IMac Glossy Screen: Photo/Design Professionals

Would be interested to hear thoughts from photography and design professionals who have purchased the new, specifically, 24" iMac with glossy screen and are using it for their work.
I am a photographer and designer, and have mine on order for the 28th, however having read much about the displeasure with glass screen from many users, I am beginning to have reservations about my soon-to-arrive purchase.
I am using the older 20's at the work studio and found them very sufficient for my needs and therefore wanted a similar/better convention at home studio, hence the new machine.
Thank you.

I have to agree in that some of my own stuff looked good on the new glossy screen. It was vivid but the color was not accurate. Generally, glossy screens do not cut it for accuracy and calibration. Possibly this screen is different but then there is this:
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1017&message=24321625
Obviously, someone else may have a different experience or dpreview could revise theirs in time.
When I have discussed the new iMac w/ staff at the Apple Store they steer me to the Mac Pro and 17" MacBook Pro. One went so far as to say using the new iMac would be frustrating because while photos displayed on the 24" screen may look good they would look different when printed. Another solution is to add a 23" or 30" Apple Cinema Display. Seems to defeat the idea of the "all-in-one" iMac though.
It was also pointed out in one of these other threads, that the graphics card in the new iMac does not appear on the list of recommended cards for use w/ Aperture. Possibly this is an oversight and that part of Apple's website has not been updated.
It depends on your market and your own preferences. If you have demanding clients and have to be able to reproduce a particular shade of a color, that is say, a specific corporate color, like Coca-Cola Red, a glossy screen is probably not a good solution. If you are selling images to the general public, then maybe a glossy screen could work fine. If you are in certain markets you will probably need a SWOP-certified screen and so far the new iMac's is not one.
Good luck, I think Apple has forced some difficult choices upon those on a tight budget.

Similar Messages

IMac Glossy Screens and Calibration

I talked to an Apple store rep the other week and when I asked when Apple would ever get a matte screen for their iMacs, she replied why did I want one? I replied that I do photographic work and the glossy screens were difficult to work with. "What? I have a friend and they love the gloss screens" They saw no need for the matte screens. I have to occasionally use my wife's Dell laptop 17" with a gloss screen and it drives me nuts.
Found some support.
From Martin Evening's Photoshop CS5 book (pg 89) - "Meanwhile Apple's passion for glossy displays means that their newer displays are actually worse than the old ones. I have found it impossible to calibrate the new iMac displays and makes them unusable for Photoshop image editing. The only viable solution has been to run a secondary display off the iMac I take on location, which kind of defeats the reason for having an iMac in the first place!"
Has anybody heard of any hope of Apple bringing back the matte screen? (also the 24" iMac which was the perfect size.)

There are screen films that you can apply, but lots of folks here have reported mixed results.
For other articles of interest, see the following:
MacWorld ➤ [Make your glossy iMac screen matte|http://www.macworld.com/article/139942/2009/04/mwvodcast103.html]
Apple Discussions ➤ [Glossy Displays|http://www.google.com/custom?hl=en&client=pub-6263300333013957&cof=FOR ID:1%3BGL:1%3BLBGC:336699%3BLC:%230000ff%3BVLC:%23663399%3BGFNT:%230000ff%3BGIMP :%230000ff%3BDIV:%23336699%3B&oe=ISO-8859-1&ei=JyBKTNb-MoeosQO4zcyoCw&q=applediscussions+glossydisplay&start=0&sa=N]
Apple ➤ [Questions & Answers|http://store.apple.com/us/question/answers/product/MB382LL/A?pqid=QA9TC 2CYY9DXHPDK7KKJUFHHJDKTHFYK2]

Photo editing with glossy screen- As bad as "they" say ???

Here I am all set to replace my 20" G5 iMac with one of the sweet 24" models that just came out today. Only hesitation is that I use it for photo editing-color and density corrections with lab prints (Fuji Frontier) as my final product. Other that the reflection issue are the glossy screens really all that bad for my needs ? Can they be calibrated for accurate color rendition ? If not what was Apple thinking ? Are they trying to force serious photographers into buying the Mac Pro ? Or could I buy the new 20" iMac and just add a quality outboard monitor for my Photoshop and Lightroom work ?

It remains to be seen how useable the new imac screen is. Certainly, on the whole, glossy screens are not at all desirable for any work where color accuracy is important. Most glossy screens have increased saturation and contrast, which makes movies look terrific, but is really **** for getting a decent calibration or doing fine adjustments to images.
It's possible that Apple has figured out a way around this, but I do wonder why it was not mentioned during the presentation if so.
I was all set to get one, but not now.
EDIT, but yes, an external monitor would be a good workaround

How to fill the whole screen of my iMac with the photos included in an iDVD project. (iDVD v. 7.1.2)

How to fill the whole screen of my iMac with the photos I included in an iDVD project. (iDVD v. 7.1.2). I mean, during playing the burned dvd.
When I do "Enter Full Screen", the slide show fills the screen but the photo itself remains in the middle with a wide black border filling the rest.
Any cure for this ?

