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Monitor: matte vs glossy

Monitor: matte vs glossy

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I've just upgraded to two 32" glossy monitors (from matte 24" ones) and I'm really liking them.

There's about an hour around 10.00am when I get some window reflection, otherwise all good for me.
 
Burnt to a Crisp said:
Which kind do you prefer and why?
Click to expand...
I prefer Matte. Glossy monitors and screens are too susceptible to annoying reflections in the environments where I normally use them. Also, after hours of use a matte monitor is more restful on the eyes. A glossy monitor makes a good first impression, but that's about it.
 
I have a nice matte one, BUT most people viewing images will be on a phone
and those are all more or less glossy.
Gloss still does things for images; so;
make 'em on matte and view 'em on gloss ???
 
Gloss surfaces simply reflect too much in the areas where I work. The relatively fixed position of a desktop monitor makes adjustments hard. My brain is constantly editing out the reflects while I work. If you are talking about a touch screen portable, then I find the fingerprints on the glossy as bad as the reflections. While I do see the argument for a glossy monitor, for me, their negatives outweigh any positives they might have. If I was working in a darkened room most of the time, my opinion might be different.
 
mamallama said:
Burnt to a Crisp said:
Which kind do you prefer and why?
Click to expand...
I prefer Matte. Glossy monitors and screens are too susceptible to annoying reflections in the environments where I normally use them. Also, after hours of use a matte monitor is more restful on the eyes. A glossy monitor makes a good first impression, but that's about it.
Click to expand...
One has to wonder whether the days of the matte monitor are numbered.

If you look at cellphones, tablets, and increasingly, laptops, they've all got glossy screens.
 
alpineguy said:
Gloss surfaces simply reflect too much in the areas where I work. The relatively fixed position of a desktop monitor makes adjustments hard. My brain is constantly editing out the reflects while I work. If you are talking about a touch screen portable, then I find the fingerprints on the glossy as bad as the reflections. While I do see the argument for a glossy monitor, for me, their negatives outweigh any positives they might have. If I was working in a darkened room most of the time, my opinion might be different.
Click to expand...
I notice you've got an iPhone X. That has the best reflectance of any cellphone ever made.

How do you find its glossy screen? Would you prefer if it were matte?
 
Matte because that's closest to what printing media I use ( Ilford smooth pearl).
 
Burnt to a Crisp said:
mamallama said:
Burnt to a Crisp said:
Which kind do you prefer and why?
Click to expand...
I prefer Matte. Glossy monitors and screens are too susceptible to annoying reflections in the environments where I normally use them. Also, after hours of use a matte monitor is more restful on the eyes. A glossy monitor makes a good first impression, but that's about it.
Click to expand...
One has to wonder whether the days of the matte monitor are numbered.

If you look at cellphones, tablets, and increasingly, laptops, they've all got glossy screens.
Click to expand...
Monitors use for long continued work are different from cellphones and tablets. I love the glossy screen on my cellphone - great for photographs, but I do have trouble using it in bright sunlight. I recall often looking for a shady spot using my phone map on a sunny day.
 
For general day to day use on laptops, I prefer matt. For picture work, I prefer glossy.

My PC now has an IPS screen, which seems a good compromise between the two - sharp but non-reflective.
 
For working on, a matte screen is less fussy of positioning and I won't see my own face reflected in it.

But I'm aware of how glossy screens look more vibrant. If I could block out window light and watch movies all the time on a screen, it would be a glossy one.
 
smithim said:
For general day to day use on laptops, I prefer matt. For picture work, I prefer glossy.

My PC now has an IPS screen, which seems a good compromise between the two - sharp but non-reflective.
Click to expand...
An IPS screen for photography work is going to skew your output because the contrast level is low, maybe 1000:1. You and a lot of other people on IPS may not realise it, but to the rest of us on higher contrast screens it jars when you've pumped the contrast or "clarity" slider to make the image pop.
 
Last edited:
fishy wishy said:
smithim said:
For general day to day use on laptops, I prefer matt. For picture work, I prefer glossy.

My PC now has an IPS screen, which seems a good compromise between the two - sharp but non-reflective.
Click to expand...
An IPS screen for photography work is going to skew your output because the contrast level is low, maybe 1000:1. You and a lot of other people on IPS may not realise it, but to the rest of us on higher contrast screens it jars when you've pumped the contrast or "clarity" slider to make the image pop.
Click to expand...
Quite possibly - it's early days yet from a photo point of view. I may well change it for something more photo orientated later on - the IPS screen was a fairly quick purchase when I realised that my PC screen hadn't survived storage.
 
fishy wishy said:
If I could block out window light and watch movies all the time on a screen, it would be a glossy one.
Click to expand...
Tried it, but a glossy screen still reflects anything back - even white furniture, sofas, etc - so we're still limited to finding good TVs with matt or semi-matt screens.
 
One AIO computer I have has a real glossy monitor...hate seeing myself in the reflection in the the blacks while I'm trying to get work done.

I love the fact I could get a Macbook with a matte display, although it costed an arm and a leg for the higher quality display.
 
I have liked my iMacs since 2007, and didn't even consider whether there might be a choice between glossy and matte monitors. I like the pin sharp images from the glossy monitor, and if I see too many daylight reflections, I just close the blinds.
 
fishy wishy said:
smithim said:
For general day to day use on laptops, I prefer matt. For picture work, I prefer glossy.

My PC now has an IPS screen, which seems a good compromise between the two - sharp but non-reflective.
Click to expand...
An IPS screen for photography work is going to skew your output because the contrast level is low, maybe 1000:1. You and a lot of other people on IPS may not realise it, but to the rest of us on higher contrast screens it jars when you've pumped the contrast or "clarity" slider to make the image pop.
Click to expand...
Which higher contrast screen do you use?
 
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