Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

dmr727

macrumors G4
Original poster
Dec 29, 2007
10,435
5,195
NYC
I apologize in advance for what's probably a really dumb question, but I'm not creative in the least (let alone a professional!) and had a random thought after shopping for a 4K external display. Since my needs were modest I could buy something that'd check all the boxes for about $500. But during my shopping I noticed that prices climbed exponentially as you got into the professional realm, and that seemed to mean that you're paying for a display that's going to give you the best possible color gamut and accuracy.

Which got me thinking - I can see why a creative professional that's targeting printed materials would want as much accuracy as possible - you'd want someone to see the physical output as closely as you imagined it. But for digital creation, be it a website, game, or whatever else, how important is the accuracy really? Not implying that the medium isn't deserving of it, but when you don't have any control over the display that the viewer uses, it seems to me that there's less of a need to go out and spend thousands of additional dollars (I don't know what the actual dollar amounts are, I just remember thinking damn, that's a LOT of money!) to ensure that your display can eke out that extra smidge of accuracy. The best thing my dumb brain could come up with is to compare the situation to a musician making a recording - they'll likely record at the best quality they can afford, even if they know that the vast majority of folks will be listening on equipment that won't do it any justice.

Anyway, just random musings and I thought I'd ask the actual pros here!
 

tobefirst ⚽️

macrumors 601
Jan 24, 2005
4,612
2,335
St. Louis, MO
I do a bunch of digital work now for the company I'm with, so I'm not buying my own equipment. And we don't have the highest end stuff, either. But the best reason I can come up with would be because it matters what things look like to the designer of those things. Regardless if anyone else is going to be able to see or appreciate the work I'm creating, I take great satisfaction in knowing that things look "right," whatever that means for me. I take pride in the way my files are laid out and created, even though that will literally matter to no one else.
 

dmr727

macrumors G4
Original poster
Dec 29, 2007
10,435
5,195
NYC
But the best reason I can come up with would be because it matters what things look like to the designer of those things. Regardless if anyone else is going to be able to see or appreciate the work I'm creating, I take great satisfaction in knowing that things look "right," whatever that means for me. I take pride in the way my files are laid out and created, even though that will literally matter to no one else.

Makes a lot of sense - thanks!
 

superscape

macrumors 6502a
Feb 12, 2008
937
223
East Riding of Yorkshire, UK
I guess the quick answer is that it depends on how critical the colour is for the work, and I think you're right that it matters more for print in general.

There are exceptions though. e.g. My first job was as a graphic designer for a newspaper. It was all black and white so no-one gave a damn about colour accuracy!

On the flip side, colour accuracy might be important for digital if you're trying to match some official corporate colours for a client (whether its digital or print), or your graphics' colours need to be consistent with those of other designers on the team or even from other companies.

So, yeah, I return to my earlier point. Think about how important colour accuracy is to the work you're doing and spend on kit that's up to the job.
 
  • Like
Reactions: dmr727
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.