New monitor

[KimMoore]

Hi Brian,

I have a DELL U2419H monitor, which is a few years old.  I was wondering what is your recommendations for an updated monitor?

I have always used DELL & I have Calibrite DISPLAY PRO HL calibrator.

Thank you.

[Brian]

I usually start with recommending a Dell Ultrasharp IPS Display. Things to look for:

• IPS Display Panel. This is non-negotiable. If the company doesn't advertise it, chances are it's not a IPS Display.
• 95% or better sRGB coverage.
• You do not want a 1920 x 1080p resolution on ANY monitor that is 27" or greater. A 1080p Display is fine for 24" and below. Why? 1080p looks like ass on a large screen; we aren't watching TV, we are editing photos. You want at least a 2560 x 1440 for a 27" display or 4K.
• You do not want a display that reduces any colors, such as Blue Light. Or if it does have that feature, there should be a way to turn it off. You do not want your monitor messing with your colors, especially if you are editing photos.
• Matte Finish or Matte Coating, you want to avoid Glossy Screens.
• Avoid Curved Displays. While it sounds cool, you are editing photos, not playing video games.
• Do not buy a Touchscreen; we have enough issues as it is with displays, do not add fingerprints to the mix. Plus Touchscreens are a bitch to calibrate.

Your calibrator should be fine, just make sure your software is up to date.

I found this monitor, Dell S2721QS and this one, which really checks all of the boxes: Dell UltraSharp U2723QE. There seems to be limited supply for that U2723QE, and it's on sale, so if you have the fundage, I'd click buy sooner, rather than later.

[KimMoore]

Thanks Brian.  Off hand do you know if my current screen is IPS?

95% or better sRGB coverage - the lab I use here in New Zealand works in Adobe 1998 colourspace.

I prefer the price of the second screen & your happy this checks the boxes?

[KimMoore]

The U2723QE is an upgrade from my current screen?

DELL U2419H

[Brian]

Well, if the lab uses Adobe 1998, that's fine. BUT! The default colorspace for JPEG is sRGB. So if you are uploading .jpeg files to your printer, your colors are shifting. If you upload .jpg to a website or FB or whatever, you are in sRGB. This is why Damien and I jump up-and-down about sRGB, because...chances are, you are going to end up there.

What are you looking for your screen replacement, and why? Is your screen not big enough? Is it failing, or are you upgrading just for something new?

The good news is, your Dell U2419H is an IPS Display, so if it's working, keep rocking it. Unless you want bigger / fancier.

[Brian]

19 hours ago, KimMoore said:

The U2723QE is an upgrade from my current screen?

Well, it's a different display. Direct upgrade? No. Modern 4K 27" Display that has a IPS Panel? Yes. So I guess you can call it an upgrade in a sense of the word.

[KimMoore]

I'm having a few issues getting my prints to match my screen.  My screen is cooler than my prints.

If I'm using Adobe 1998 for the lab, I should convert to sRGB before uploading?  I tried this yesterday & the two files are very different.

I find all this colour space stuff very confusing. 

 

[Brian]

On 11/16/2024 at 3:10 PM, KimMoore said:

I should convert to sRGB before uploading?

You need to convert in Adobe Camera Raw.

Raw File Created by Camera >> Loaded into ACR >> Converted to the sRGB Color Space >> THEN you do your Raw Edits >> Finally, your Photo is imported into Photoshop already in sRGB and you do your final edits.

This way what you see is what you (should) get. WYSIWYG. No surprises. No colors changing on you. What needs to change in your workflow is when converting to sRGB takes place. You do not want to edit in Adobe RGB (1998) with ACR, keep Adobe RGB (1998) in Photoshop, then have your colors shift because the default color space with .jpg files is sRGB!!! That's why we want you to be in sRGB at the start of your edits, because as soon as you save as a .jpg / .jpeg, your colors WILL shift if editing in Adobe RGB (1998) or Prophoto (Lightroom's default and ONLY color space.)

Before you drive yourself nuts, let's make sure your Photoshop and ACR are setup correctly:

Setting up Photoshop

[Brian]

Right now, from the information that you provided, buying a new display is not going to fix your problem. We need to get you Calibrated and straightened out BEFORE you spend money on a new display. Now, will you eventually be purchasing a new Display? It's plausible, but I want to see if we can get things working out first; I hate wasting money and would feel terrible that you fork out $500 (or whatever) only to be right back at square #1.

[KimMoore]

Thanks Brian this is great information.

I had a chat with Queensberry today to talk about the problems I'm having.

They said they use this calibrator, it monitors the room ambient light etc. 

https://www.datacolor.com/spyder/products/spyder-x-elite/

Before I go out & buy this, what are your thoughts on this one?  As I'm having a problem with my prints being warmer than my screen I would consider the swap, but would love a penny for your thoughts on this calibrator.

[Brian]

If I were to buy a new Calibrator today, I'd opt for the most up-to-date model. The Spyder X Elite has been replaced by the Spyder X2 Elite. I'm sure the cost savings going with the X Elite caught your eye and it's still a fine calibrator. The Elite has ALL of the software features turned on, and should be able to calibrate your screen nicely.

Why bother with the X2 Elite then? It's for the monitor you have yet to purchase. While the Spyder X Elite will work fine for your current display, I'm worried about the one you will end up buying 2 years from now. As I've stated multiple times in various threads; I hate-hate-hate wasting money on this shit. Nothing would burn me up more than forking out a couple of hundred bucks for a Calibrator, only have to fork out another few hundred for a new one because my cheap-ass didn't fork out the money when I should have. In the end, I pay MORE than I'd expected to. Make sense?

Damien wrote this article, I'd give it a read:

Which Monitor Calibrator to Buy

[KimMoore]

Thank you this is great info & have had a read.  I currently have the calibrite display pro HL, which I see is one of the two top tier he suggest.

However, it doesn't have the ambient light feature the Spyder X2 Elite has.

I'm wondering if I give this a shot being my prints are warmer.

 

[Brian]

Have you tried calibrating with Damien's instructions? This should work for you:

https://www.damiensymonds.net/calibration-instructions/calibrite-colorchecker-display-pro-desktop.html