing photography and you want exact reproduction most of the time then get a matte screen. I do alot of photography (my hobby) and I have the glossy 20" and love it. I have to tweek and play with the setting sometimes but I usually get the same reproduction of print that I see on the screen. As Gehrbox said, the printer you have is what will matter most. Get a good printer if you want good prints.

[kabunaru]

i was wondering why everyone here hated glossy so much

it seems to look really nice and the blacks comes out real well
is it really unaccurate for color (photo editing?)

..am i missing something?

Glossy gives me eyestrain. I even put an anti-glare film on my MacBook.

[papa85mx8]

24 " glossy Imac here and loving it more everyday. Works great for all my photos. I have no glear at all, i just love the brilliance of the monitor.

[harcosparky]

i was wondering why everyone here hated glossy so much

it seems to look really nice and the blacks comes out real well
is it really unaccurate for color (photo editing?)

..am i missing something?

There is nothing wrong with Glossy Screens.

The problem is that the users are human. Human beings tend to reject change as a matter of habit. No matter how good the change, some will always find reason to whine about it.

[Lord Zedd]

Glossy is bad because it reflects light more easily. Thats why you see a reflection of yourself or the ceiling lights quite often.

[andyw2004]

Glossy is bad because it reflects light more easily. Thats why you see a reflection of yourself or the ceiling lights quite often.

I'm sorry but I see more reflection from my screen at work (some 17" dell thingy) than from my 24" Apple machine at home. I'm sure it's just a trick of the light at work but here at home I don't get reflections that I can see in normal use. If I concentrate hard I can see the TV when it's switched on but I don't notice it normally.

[jasko]

Glad to see so many people praise the glossy.

I'm still a little hesitant to order a new 24' iMac because I have a window directly behind me... I don't know if the venetian blinds would cut out the glare issue. :confused:

[Father Jack]

Glad to see so many people praise the glossy.
I have a window directly behind me... I don't know if the venetian blinds would cut out the glare issue. :confused:
IMO not a chance .... :(
Moving the position may be the solution .. :)

[AboveTheChaos]

If you like the Aluminum, buy it. Don't let people talk you into this professional crap usage. If you are some famous photographer or you make your living doing photography and you want exact reproduction most of the time then get a matte screen. I do alot of photography (my hobby) and I have the glossy 20" and love it. I have to tweek and play with the setting sometimes but I usually get the same reproduction of print that I see on the screen. As Gehrbox said, the printer you have is what will matter most. Get a good printer if you want good prints.

I agree. I absolutely LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my iMac. Even though I've had it a while, whenever I sit down and use it, I'm amazed and how wonder it looks. The glossy screen does make everything pop and just look great. I've had no problems with glare (maybe lucky cuz of where it's located.) Whenever I've needed to print something and the colors were important, I could tweak it and get incredible results.

[macintosh tech]

The glossy looks fine. I got my office to replace one of our tech stations with an iMac (mainly my station since I am the macintosh tech :D). I sit at the 24" all-day, while it looks fine and has nice color, my eyes aren't very happy at the end of the day. When I get home to my 30" ACD all of that melts away.

And the color I speak of is mainly the "pop" you get from the glass. In my work (at home at least) I am not looking for poppy color. They are fine though.

[shuurajou]

Unfortunately glossy screens are not suitable for serious photo editing as the screen image will not be the same as the final printed image (even when the monitor is calibrated) ... :(
The screen image is much more contrasty than prints.

As long as you don't need accurate colour and reflections aren't a problem, glossy is fine. Glossy is great for movies, surfing and general computer work, but not for photography etc. Image pro's will always use matte.

Interestingly I was thinking - aren't all CRTs glossy, and aren't CRTs still the #1 for colour accuracy?

[GGJstudios]

Some people don't like it and are vocal about it because they fear that it will create glare if a light source hits the screen at an angle at which it will be noticeable. It depends on the way your room is setup where you will keep the iMac, if there is a window behind where you are sitting and light often passes through it then it could be a problem.

