Monitor: Screen Soft Proofing Window (1)

Color management is an important task that is currently indispensable in the digital workflow of printing production. It runs from prepress to printing, except for equipment (scanners, monitors, printers, etc.) and materials (ink, paper, etc.). In addition to "color communication and communication," it is also necessary to provide "foreseeable output results", that is, "what you see is what you get" with soft proofing on the screen.

The soft proofing of the screen is literally understood, naturally, the "screen" - the monitor discretionary participation, and in the actual application process can not do without the support of the display. The monitor is an important window for us to observe the effects of image processing in real time, signing customers and guiding printing. In order to meet the demand for soft proofing of screens, displays currently on the market are moving toward large screens, high-definition, environmental protection, energy saving, low-emission, easy-to-manipulate, flat-screen, and liquid crystal displays. Progress for the printing industry will affect the popularization and promotion of screen soft proofing.

(1) Competition between LCD and CRT

Compared with the currently used CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) displays, LCD (Liquid Crystal) displays represent a development direction for future display technologies. In recent years, the development of display technologies has been concentrated on LCD displays. When the screen is soft proofed, you may experience the following: The color displayed by the CPT monitor cannot maintain the relative stability of one month, and even after using it for two years, it can no longer meet the requirement of prepress production. Even so, before the LCD technology was mature, the CRY display was still widely used in soft-proofing the screen.

Due to the previous LCD display technology, there are certain defects in the viewing angle, brightness, contrast, response time, etc., which exposes many “hard injuries” in the soft proofing application of the screen, such as the display color is not bright enough, bright and Small perspectives, etc., but once challenged by industry users. However, with the rapid development of LCD technology, in recent years, LCD monitors have overcome the problem of consistency in the conversion between screens. Compared with before, the brightness is higher, the color gamut is wider, the viewing angle is wider, and the radiation intensity and power consumption are even higher. small. Currently, the stability of digital technology-based LCD displays has greatly exceeded that of analog-based CRT displays. The best LCD display from Apple (App, e) can provide twice the brightness, sharpness, and contrast of CRT monitors without glare on the screen, while avoiding the interference of some environmental factors that affect the visual effects of CRT monitors, such as in the electro-optical workshop. The air conditioning and other magnetization effects on the CRT display. However, the display quality of low-to-medium LCD displays is still not comparable to that of CRT monitors.

So, what kind of monitor is the ideal window for soft proofing of the screen? To be sure, the monitor used for soft proofing of the screen must be a high-quality product, and the general office-grade display cannot be competent. Nowadays, new high-end LCD displays have been recognized by users in the printing industry. In the soft proofing applications of the screen, new types of LCD displays are gradually replacing CRT displays that have been widely used in the past.

In view of the continuous improvement of LCD display technology in recent years, most prepress departments chose the LCD display when purchasing the monitor {with funds allowed). John Sweeney, vice president of sales for color management product developer ICS (Integrated Color Solutions), said: “Although some traditional devices still play an important role in the soft proofing of screens, according to our knowledge, there was almost no one in 2003. The purchase of the Remote Director software has selected the CRT monitor."

However, relevant experts remind users that high investment in LCD monitors is also a problem that companies cannot ignore. It is understood that the same level of display, LCD monitor and CRT monitor price difference of several times. Normally, CRT monitors with the same price are better than LCD monitors. For example: 1 9-inch EIZO or Sony's CRT monitors, the market price is more than 6000 yuan, while the same level of the 19-inch EIZO LCD display needs near-end yuan.

For such a disparate price, Mr. Chen Yaxiong, Director of Information Technology, China Commercial Printing (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd. believes that for the printing industry, the choice of displays is very flexible. The key is to select according to their own use, and fully consider the cost-effectiveness of the monitor. It is a wise move. He said: "If you need a proofing level LCD display, you can buy high-end products, such as Apple's Onema series monitors, EIZO's ColorEdge series displays, etc. If it is used for general content producers to observe image processing effects, select Sony , MITSUBISHI, EIZO's CRT display products can also be."

(to be continued)