# Is it advisable to mix glossy and matte displays?



## Ruahrc (Mar 6, 2009)

So I have been looking at computer upgrades (or new computers, rather) lately because my 4.5 year old Powerbook G4 really is getting to the point where it's not cutting it for my photo work anymore.

One option I considered was to replace it with a new Macbook Pro 15" loaded up, and match it with the Apple Cinema display 24". This would be a pretty nice combo but expensive!

I also looked at getting an iMac. For the price of the above option, I could buy a fully loaded iMac 24", AND an entry level 13" Macbook for portable use, and get 2 computers at the end of the deal. Realistically I'd forego the 13" Macbook and just use my current laptop and save a lot of money. I'd still be getting a 24" IPS display and a more powerful computer than the 15" MBP.

I like the idea of dual monitors, and was also thinking of picking up at the same time a Dell 22'9WA monitor to go along with the new iMac. I'd run it in portrait mode and set it next to the iMac and that'd be pretty sweet. My concern comes from the fact that with this setup, the 24" iMac screen would be glossy, and the 22" Dell LCD will be matte. With them being side-by-side, will that be problematic when doing photo editing?

I know that a lot of photo editors are not a fan of the glossy screens on the iMac/Apple displays. I have an iMac 2'" that I use at my workplace and thus have had some experience using the glossy displays and to be honest I don't find it problematic. (What I really mind is the viewing angle problems with the 2'" TN panel ) Anyways, I thought about it and realized that where I intend to put the new 24" iMac at my house, there shouldn't be any backlight glare problems from the glossy display either. But will it be wierd or problematic to run a glossy and a matte display at the same time?

Another option is to go for the 24" iMac and 24" Apple LED display. Drool . Cost aside, I don't know if I'd even have the desk space for that, and also I am really into the fact that the Dell 22'9 can be rotated and give me a portrait mode screen. Not only does it reduce the desktop footprint (making it possibly small enough that I'd have enough room for it) This makes it incredibly useful for browsing webpages, reading documents (both of which I do a lot too) or, for photography-specific uses, editing photos that have been taken in portrait format. For a time at work I had a 2nd display that I had to connect to my laptop and was able to run it in portrait mode and I loved it.

The Apple LED display cannot be rotated unless you also buy a VESA mount and rotate it that way, and I don't think I have the desk space for that either.

So what do you think, is it advisable or okay to have a glossy screen and a matte screen running side-by-side? Or is it better to try to match display properties, and go with either 2 glossies or 2 mattes?  Or I guess I should reword that.  Obviously it is better to keep screen styles consistent, but does anyone here run glossy and matte together, and is it a big problem?

Norman


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