Hi
In iDVD Preferences - Turn off - TV-Safe area - and the Photos will fill the full area with just letterboxing or pillars as max.
Then "Save as a DiskImage" and test this and see if this plays better - before burning DVDs that's not as You want them.
Bengt W

Does the new Imac ME088LL/A have a LCD glossy screen? Thanks

Does the new Imac ME088LL/A have a LCD glossy screen like the older model MD095LL/A (27" WS glossy LCD 2560x1440)

New iMacs:
http://www.macworld.co.uk/mac/news/?newsid=3373666&olo=email

Need Advice fr/ Graphic Designers/Video Editors about Glossy Screens

Would like to hear some advice from industry professionals working in Graphic Design and Video Editing about working on a Glossy Screen MBP.
No offense, but please do not share speculative responses (these forums are notorious for that) I just want people who actually own a glossy screen MBP.
Many thanks,
O.

I do not have a glossy screen MBP (just a matte one), but I had a glossy Toshiba prior to this. I do a lot of 3D, and I definitely prefer the matte to the glossy. The shiny screen gives me headaches after about an hour, and has no major benefits that Apple says they do (except look all shiny and new).
I'll never buy a glossy lcd again.

Replacing the glossy screen with a 3rd party anti-glare or matte

I had my credit card ready to purchase 2 iMacs (finally rplacing our two G5's), until I realized that the anti-glare option with the 15" and 17" MBP would not be carried over to the iMacs. So I was wondering if anyone know of a third party with an option to replace the glossy screen with either a matte or an anti-glare screen. Would this void any warranty?

Open letter to Apple:
Let me first say, I'm a long-time, loyal Mac user (and defender). My first experience with Apple was in elementary school - on the Apple IIE. I created a game using DOS code in grade 5.
My father was a high school teacher and brought home a Mac Plus when I was in high school. The "Paint" program that it came installed with initiated my humble beginnings as digital designer - even on the small black and white screen, with it's limited capabilities, I could see the potential. We were always a Mac family. When my mother finally retired, I talked her into getting the same 24" white IMac I currently have, because that way I could walk her through the setting up and use of it, and now we can skype each other and it's like she's here in the room with me, not a whole province away.
I even had a Mac as a single mom struggling as a full time Communication Design student at Emily Carr University of Art and Design. My young daughter and I lived off my student loans, but they weren't enough to buy a Mac, so I asked my dad to co-sign a student line of credit so I could get a Mac to be compatible with the computers at school. This was the only way I could take my homework home and work while my daughter slept. I sacrificed a lot to have a Mac. We sacrificed.
Skip ahead about a decade, I have my own small graphic design business, I currently have 3 Mac computers: I have a 24" white Imac as my main business tool; I have a titanium laptop for meetings and presentations, and a white Macbook laptop that my high school-aged daughter uses for school and socializing.
I am now at the point in my growing business that it is finally time to upgrade all of my equipment. I've been excitedly holding out for the newest Imac release. I went in to our local BestBuy a few weeks ago to buy my new 27" fully loaded Imac (hey I've worked hard, why not splurge a little?) As I walked up to the Mac display and finally laid eyes on my long awaited dream machine, all I could see was the shocked and betrayed look on my face reflected in the shiny surface of the screen. I nearly cried, I was so disappointed. All I could think was "How could you? "
What is the point of having the shiny screen? I feel so betrayed, so foolish, for sticking with Apple through thick and thin for nearly a quarter of a century. I have invested thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars in Apple products, peripherals, and MAC compatible software for all of my Macs. Adobe CS3, Microsoft Office, 3rd party applications, Mac compatible fonts, and even games. I have purchased protection plans, extra RAM, home insurance and back-up devices for my Macs. I was invested in you, Apple. So what now? Will my hard earned savings now go toward buying the new PC software needed to convert my business to PCs?
The graphics industry, for a large part, has kept Apple going all these years. We have paid the premium for our Apples, and we have just been stabbed in the back by Apple. On behalf of the entire graphic design community in North America, Apple, please offer us a matte screen option on all your new computers.

