[plug] flatscreen monitors [OT]

[Craig Ringer]

On Thu, 2005-03-10 at 08:07 +0800, Meryon Montgomery wrote:
> I have a friend that needs a flatscreen monitor that can display A3 
> pages all at once clearly for DTP requirements. Does anyone know of a 
> monitor that can do that? Can a standard monitor do the job or do you 
> need a widescreen one? Are there any preferences for manufacturer?

What they need will depend on what sort of pages they're working on. In
particular, if you mean "A3 pages" like you said, not an A3 page, you're
looking at a *big* monitor - especially if you want them side-by-side in
portrait at 1:1 size. That would be an A2 landscape monitor, ie approx
23.5x16.5in viewable area. I sincerely doubt you'll find that, and if
you do you're unlikely to find it with a resolution sufficient for DTP
applications.

I'd want to consider getting a big LCD and operating it in portrait mode
(if necessary) to work on one A3 page at a time. While that's only
16.5x11.5in, you'd need workspace for palettes etc. I expect a 21" or
23" LCD would do the job.

If you don't need 1:1 scale, then really it's up to your preferences in
terms of working scale, workspace and viewing area, etc.

As you may have guessed by now, especially for DTP there is no single,
simple "right answer". You'll need more information than you've given to
make a good decision, though, including:

	- Expected size of documents worked on?
	- Usually portrait, or usually landscape?
	- Need two facing pages side-by-side in portrait?
	- Need to work at 1:1 scale, ie "physical size on screen"?
	- Need for accurate colour reproduction (ie photo work)?
	- Level of detail needed (hence resolution required)?

At work, we actually get by with fairly ordinary 19" and 21" monitors
for most of the production staff, though the main production person has
a 23" Mitsubishi CRT of extremely droolworthy color quality and
resolution. I can't even imagine being able to afford DTP-quality large
LCDs...

--
Craig Ringer