Choosing the right monitor is critical when precise display performance is required to produce perfect creative work. In order to create output exactly the same as what’s displayed on the screen, the monitor’s most important characteristic is accurate color performance, matching the industry-standard color spaces in use by professionals in design, photography, and video editing. In addition, important considerations must be taken for color calibration capability, as well as what software and type of PC or Mac is being most commonly used with the monitor.
Figure 1: Industry Standards of Color Gamuts
Color Calibration for Uncompromising Color Accuracy
Because professionals must rely on monitors to provide accurate on-screen colors to match output, the finest professional monitors on the market are calibrated to ensure colors are precisely displayed. Individualized color calibration conducted at the factory is important for ideal color temperature, gamut, gamma, and Delta E performance straight out of the box.
Furthermore, the most color-sensitive applications will require periodic calibration of the monitor. For these applications, a monitor with hardware color calibration capability is required, so that the ideal color profile is saved to an onboard chip in the monitor unaffected by graphics settings.
Figure 2: Monitor Hardware Calibration
Industry-Standard Color Spaces for Creative Applications
To choose the right professional monitor to use for different types of creative work, it is helpful to determine what software is being used.
• For users mainly occupied with photo editing in Photoshop, the monitor should be capable of displaying sRGB, Adobe RGB, and Display P3.*
• For Premiere users who periodically need to edit videos, the video industry color standards Rec. 709 and DCI-P3 are required.
• For designers using Illustrator, monitors offering sRGB and Display P3 are ideal.
• For web developers using Dreamweaver, monitors capable of sRGB and Display P3 will provide the needed color accuracy.
Figure 3: Software Applications and Color Gamut
The Right Professional Monitor for the Job
Featuring AQCOLOR Technology for ideal color temperature, gamut, gamma, and Delta E performance, all BenQ professional monitors are individually color calibrated at the factory to provide outstanding performance for color-critical applications.
BenQ provides a complete line of professional monitors for any creative purpose, and the following guide is a helpful reference to match the ideal model for your specific needs.
| BenQ Model | SW Series | PD Series | PD Series PD3220U / PD2720U |
BenQ Model Color Space | SW Series sRGB, Adobe RGB | PD Series sRGB, Rec. 709 | PD Series PD3220U / PD2720U sRGB, Rec. 709, DCI-P3, Display P3 |
BenQ Model H/W Calibration | SW Series Yes | PD Series No | PD Series PD3220U / PD2720U No |
BenQ Model Thunderbolt | SW Series No | PD Series No | PD Series PD3220U / PD2720U Yes |
BenQ Model Primary Purpose | SW Series Photographers | PD Series Designers | PD Series PD3220U / PD2720U Designers / Mac Users |
Table 1: Choose the right monitor for your creative work
Design professionals working primarily in sRGB and Rec. 709 (for video) color spaces, BenQ PD3200U, PD2710QC, and PD2700Q will deliver excellent results. These models deliver 100% sRGB and Rec. 709 coverage, along with AQCOLOR Technology and individual factory calibration.
Photographers who need Adobe RGB and sRGB for high-end photo editing can rely on BenQ SW320, SW2700PT, SW271, and SW240 models to deliver 99% Adobe RGB and 100% sRGB performance, perfected by hardware color calibration.
For the ultimate in creative professional displays, BenQ PD3220U and PD2720U models offer comprehensive sRGB, Rec. 709, DCI-P3, and Display P3 color space coverage, for utmost color accuracy in any medium of work output. These models also offer Thunderbolt support for perfect compatibility with design system platforms.
*Note: Adobe RGB is a wider color gamut than sRGB, and both standards are used worldwide to assure printed output exactly matches the monitor’s displayed colors. Display P3 is an even wider color gamut developed and used by Apple, closely aligned to the digital film industry’s DCI-P3 color space.
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