Regular Screen Vs. Glossy Screen

I wanted to know what people thought about the display options. I heard pros and cons about both and I wanted to get other opinions on the subject. Gonna be using the MBP for editing photos, movies, and things of that nature. Thanks

I just bought a MacBook Pro and went matt screen. My decision was based on a single question. Where do I intend to use it. While I do a lot of Photoshop work and color work, that's done on my Mac Pro 30" monitor yadda yadda. The MacBook will be for accessing the web and mail when traveling, downloading images from digital cameras for eventual sorting and processing later and being able to go to beautiful natural spots and write (I love doing that!). OK so most of my work would not be in a controlled environment, most outdoors. Reflections and glare would be an issue.
Then I went to an Apple Store to check out the screens. All they had out were glossy. I couldn't believe it. The glare from all the lighting systems made trying to use the display laptops and iMacs intolerable from my point of view and I immediately decided against the glossy screen even though I really liked the 'pop' of the colors on a friend's new iMac in a stable environment where there are no noticeable reflections.

What are the different model numbers for the glossy screen and the matte?

I just bought a 2.5 MBP from bestbuy and before I open it up I want to make sure I didn't get the glossy screen. Is there a way to tell from the box? It doesn't say glossy screen on it but I wasn't sure.
I am just switching over from having to use a PC for 15 years back to where I started using macs. What are the benefits of the glossy screen?

You may want to check out your local Apple store where both the glossy and matte screens are on display.
Glossy screens provide more vivid, vibrant colors and deeper, richer blacks. They're great for watching movies, viewing photos, etc.
Matte screens are good for use in high-sunlight environments or in situations where you have a lot of light shining on your screen. Many professional photographers opt for these screens because they more accurately reflect how a photo will look when printed. (Don't be confused -- photos look better on the glossy screen, but when you print them they'll look less vivid. Photographers don't like that because it makes it tough to anticipate how a photo will look when printed.)
Here's my two cents: I've spent 20 years on a matte screen. I used the glossy one for a day and you couldn't pay me to switch back. In my opinion, the glossy screen is fantastic.

Are the Imacs good for Graphic Design/Illustration work?

I work as a digital illustrator so I spend all day at a monitor. I'm thinking of replacing my powerbook and am leaning towards a 20" Imac.
Does anyone else here use their Imac for professional graphic design or illustration work? How does it measure up?
I've seen many posts about poor screen quality. Should I steer clear of the Imac, or are the screens adequate for design work? At the moment I use a 17" Apple studio display (the old stripey framed kind) which is fine for my needs. How does the Imac screen compare to this?
Is it easy to connect an external monitor (I'd use my Apple Studio Display as a 2nd screen) and can you set them up so they create a giant screen area - i.e. not just 'mirrored'? I already have a VGA to DVI adaptor so presumably this is all I'd need to hook up my 2nd screen?
Is the 24" Imac screen quality much better than the 20"?
Sorry, so many questions! Any advice or opinions much appreciated - Many thanks.

To answer your first question yes they are great for digital illustration. However this will depend on how color accurate your work requires. The only downside I have found with the 20" iMacs is narrow viewing angles. This will be nothing new to you since you have the older 17" studio display. The 24" iMacs are all around absolutely stunning and have much better viewing angles however I have seen a lot of them(including mine) that have some degree of uneven back lighting. If you live anywhere near an Apple store or reseller I would recommend that you go into the store and actually use both of the machines for some period of time and see for yourself how you like it. Bring some of your illustrations from home on a flash drive to see how they look. Otherwise IMO these machines are superb. I love my 24" and it runs CS3 Apps amazingly fast.
If your 17" studio display has the ADC(Apple Digital Connector) then you will have to purchase the power supply adapter to make it work. If you are unsure if it qualifies or not just look and see if your display has it's own power plug. If not then you will need this adapter for $99. IMO it's not worth it as you could put the $100 bucks toward a new display.
http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wa/RSLID?mco=7E4 EB91E&nplm=M8661LL/B
George

IMac G5 Screen Cracked!

My iMac G5 screen was cracked when my son threw a toy at it while throwing a fit. Some of the old background is still visible, but most of the screen is dominated by wierd colors and designs. Is it possible to get this fixed? If so, how do I go about doing it?
iMac G5

Hi,
I don't know if it is going to be cost effective for you to have your screen replaced. I've seen some posts here at the forum quoting prices in the $600+ range.
You might want to call Apple Service, I'm sure they have a standard price for replacing display. I would try to figure out how you can back up your data. I believe you can also add a 'second monitor' but you would have to do all the configs and if your screen isn't working that's nearly impossible...
Rick
iMac G5 iSight 20" - 30G iPOD in Slimming Black - Mac OS X (10.4.7) - HP Pav 15" WS and Toshiba Sat 17" WS LP's - Canon 20D & A620

Shadow on Imac 20" screen

Hi
This happened about a year ago, but then stopped, but has start again recently. Intermittently, often, but not always, after it goes to sleep, or when turned on, there is a shadow on the screen that starts at the top, and gradually fades towards the bottom.
It will stay there the entire time the screen is active. Sometimes it will go away after it sleeps, or is turned off, but seemingly randomly.
Any one else have this problem?
Thanks
Glenn

Hi gdwgdw
Exactly which iMac?
If it's a Glossy Screen Aluminum, it may be condensation on the inside of the front glass panel.
Dennis

Glossy Screen Low Down on MacBook Pro!!

