What's a really good monitor for graphic design and illustration?

[sublimerule]

I do a lot of image editing, graphic design, illustration and general art things on adobe programs. It's my primary income. I'm finding that with my monitor, I'm not able to see difference in colours until I print the images out. Similar shades of white and black look the same on the screen, but are noticeably different when I print it.

I don't know anything about monitors or resolution, and looking for a good one is confusing me greatly. Things like 80,000,000:1 ratio, 4K ultra HD, LCD, LED, 1080p etc. My price range is about $100-$300. What do you guys think my best options are?

Thanks so much in advance to anyone with helpful advice

 

[john TJ]

ASUS VG248QE Black 24" 144Hz
$279
AOC G2460PQU Black 24" 144hz
$250
the monitor from asus is 3D ready other specs are same , overall asus is better

 

[Vosgy]

You want to find an IPS panel monitor with the best true colour representation you can. With that budget you'll struggle to get a IPS panel one in the 1440p or 4k pixel range there may be some but how good they are would have to be researched (1440p and 4K are good for graphic design as they allow you to fix more on the screen). You'll have to read reviews on monitors in your price range till you find ones with good colour representation.
Find a review on http://pcpartpicker.com/part/acer-monitor-umhx2aa001 it could be a good bet, nice size and amazingly at the price is 1440p.
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/lg-monitor-25um64s is a ultra wide screen, find a review as well if it looks appealing.

 

[Suzuki@1473780084@1473780163]

http://www.amazon.com/HP-Pavilion-23-Inch-LED-lit-Monitor/dp/B00B3FTM7S

By the way, it's often the printer that gets the colors wrong. Do you use a photo printer, what brand & model do you use?

You don't want TN panels if you are after accurate colors, you want IPS/PLS/VA, in that order.

 

[klang]

Hey guys, this is all really helpful so far, thanks! My friend (sublimerule) actually offered to post this for me, but it's probably easier if I just answer this thread instead. So I'm actually the OP.

http://www.amazon.com/HP-Pavilion-23-Inch-LED-lit-Monitor/dp/B00B3FTM7S

By the way, it's often the printer that gets the colors wrong. Do you use a photo printer, what brand & model do you use?

You don't want TN panels if you are after accurate colors, you want IPS/PLS/VA, in that order.

It's true, printers are usually going to print things different, even with professional printers. I get my prints done with a giclee printer. (My screen isn't calibrated very well, but I've learned how things will print, colour-wise).

Colour accuracy is great, and I guess that's what I need, because sometimes my monitor doesn't show all of the details. For example, when I have to piece together a scanned painting in photoshop (I have a A4 scanner, and so this happens a lot), I will piece it together in Photoshop, and do lots of work to blend it all together and re-align things best I can, but I'll get it printed, and then you can see in some areas where I've pieced it together (mostly my monitor has troubles with the white areas). I turn my head to the side and look like a right idiot looking at my monitor from every angle (you know, how sometimes you can see things a bit better if you have a crappy monitor like me), but even that doesn't show it!

Anyway, this is a long-winded reply, but I wanted to write a little in-depth about the exact problem.

Thank you so much for your replies thus far, I really appreciate it.

 

[Suzuki@1473780084@1473780163]

Woah! Yeah that sounds pretty bad. You want an IPS panel. Regarding your question about contrast, there is no way to tell how good or bad a monitor is judging by specs, because manufacturers measure this different, making them stand out with bigger numbers.

Any IPS monitor will be a good choice, preferably at 60 Hz and you also want a higher resolution, but 1080 is absolutely fine- anything higher seems to be above your budget.

Here is a higher quality monitor than the 23Xi I linked above: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005JN9310/ref=asc_df_B005JN93103662426?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&tag=mysimon-pc03-20&linkCode=df0&creative=395093&creativeASIN=B005JN9310

1920 X 1200 & 16:10

 

[7Fred7]

I agree with the above. Has to be some variant of IPS monitor, not TN. and if 2560 x 1440 pixels is too expensive, then go for a screen size with a good pixel density (how closely the pixels are packed). Pay for the visual quality rather that the amount of 'real estate'. Dell have an excellent reputation for color accuracy and quality. This model should be within your price range: DELL 24" U2414H. probably reviewed on YouTube. It's a Full HD, i.e. 1920 x 1080 pixels. That gives a pixel density of about 102 per inch, which is about the same as on 28"-29" 2HD monitors (2560 x 1440 pixels). You get less screen space, that's all.
Regarding the difference between screen colors and printed colors, obviously a lot will depend upon the printer, but the thing to do is use the sRGB color option on the monitor. This will give the best match to printed colors. BTW, Dell provide a report of the sRGB test for each monitor, and from what I've seen, I'd say the rating is very good. Worth looking at. No, I don't get paid by Dell, lol.