Lively discussions on the graphic arts and publishing — in print or on the web

cycle.wrench · 06-19-2006, 09:04 PM

I am looking for a good lcd for photo-editing desktop publishing.

The model my customer has tried to use is a Gateway FPD1765. This is a base model from gateway and the problem they are having with it is it stretches the screen vertically. If you draw a sqare 8"x8" on the screen it appears as a rectangle and worse prints as a rectangle.

I have tried changing the resolution, upgrading drivers and everything else but nothing fixes the problem. This monitor does not allow you too much in the OSD to rectify problems. If I put the old crt back in place with the same computer the problem disappears.

I am not a desktop publisher but in trying to help my customer with a purchase am looking for a model that won't have this problem.

I've read a lot of reviews that focus on brightness, contrast and refresh rates but none focus on this issue.

Can anyone help? Thanks. I'll try to provide all information you request.

ktinkel · 06-20-2006, 05:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cycle.wrench

. . . the problem they are having with it is it stretches the screen vertically. If you draw a sqare 8"x8" on the screen it appears as a rectangle and worse prints as a rectangle.

I just drew a 6X6-inch square in Adobe Illustrator. I measured it with a separate tool on the screen and it was square. Then I printed it to an inkjet printer, and it is still 6 inches square.

So I think I can say that my LCD monitor is accurate. It is an Apple 23-inch “Cinema” monitor. It will work on Windows systems as well, but some of the features would not be available, so that would be a waste of money.

However, there is a very similar Sony; and I would bet that too would print accurately. If every LCD user here would take a minute to do the square test, we could probably develop a decent list for you! (I hope your customer’s problem is unusual — non-squareness that communicates itself to the printer is a disaster.)

Good luck with this.

::

donmcc · 06-20-2006, 06:04 AM

LCDs have less options for changing to different resolutions that CRTs. I can't recommend a model ... I avoid LCDs whenever possible. But if you are searching out new units you may want to take a Tiff or GIF file that has a circle or rectangle drawn on it, so you can see if they come out round or square.

I am more concerned about the fact that the output is not square. The monitor should have no bearing on this. Do you mean that when there is a CRT attached, you get a square result, and with an LCD you get rectangular? Very odd indeed.

ElyseC · 06-20-2006, 08:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by donmcc

I am more concerned about the fact that the output is not square. The monitor should have no bearing on this. Do you mean that when there is a CRT attached, you get a square result, and with an LCD you get rectangular? Very odd indeed.

Sounds like some incompatibility with the card driving the monitor or perhaps the installed the driver software for the video card or monitor, doesn't it? Seems to me that the card and/or its software likes one monitor, but not the other.

donmcc · 06-20-2006, 09:42 AM

I still can't see how the monitor can effect the output. Use AI as an example. If you draw a 1 inch by 1 inch box on the screen, the output is from the file. The monitor can screw up its presentation of the file, but the printer should be getting information that has never been to the screen. A postscript printer will render the same 1 inch by 1 inch box. Non-postscript devices will translate that code to their output system.

A printer may be poorly made, and render the 1 inch box incorrectly, but not correctly when hooked up to a CRT and incorrectly when from a LCD>

gary · 06-20-2006, 09:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cycle.wrench

it stretches the screen vertically

Did they install the monitor definition files from the CD that should have come with the monitor? Those files tell the system the factory pixel spacing in both directions.

The fact that print is also askew leaves me wondering if there is something else misconfigured.

Windows printer drivers used to use the display driver to rasterize print data; perhaps there is an issue with the adapter driver.

terrie · 06-20-2006, 10:05 AM

Quote:

cycle.wrench: I am not a desktop publisher but in trying to help my customer with a purchase am looking for a model that won't have this problem.

I can't imagine anything with a Gateway label as being halfway decent--they just make lousy components...

Take a look at the Dell LCD's specifically the Dell 2405FPW or the NEC 90GX2 as both have been well rated on a number of different lists I'm on...

Additionally, one thing you need to consider is how you will hook the LCD to the pc...all the reading I've done says that using the DVI connector is better than trying to communicate via the VGA connector so this might mean that a new video card is in order (check out: XFX GeForce 7900 GTX model PV-T71F-YDD9 or the eVGA87900 GT)

Terrie

Steve Rindsberg · 06-20-2006, 01:23 PM

Second the DVI interface. I've got a dual system, two Samsung LCDs, both from the same video card, one via DVI, the other via VGA. The DVI's hands down better. I'm always tweaking the VGA side and it's still never quite as good as it could be.

Steve Rindsberg · 06-20-2006, 01:19 PM

I dont understand the connection between what's displayed on the monitor and what's printed. There should be none unless the user's measuring their 8" square with a ruler placed on the monitor. Seems an odd way to work ... ;-)

IAC, doesn't the monitor have vertical and horizontal adjustments you can use to correct this?

cycle.wrench · 06-20-2006, 06:16 PM

Thanks for all your input. I wish I could explain this better but I am not a graphics or video specialist. I've just been tasked with this by an office I do networking for and I'm trying to assist as best I can. I don't have anyone I can recommend to them to provide better help with this.

