Digital BW, The Print

Helene writes:

> I have a new Lacie Electron Blue3 19-inch waiting
> for a new computer.  Is there an "optimum" resolution
> at which to run it?

There are several factors to consider.

The first is your vision.  If you have ideal vision, you can see details
about 1 minute of arc in size.  That's about 1/3500 of the viewing distance,
so if your monitor is two feet away from your eyes, the smallest detail you
can see on the screen is about 2' / 3500 = 0.17 mm in size.  So, you'll need
pixels about 0.2 mm in size to get the optimal resolution for your vision
and viewing distance.

The second factor is the dot or bar pitch on the monitor.  It should be no
greater than the size of the pixels you want to be able to see.  So if the
pixel size is 0.2 mm as above, you'll need a screen with a dot pitch no
larger than 0.2 mm--if the dot pitch on your monitor is larger, you can move
it a bit further away, or you can use larger pixels.

The third factor is the capacity of your video card.  Obviously, you need to
restrict your choice of resolutions to those made available by the card at
the color depth you want (at least 24-bit or 32-bit, for photographic work).

So ... the Electron19blue III has a dot pitch of about 0.26 mm.  The
viewable area has a 18" diagonal (14.4" x 10.8".  This means that the
maximum number of pixels it can display without exceeding the dot pitch is
1407x1055.  So you should set your resolution to 1407x1055, or whatever
comes closest to that without exceeding it.  And your maximum viewing
distance at that resolution would be 35" from the screen, but you can
probably cut this in half to 24" or so for greater comfort.

You should elevate the monitor so that the center of the display is just
slightly below your eye level when you are looking straight ahead in your
chair.  It's best to keep lighting around the monitor relatively dim, but
total darkness may cause more eyestrain, so keep a few lights on (it's more
practical to work that way, anyway).