The other reason why people don't like the glossy screen is because some photographer's who need to use a machine for professional purposes believe that the glass produces an image with richer colours that is not accurate once printed. Also, if you are working with very dark images and you need to concentrate on the work, you may find that you are staring back at yourself as the iMac's screen is almost mirror-like.

For most consumers neither of those two issues should pose a problem, just make sure that if you have positioned your iMac in the direct view of a window that the window has blinds or some sort of covering. The deeper colours and glossy appearance make for a very nice looking screen for the consumer.

Very thoughtful and non-biased post, giving equal weight to both points of view! A refreshing departure from the emotional, "your opinion is stupid" attitude seen too often in forums! I agree that, you have more control over where you locate your iMac, so the glare can be somewhat controlled. On a notebook that you move around with, you don't always have that kind of control and the glare becomes more of an issue. Even then, many notebook owners prefer glossy. For me, the matte finish produces great color and depth and I can see images clearly with a very wide viewing angle.

Bottom line is, there's nothing wrong with glossy... just a matter of personal preference. My only wish is that Apple would make the matte/glossy choice available on every screen they make.

[macintosh tech]

Interestingly I was thinking - aren't all CRTs glossy, and aren't CRTs still the #1 for colour accuracy?

CRTs are indeed the best for color accuracy, but that is because of tube itself. The technology is better for color. If the idea here is that sticking some glass in front of some display technology will instantly make it better, let me say no, that is not the case.

LCD is still behind CRT, close, but still behind. Much of it is actually due to the backlighting technologies. In the case of the iMac, it is an H-IPS panel, a panel up their with CRT. It does however use the traditional backlight. The glass adds a pop to the display and deepens the blacks a bit, making up for the backlight inferiority.

Reflections are still a factor. Most will say put it in a dark place, etc. But there will always be reflection. This, as a designer, is what keeps me away. I don't want to shift my head to see whether or not what is on my image is actually there, or instead a reflection.This adds unnecessary strain to my work. And quite simply, it is a distraction.

I will close on this point, in the days of CRTs we found that glossy was bad for the eyes. Hence, when LCDs came around we went matte. This is really why glossy is bad, it is simply not good for the eyes. And my eyes thank me for switching from CRT to LCD, matte of course :D

[Alloye]

IMHO...

Glossy LCDs are more visibly affected by strong ambient light sources and require more diligence in arranging your work environment to prevent unwanted reflections.
Glossy LCDs are not less color accurate than their matte counterparts; however, it is true that glossy LCDs can appear more saturated under certain conditions. This is because matte LCDs diffuse ambient light over their surface causing colors to wash-out slightly. Since a similar effect happens when viewing printed materials, some people find matte displays are more suitable for pre-press work.
Glossy LCDs can be calibrated.
Glossy LCDs are slightly sharper than their matte cousins and usually have no visible grain.
Glossy LCDs do no have the color fidelity of good quality CRT. Neither do matte LCDs. As a result, I don't subscribe to the notion that matte LCDs are always more suitable for professional work. A glossy LCD in a well-planned environment can perform equally well.

[tuxtpenguin]

^^ Well said.

Nothing is wrong with Glossy or Matte. It is all about your personal preferences.

[MarkMS]

^^ Well said.

Nothing is wrong with Glossy or Matte. It is all about your personal preferences.

True. It's all preference. Every MBP I've had has been glossy and I just love the colors.

[kabunaru]

I am going to put an anti-glare film on this 20" iMac I bought.

http://www.photodon.com/lcdprotect-sheet.htm

[colacat]

I agree!

I have the 24' Alu, it does good on everything except for photo editing.


Unfortunately glossy screens are not suitable for serious photo editing as the screen image will not be the same as the final printed image (even when the monitor is calibrated) ... :(
The screen image is much more contrasty than prints.

As long as you don't need accurate colour and reflections aren't a problem, glossy is fine. Glossy is great for movies, surfing and general computer work, but not for photography etc. Image pro's will always use matte.