I agree that it's strange the print output should reflect the stretched images and I have no answer for you on that. I'll look into this further on my next trip to their office.

The Gateway monitor has no ability what-so-ever to change screen sizes, horizontal or vertical adjustments or much of anything else. You have to choose a built-in recommended display type. I tried installing the monitor.inf for the LCD but it didn't change anything.

The graphics card is a Radeon 600, I installed the latest drivers but it hasn't corrected any problems. It seems the monitor is the problem as this doesn't occur when a CRT is connected. I can bring up an image on the CRT at 1024x768 and it looks fine then swap the cable to the LCD while displaying the image and it looks stretched. 1024x768 is the recomended size for this low-end monitor.

I was thinking about using the DVI input as well but when they ordered the computers they didn't get those cables. I need to bring one with me on my next trip.

06-19-2006, 09:04 PM	#1
cycle.wrench Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 3	LCD Monitor Help I am looking for a good lcd for photo-editing desktop publishing. The model my customer has tried to use is a Gateway FPD1765. This is a base model from gateway and the problem they are having with it is it stretches the screen vertically. If you draw a sqare 8"x8" on the screen it appears as a rectangle and worse prints as a rectangle. I have tried changing the resolution, upgrading drivers and everything else but nothing fixes the problem. This monitor does not allow you too much in the OSD to rectify problems. If I put the old crt back in place with the same computer the problem disappears. I am not a desktop publisher but in trying to help my customer with a purchase am looking for a model that won't have this problem. I've read a lot of reviews that focus on brightness, contrast and refresh rates but none focus on this issue. Can anyone help? Thanks. I'll try to provide all information you request.

06-20-2006, 01:23 PM	#8
Steve Rindsberg Staff Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 7,277	Second the DVI interface. I've got a dual system, two Samsung LCDs, both from the same video card, one via DVI, the other via VGA. The DVI's hands down better. I'm always tweaking the VGA side and it's still never quite as good as it could be. __________________ Steve Rindsberg ==================== www.pptfaq.com www.pptools.com and stuff

06-20-2006, 01:19 PM	#9
Steve Rindsberg Staff Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 7,277	I dont understand the connection between what's displayed on the monitor and what's printed. There should be none unless the user's measuring their 8" square with a ruler placed on the monitor. Seems an odd way to work ... ;-) IAC, doesn't the monitor have vertical and horizontal adjustments you can use to correct this? __________________ Steve Rindsberg ==================== www.pptfaq.com www.pptools.com and stuff

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06-20-2006, 06:04 AM	#3
donmcc Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Sarnia, Canada Posts: 1,122	LCDs have less options for changing to different resolutions that CRTs. I can't recommend a model ... I avoid LCDs whenever possible. But if you are searching out new units you may want to take a Tiff or GIF file that has a circle or rectangle drawn on it, so you can see if they come out round or square. I am more concerned about the fact that the output is not square. The monitor should have no bearing on this. Do you mean that when there is a CRT attached, you get a square result, and with an LCD you get rectangular? Very odd indeed.

06-20-2006, 09:42 AM	#5
donmcc Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Sarnia, Canada Posts: 1,122	I still can't see how the monitor can effect the output. Use AI as an example. If you draw a 1 inch by 1 inch box on the screen, the output is from the file. The monitor can screw up its presentation of the file, but the printer should be getting information that has never been to the screen. A postscript printer will render the same 1 inch by 1 inch box. Non-postscript devices will translate that code to their output system. A printer may be poorly made, and render the 1 inch box incorrectly, but not correctly when hooked up to a CRT and incorrectly when from a LCD>

06-20-2006, 06:16 PM	#10
cycle.wrench Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 3	Thanks for all your input. I wish I could explain this better but I am not a graphics or video specialist. I've just been tasked with this by an office I do networking for and I'm trying to assist as best I can. I don't have anyone I can recommend to them to provide better help with this. I agree that it's strange the print output should reflect the stretched images and I have no answer for you on that. I'll look into this further on my next trip to their office. The Gateway monitor has no ability what-so-ever to change screen sizes, horizontal or vertical adjustments or much of anything else. You have to choose a built-in recommended display type. I tried installing the monitor.inf for the LCD but it didn't change anything. The graphics card is a Radeon 600, I installed the latest drivers but it hasn't corrected any problems. It seems the monitor is the problem as this doesn't occur when a CRT is connected. I can bring up an image on the CRT at 1024x768 and it looks fine then swap the cable to the LCD while displaying the image and it looks stretched. 1024x768 is the recomended size for this low-end monitor. I was thinking about using the DVI input as well but when they ordered the computers they didn't get those cables. I need to bring one with me on my next trip.