Windows Monitor Question [Was: "A semi-InDesign question"]

[casinclaire]

This isn't exactly an InDesign question but it stems from a situation that arises when I use InDesign. I'll be happy to move the question, or re-ask it in a different section of the forum, if anyone knows where that ought to be. I didn't see a "hardware" forum listed.

I have a two-monitor set-up and have had none of the two-monitor problems I've read about elsewhere. Both are Dell and work in tandem together well. I'm not married to having only Dell monitors. It is just luck of the draw.  I had a 27" and when I got the 29", I combined them for a dual desktop (one portrait, one landscape), and it works well.  But there is a diff in visibility between the two. On the older monitor, when I use InDesign, the guides, bounding boxes, cursors, etc., are much more distinct -- thicker, darker, brighter in color. On the newer monitor, they are so thin and pale that I constantly have to zoom in to see what I'm doing.

I realize there are factors that can affect this sort of thing -- resolution, brightness, etc. -- but I have tried everything I can think of -- I've adjusted and readjusted the settings on the monitor itself, tried different settings in the Nvidia interface, looked at options inside InDesign (and I find very few ... no way to up the point size of a guide, for instance, at least not that I've found), and nothing makes any difference.

I'm not really asking for help to fix any of these things (unless someone has more ideas), but really am wondering about a different monitor. Does anyone have any favorites they really like that give very good distinction with these fine-line items? I can't just switch to work on my older monitor -- possibly I'm spoiled by the larger size (those couple inches make a diff), but also my desk is such a tangle of wires, I'd actually rather replace the landscape monitor than go through the hassle of resituating my desk arrangement by switching around the ones I have.  (Paint me lazy!).

I am on a Windows platform and have NO clue if a monitor from the Apple store would work with a Windows system. I am just clueless re Mac-related items and have never explored this idea. But I'm open to any and all suggestions, raves, recommendations, etc., for monitors preferred by people who use InDesign, on which they have good visibility for guides, bounding boxes, etc. The ones I see on my own screen are hair thin! Very hard to work with. I appreciate any recommendations or suggestions, and thanks very much.

[Cari Jansen]

Does this problem appear also when both monitors are set-up in landscape, or both in portrait? (e.g. I'm wondering if it might be related to the angle of the pixels??).

Have you tried calibrating the monitors?

1. Windows has a built in Colour calibration for monitors.
2. Right-click the desktop and choose Display Settings
3. Select the monitor to calibrate
4. Click Advanced display settings (bottom of the screen)
5. Select Color calibration and follow the remainder of the prompts.

To test that calibration is OK.

1. Create a new InDesign document, choosing Mobile for Document Intent (this ensures the default colour settings are RGB)
2. Add a graphic frame to the full size of the page.
3. Create a new colour swatch: R= 128, B=128, B=128
4. Fill the graphic frame with that colour.
5. Choose View > Proof Colours
6. Choose View > Overprint Preview
7. Add a ruler guide to the page as well.
8. See if you can move the InDesign document window so it partially displays across both screens, and compare between the two.

Also if you want to adjust colours, brightness, contrast manually on your monitors, check that you can adjust R, G, B individually

a) Start by adjusting RGB until the grey box does NOT have a colour cast in it at all and appears as a neutral colour.

b) The intensity of the grey is the same on both monitors

if this is of no help, pls provide specifications of the monitors, and all set-ups you've used in Advanced Display Settings...  Maybe someone has come across the same issue with the same monitor.

[casinclaire]

Hi, Cari.

I have tried most of these things, and they didn't make a diff.  But I'll give it another whirl just as soon as I'm off my current deadline and will report back.  As for the landscape/portrait thing ... it is the landscape (normal) position monitor that has the problem, so I would assume the angle of the pixels is correct. I do not recall having had that problem with the old monitor in either orientation, so while it's an interesting thought, I don't think it pertains in this case.

I won't bother to supply all the specs and settings until I run through them again, just to be sure and to remind myself what I've done in past. It has been a while since I tried (I gave up!) but the problem continues to annoy.  I feel, overall, it is probably the monitor (though would to discover that it isn't), and so am still hoping for monitor recommendations along with any solution suggestions.

Thanks for your reply. I'll be back later on.

[Creamer Training]

Check to see if both monitors are set to their default resolution--on Windows, it usually says "recommended" next to the resolution setting.

It's not about just the physical size of a monitor, but how much resolution it has too.

