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Display monitors for design and graphics
- Thread starter Rock4Light
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This question is meaningless without a budget and other requirements. Do you mean the best monitor that money can buy? Or do you mean. 'I've got X dinero, what can I get?'
A couple of years ago I would have said Barco.
A couple of years ago I would have said Barco.
Good point. I'm willing to spend the standard retail for the 23" Apple display and, eh, possibly retail for the 30". So I guess I'm saying no more than $1,700. I'm curious if there's anything else out there that I might be better off spending my money on, and I'd be happy to find something as good for less $.
http://accessories.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=ca&l=en&s=bsd&cs=cabsdt1&sku=320-5647
This is a beautiful monitor. Colours look much more accurate than on the Cinema display.
This is a beautiful monitor. Colours look much more accurate than on the Cinema display.
Cue another interminable thread about on-screen colour accuracy and print calibration.
Cheers
Jim
Apple's displays are very nice, but you can get the same screens from other manufacturers at much lower cost with more features.
For example, the 24" Dell Ultra Sharp's 1000:1 contrast ratio delivers high color accuracy and uniformity and also offers a viewing angle of 178° horizontal and vertical. You are also gaining an extra inch in screen size with this model.
I was in the same position as this poster a few months back and purchased this monitor on the reccomendation from previous buyers and the research that I did. Sure enough, it turned out to be a beautiful monitor and displays colour more accurately then the Cinema I was so close to buying (The Apple reseller where I purchased this monitor had both models in their showroom).
The Apple does look a little sleeker in terms of design (not to knock the Dell because it still if a good looking monitor), but for nearly half the price and the added inch, accuracy and tilt feature, I was willing to go with the Dell.
For example, the 24" Dell Ultra Sharp's 1000:1 contrast ratio delivers high color accuracy and uniformity and also offers a viewing angle of 178° horizontal and vertical. You are also gaining an extra inch in screen size with this model.
I was in the same position as this poster a few months back and purchased this monitor on the reccomendation from previous buyers and the research that I did. Sure enough, it turned out to be a beautiful monitor and displays colour more accurately then the Cinema I was so close to buying (The Apple reseller where I purchased this monitor had both models in their showroom).
The Apple does look a little sleeker in terms of design (not to knock the Dell because it still if a good looking monitor), but for nearly half the price and the added inch, accuracy and tilt feature, I was willing to go with the Dell.
to compare the Apple dispay to the Dell is crazy. Yes, they basically look the same and use the same LCD panel, but the Apple is a SWOP certified System and ICS certified, the Dell is not. It's not just the panel you are looking at, it's the backlight and the electronics behind it. Apple makes a better monitor, that happens to look better than most other monitors out there.
I will also second Eizo, LaCie, and Iiyama. Sony used to make some good CRTs, but i'm not impressed with their LCDs. To me, Eizo make the best color, but Apples are great too. If you are going for color, don't buy a dell. If you are going for size and features and price, the buy the dell.
my 2¢
-JE
I will also second Eizo, LaCie, and Iiyama. Sony used to make some good CRTs, but i'm not impressed with their LCDs. To me, Eizo make the best color, but Apples are great too. If you are going for color, don't buy a dell. If you are going for size and features and price, the buy the dell.
my 2¢
-JE
Not necessarily for print, which is relevant because the OP specifically mentioned graphic design. The last thread on this subject went on for about 20 pages and, in the end, a whole bunch of really, really experienced print professionals pretty much made their point on this one.
Any chance we can by-pass a repetition of that and we can just summarize the argument down to:
1) You can buy any number of monitors that are cheaper than Apple's unless accuracy to 4-colour print is of major importance, in which case ...
2) Apple are not the be-all and end-all of colour calibrated monitors but, as is so often the way with Apple, you can just get this stuff out of the boxes, plug it in and it will work, and you can have reasonable confidence in it at a reasonable price.
Wouldn't that be easier than another 20 pages of argument?
Cheers!
Jim
lets shoot for 19 pages!
I would just say, My press peeps all use cinama displays. Their PC even has an apple display on it. All else fails I would listen to the pro's and use what they use.
I would just say, My press peeps all use cinama displays. Their PC even has an apple display on it. All else fails I would listen to the pro's and use what they use.
I dont know how to explain this any better than NO, it does not.
The colors on this display bleed, try looking at it pixel for pixel, this is a good display at a TV, possibly because it uses a Television panel.
If you are buying for a mac, use an Apple Display, not only because the quality is better to begin with, but because the display is designed and calibrated to work perfectly with you computer, so in layman's terms it talks with your computer better and makes things look better, additionally the pixel width, and positioning makes your product look closer on screen to what it will look like on paper.
Here is your new display: 30-inch ACD for $1,599. an extra $100 wont kill you, and it will be very worth it.
So here we are almost at April 2008 and still no ACD updates... it's just getting a little silly by now. It seems like Apple have lost interest and it wouldn't surprise me if they stop making displays altogether, especially given their current love for all things small and consumer-friendly
I'm now in the market for a new display a proper display that can be reliably used for soft-proofing for working from home, and given the lack of anything resembling an update from Apple, I've been checking out the Eizo ColourEdge 24" models, and even though they're a bit pricier, they offer far greater versatility than the ACDs and a five year warranty.
I wondered what other print designers are currently using out there or what they might be planning on buying for their own needs.
I'm now in the market for a new display a proper display that can be reliably used for soft-proofing for working from home, and given the lack of anything resembling an update from Apple, I've been checking out the Eizo ColourEdge 24" models, and even though they're a bit pricier, they offer far greater versatility than the ACDs and a five year warranty.
I wondered what other print designers are currently using out there or what they might be planning on buying for their own needs.
That's because you haven't bought one.
As soon as you do, then Apple will release new models, that will have double the screen size, will be half the thickness and will be a 3rd of the price. It's the Law of Apple, and it's as reliable and consistent as the Law of Gravity. NEC 2490 or 2690 or 3090. latest H-IPS panel technology. 26 and 30 inch have a wider gamut than the 24.
The 24" dell is not better it's worse for color accuracy it uses a Samsung S-PVA panel where as the Apple uses a L.G. Philips S-IPS and if you want a really good 30" get dells 3008WFP it's about 1750 on sale and uses a far better panel than apples, it also uses an S-IPS but it has a broader color range than apples 30".
That's because you haven't bought one.
I must admit my track record of buying hasn't been the best in terms of timing... the way things are going, I could replace this entire site with a simple blog saying what I've bought today, and everybody would know full well something new is only days or weeks away. I'm almost ashamed to list the products I've purchased that have been updated almost immediately thereafter.
But I'm also one of those people who buy when they need it, rather than waiting and waiting... and waiting. I need a new display and a calibrator (prob. Spyder 3) within the next 3-4 weeks.