I am reading threads that have people that have the glossy screen option on the MacBook Pros. To those that have them can you please give a really detailed description of this screen with comparisons to the antiglare coating screens and the MB glossy screen. Can you also if possible post as many pictures as possible of it in as many different lightings as possible, and if possible the same exact shot with an antiglare coated screen (maybe an apple external display) for comparision. And can someone comment on the ability to read text off of this screen does it hurt your eyes after an hour of looking at it.
Thanks (I am deciding between gloss or no gloss 17 inch MBP)

Pictures probably won't help you make a decision. It is difficult to see the differences between the two with pictures. Why not just check out a few PC notebooks with the glossy screens? I used to own a dell xps gen 2 with a 1920x1200 glossy screen and it was glorious, but the glare was a bit annoying. In reality, I didn't really notice much of a difference playing games; it was only in the windows applications that things looked alot better.
Generally, you'll like glossy if you: Like super bright and contrasty colors, don't use your computer for hours on end and use your computer in a controlled lighting environment. Please realize that you will see glare at some point. There are lots of website that have reviewed the MB glossy screen, why not search for them on google? Arstechnica.com was particularly annoyed with the screen.
Go matte if you plan on luggin the sucker around everywhere and if you plan on doing photo work. I didn't calibrate my MBP screen and my print results are very simliar to what I see on screen! The colors will not be a bright and punchy, but you will have a very nice looking screen!
I prefer the matte now, easier on the eyes and more versatile. Besides, I can always get a big glossy screen and throw it on a desk.
I'd say if you don't know, just for for the matte
good luck

IMac 20" vs iMac 24" : screen WASHED OUT on 20"

I went to two Apple stores and I noticed that the new Aluminum iMac 20" SCREEN CONTRAST is set different from the 24".
I tried using two side by side 20" and 24" and I set the screen settings the same. But not matter what I did the contrast on the 20" was pretty bad. 24" was normal but the 20" was Washed out (when viewing photos, there's no detail in the highlight areas).
Anyone else notice this? Or it just me? I foun this at two stores I went to.

GREAT! I thought I'd read all of the down sides to the new 20" iMacs. How'd I miss this? Well, I knew that with the minor CUP speed bump made to the new iMacs and no "Extreme" option on the 20" I was about to take a beating down the road here...very shortly. That "shortly" is already NOW, I guess. My 20" screen was washed out using the iMac's display color setting, so I went into Preferences/Display/Color and played with the RGB profile settings. This helped a lot, but it made me wonder why Apple would have let it be shipped with their poor "iMac" color profile. Geez, I hope changing the setting, making the screen colors pop, won't burn out this monitor!!! GULP!!! If only our old Mac G4 tower hadn't died a few months back, we'd been waiting so long already and a 20" monitor looked big enough to us.
BTW, where are all of my Apple Loops in the preinstalled iLife '08 GarageBand? I just got this iMac yesterday. Time to do more digging!
Kat

IMac 27 "screen out of control, I am experiencing the transition to sleep mode.

The following general specifications of the devices have experienced periodic shortages is this.
27-inch, Late 2009
CPU 2,66 GHz Intel Core i5
RAM 8 GB 1067 MHz DDR3
Graphic Card ATI Radeon HD 4850 512 MB
Serial Number xxxxxxxxxxx
OS X 10.8.5 (12F45)
iMac Display:
Screen: LCD
Res.: 2560 x 1440
Pixel: 32 Bit Colurs
Main Screen: Evet
Online: Evet
Inline: Evet
DisplayPort
PROBLEM
* Routine operation of the device , the screen goes into sleep mode at a time .
* Hard Drive is studying .
* But the screen shuts off completely which does not allow for inaction .
* Therefore, computer harddisk along with the device by pressing the release button 'm having to sleep mode .
* I wake again by pressing the release button .
* The screen is now out of control appropriate to the mode you have to repeat this process every time I'm staying.
I do the following
* System Preferences / Energy Saving / screen to sleep (never )
PROBLEM WAS soln ?
* No
IN ADDITION
* I'm dealing with advertising design business .
* Illustrator, Photoshop, I'm working with software such as performance needs .
* I live my productivity as well as routine problems and flat affect my work on the property .
FINALLY
* Approximately 2 months ago the device's graphics card is renewed.
* Was upgraded with a new video card .
* Graphics card has been replaced after 1 month I faced this problem .
Does the problem is hardware or software- m I have no idea about .
Your ideas and comments are important to me .
Thank you.

Using ten foot pole...
Sounds like you need to take it back to whomever serviced it 2 months ago and have them honor the warranty on there repair work.

IMac Glossy Screen: Photo/Design Professionals

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