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Professional photo editing and graphic design is no joke. Even if it was, that joke is not good enough for this intro.
Getting the colors and the tiny details just right can make or break a piece. Having the right display to get the job done is essential.
If you got lost and are looking for other Computer Monitors, check out that page.
Our Top 3 Picks for the Best Computer Monitors for Photo Editing and Graphic Design
BenQ SW271 27 Inch 4K HDR
- Ideal for Photographers and Video Editing: 27 Inch 4K HDR Professional IPS computer monitor is factory calibrated for color accuracy and comes with a report straight from the manufacturer
- Hardware Calibration for Color Accuracy: 10 bit with 14-bit 3D lookup table (LUT) improves color blending for precise color reproduction.
- AQCOLOR Technology: Developed by BenQ that reproduces accurate colors on professional monitors. Work with colors you can trust.
- Detachable Shading Hood: Our shading hood was designed with carefully selected materials to help absorb light so you can focus on the important stuff.
BenQ SW2700PT 27 Inch QHD 1440P
- 27 inch 2K QHD resolution with IPS Tech: exceptional clarity and fine detail, wide viewing angle
- Aqcolor advantage: 99% Adobe RGB color space, 14-bit 3D look up table (LUT) and Delta E≤ 2, accurate color reproduction.
- Efficiency Boost: hotkey Puck lets you easily switch between Adobe RGB, sRGB, and Black & White mode, or set the hotkey Puck buttons to the OSD settings of your choice.
- Custom calibration: each SW2700PT arrives pre-calibrated with factory report, hardware calibration, palette master element calibration software; calibrate for a consistent color advantage.
- Professional monitor capabilities: included shading hood minimizes ambient light, Advanced Black & White lets you preview B&W content in three preset modes.
- Eye Care for comfortable viewing: zeroflicker eliminates screen Flicker, low Blue light filters harmful Blue light. Avoid eye strain and damage. Your eyes will thank you for using this Tech.
EIZO ColorEdge CG2730 27″ IPS
- 27-inch wide gamut LCD with 2560×1440 resolution for the finest details.
- Wide color gamut with 99% AdobeRGB and 98% DCI-P3 color space coverage.
- Integrated measurement device for fully automatic self-calibration.
- Inputs: DisplayPort, DVI-D, HDMI
- Manufacturer Warranty: 5 years
Things to Consider
Things to consider when Hunting for the perfect Graphic Design / Photo Editing Monitor:
- Color Depth / Bit Depth
- Monitor Size
- Monitor Resolution
- Color Gamut
- Panel Type
- Brightness / Luminance
- Contrast Ratio
- Response Time
Basically you are going to want a large bright screen with great color and contrast so that you can really see what you are doing.
Color Depth / Bit Depth
Color Depth can be a bit confusing if you are unfamiliar with it. Here is more information on it. TL;DR – more possible shades of color.
Ideally you would be looking for something with no less than 8 bit color depth, something in the 10+ range.
Monitor Size
What size monitor is best for photo editing? You are going to want to have more screen real estate than less. A lot of people start looking at 24 inches as the minimum size and go up from there. Pixel density may be something to consider if you go too large.
Monitor Resolution
The more pixels the better in most cases. Anything above 1080p is probably going to be a minimum if you are doing serious work. It may be a trade off for 4k to get super deep color depth in some cases.
Color Gamut
Another term that can be confusing for those who are unfamiliar. You can read more information here. TL;DR It is a measurement of possible colors that can be displayed in a given color space.
Popular Gamuts used for measuring are the sRGB gamut and the Adobe RGB color space.
Panel Type
When dealing with color sensitive work, there is no doubt that an IPS panel is going to be the best option.
Brightness / Luminance
Brightness is measured in nits. 300 – 350 nits is common in high end monitors. That does not mean you should use them at full brightness though, eye strain is a thing.
Contrast Ratio
The contrast ratio measures the ratio between the whitest white the monitor can produce and the blackest black that it can produce. The higher the better.
Response Time
While it is not the most important thing to look for in a monitor used for Graphic Design and Photo Editing, a shorter response time can be nice to have, especially if you plan on doing some video editing as well.
The shorter the response time the better, but keep in mind it is probably not worth hundreds of extra dollars to get it.
Conclusion
There are some amazing displays for professional photo editing and graphic design. Hopefully you can grab one of these and soar your creativity to new heights!
