Digital BW, The Print

Hi all,

I'm upgrading my equipment with a Mac G5, after working on an
old G3 for the past 8 years, and am looking for input on a monitor
choice.

I understand that CRT choices are dwindling, and that the
higher-end LCDs are now comparable to CRTs in terms of
gamut and shadow detail.

I was considering a refurbished Apple 23" Cinema, but for that
investment want to be comfortable that I'm choosing well. Any
guidance that the old hands on this group might offer would be
greatly appreciated.

Best regards,

Ellen Rutchick

Ellen:
I don't know what your budget is, but you might want to look into the LaCie
321.  I have always used CRT monitors, and in fact bought a LaCie 22" last
spring when I heard that they were going to stop making them.  I thought
that at least this way I could have a good monitor for a few years while the
LCD's evolved to the point where they were ready for critical use.

Another photographer and I recently had the LaCie 321 demonstrated for us by
one of the national LaCie reps, and it was REALLY impressive.  With their
calibration software (I think it's called BlueEye Pro) and hardware (a puck
made for them by Gretag), it is possible to do a hardware-based calibration
that runs automatically once you start it.

I found that you could set a low luminance value (85-95 cd/m2) and get an
image from which you could make critical judgments for printing.  I've found
that most LCD's are too bright and have too much contrast to be used this
way.

I have a file that has 100 squares of grey from 100% to 1%.  With the 321
calibrated, I was able to see distinctions between almost every patch, and
with great neutrality in the grays.  Typically this same image will show
lots of red-magenta in many grays when viewed on a calibrated CRT monitor.
If I needed a new monitor at the moment, I wouldn't hesitate to get this
one.

My understanding is that for critical purposes, most monitors won't be much
good after 3-4 years if they are used many hours a day.  I'd be hesitant to
spend good  money on a "refurbished" unit.

Best,

Stephen Petegorsky

Ellen:
I don't know what your budget is, but you might want to look into the LaCie
321.  I have always used CRT monitors, and in fact bought a LaCie 22" last
spring when I heard that they were going to stop making them.  I thought
that at least this way I could have a good monitor for a few years while the
LCD's evolved to the point where they were ready for critical use.

Another photographer and I recently had the LaCie 321 demonstrated for us by
one of the national LaCie reps, and it was REALLY impressive.  With their
calibration software (I think it's called BlueEye Pro) and hardware (a puck
made for them by Gretag), it is possible to do a hardware-based calibration
that runs automatically once you start it.

I found that you could set a low luminance value (85-95 cd/m2) and get an
image from which you could make critical judgments for printing.  I've found
that most LCD's are too bright and have too much contrast to be used this
way.

I have a file that has 100 squares of grey from 100% to 1%.  With the 321
calibrated, I was able to see distinctions between almost every patch, and
with great neutrality in the grays.  Typically this same image will show
lots of red-magenta in many grays when viewed on a calibrated CRT monitor.
If I needed a new monitor at the moment, I wouldn't hesitate to get this
one.

My understanding is that for critical purposes, most monitors won't be much
good after 3-4 years if they are used many hours a day.  I'd be hesitant to
spend good  money on a "refurbished" unit.

Best,

Stephen Petegorsky

Ellen:
I don't know what your budget is, but you might want to look into the LaCie
321.  I have always used CRT monitors, and in fact bought a LaCie 22" last
spring when I heard that they were going to stop making them.  I thought
that at least this way I could have a good monitor for a few years while the
LCD's evolved to the point where they were ready for critical use.

Another photographer and I recently had the LaCie 321 demonstrated for us by
one of the national LaCie reps, and it was REALLY impressive.  With their
calibration software (I think it's called BlueEye Pro) and hardware (a puck
made for them by Gretag), it is possible to do a hardware-based calibration
that runs automatically once you start it.

I found that you could set a low luminance value (85-95 cd/m2) and get an
image from which you could make critical judgments for printing.  I've found
that most LCD's are too bright and have too much contrast to be used this
way.

I have a file that has 100 squares of grey from 100% to 1%.  With the 321
calibrated, I was able to see distinctions between almost every patch, and
with great neutrality in the grays.  Typically this same image will show
lots of red-magenta in many grays when viewed on a calibrated CRT monitor.
If I needed a new monitor at the moment, I wouldn't hesitate to get this
one.

My understanding is that for critical purposes, most monitors won't be much
good after 3-4 years if they are used many hours a day.  I'd be hesitant to
spend good  money on a "refurbished" unit.

Best,

Stephen Petegorsky

Congratulations, Ellen, on holding onto your G3 for so long. Will you 
also be hooking it up to your new display? When I get a new computer, 
I hope to use my old G4 to back up to and as a scan and print server. 
But ahead of that I need a new monitor too, for images.

I already have a $200 17-inch Dell (Samsung) CRT to use as a "palette 
monitor" in Photoshop. Because I cannot matte and frame larger than 
16x20 in my small, at-home print "shop", I print no larger than 11x14 
or 14x11. As a result, using a separate palette monitor might let me 
use a 1280x1024 19-inch LCD image monitor to see full-size what I 
will print. Even in portrait orientation, i.e., 11x14 rather than 
14x11. But only if the 19" image monitor pivots.

For LCD's, pivoting/rotating has become commonplace except at Apple. 
So I'd look both at Samsung and at Eizo LCD's. I think the Samsung's 
are a great value and that the Eizo's are great period. I don't know 
whether either will pivot/rotate with a video card Apple offers for 
your new G5. I'm hoping that any video card robust enough to protect 
the Aperture option will support pivoting/rotating a display, but I 
don't know that.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.
--
Sam


At 2:58 AM +0000 12/24/05, erutchick2002 wrote:

>
>Hi all,
>
>I'm upgrading my equipment with a Mac G5, after working on an
>old G3 for the past 8 years, and am looking for input on a monitor
>choice.
>
>I understand that CRT choices are dwindling, and that the
>higher-end LCDs are now comparable to CRTs in terms of
>gamut and shadow detail.
>
>I was considering a refurbished Apple 23" Cinema, but for that
>investment want to be comfortable that I'm choosing well. Any
>guidance that the old hands on this group might offer would be
>greatly appreciated.
>
>Best regards,
>
>Ellen Rutchick