I have a Windows setup with three different type monitors, which included a 4K monitor in the middle.

They all have different capabilities, even the same brand. It could be that the "bad" monitor simply is not of the same quality.

Anyway, I really like my 4K Dell. Good price and quality. I believe it is capable of showing 96% of Adobe RGB for Photoshop retouching. There are certainly better ones out there, but it was a good price (now about $450). Apple monitors will work fine as long as the connections are supported on your video card. (You can use an adapter if necessary.)

[casinclaire]

Hi.  Thanks for the reply.   While I'm not crazy about Dell computers, I have generally been satisfied with their monitors.  At least, I did buy this second Dell monitor (larger size) because I liked the first one so well. (The first one is probably a decade or more old and still going strong.) But neither is a 4K. I appreciate your recommendation and knowing that Dell does still have good monitors to choose from.  The price of the 4K sounds reasonable, too.

I have both monitors set at their default resolutions, yes.  And I have a good quality video card.  I've just never been able to get those fine lines (guides, etc.) in InDesign to show up well.  I've had similar problems in Word, trying to see the ticks on the ruler guides. But it is in InD that I have the most headaches.

I've begun to wonder if I am using an inappropriate video card for graphic design. I have had Nvidia cards most of the time, as that is the main brand my computer-builder store provides. But in recent times, I've begun to realize that Nvida cards are geared toward gamers. So maybe this is an aspect I should also be looking at.  So, if you or anyone else has suggestions about video cards as well as monitors, that would be great info to have, too.

Meanwhile, I'll ck out that Dell monitor you've mentioned.  It would be great to have a 4K on the desk!

[Creamer Training]

I suspect problem with your monitor--could just be a bad one.

Generally, most video cards should work for InDesign. I have a "gaming" card--Nvidia 1070 and it works fine. The gaming aspect is more about the ability to render 3D-type graphics, so in a sense, they are overkill for InDesign but it shouldn't hamper ID either. I would be more concerned that the video/GPU card is supported by Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro, and such.

I'm thinking of getting another 4K/uHD--just have to figure out how to fit it on my desk! I still keep an 1920x1080 HD for on-line training. Some of the programs get a little mixed up when moving a program between the uHD and the HD monitors, but I suspect Windows might be the issue there.

[casinclaire]

I know what you mean about programs getting "mixed up" when moving between monitors.  It is a guessing game which windows/applications/documents are going to resize when dragged over to the other monitor and which are going to stay the same and have to be manually resized. (Or if that isn't what you meant, at least that is something that happens with me.)  The Windows file explorer windows always resize well.  PDFs I have to manually resize.  There are a few others that are problematic as well.  Therefore, I can definitely see the advantages of having two monitors of the same resolution vs. diff, as I have now and as it sounds like you do.  But are you really going to try to go up to four monitors or just sub one of them out?

Re video card, I currently have NVidia 960 in my desktop.  (I have a 1070 in my MSI laptop, to support my Occulus Rift, plus graphic design work when I'm traveling -- 17" screen).  The speed is nice, but 960 is sufficient.  However, when you say you'd be more concerned that the card supports PShop, Illustrator, etc., -- if it supports gaming and 3D, wouldn't that be a given? Or have I missed some key box I should have made sure was checked off re the Adobe Suite programs? 

I considered just replacing everything I have with the Microsoft Studio Surface and being done with it.  But I think the HD capacity might be limited, and there may have been other issues I hesitated over that I can't remember now.  So far, it sounds like if I really want to solve my situation, I should be thinking about that 4K monitor....!

[BobLevine]

What version of Windows are we talking about here? The latest Fall Creators Update of Windows 10 addressed some issues moving between monitors of different resolutions.

[BobLevine]

Oh, and the only real way to assure that both monitors appear the same is to use two identical monitors.

[casinclaire]

I'm in Windows 10, and yes, that makes sense to have two identical monitors if I want them to act identially.

Both mine are Dell, but different monitors.

But in my situation, it isn't so much that I want the landscape Del to give me the same clarity as the portrait Dell (i.e., guidelines and text frames that aren't so hairline thin and faint that I can barely see them -- the portrait Dell does a better job rendering these than the landscape Dell) -- it isn't that I want them to be the same.  I just want the landscape Dell to do what it SHOULD do and make these items visible at all.  I don't do any of my layout over on the portrait Dell; I use it for convenience and for stashing stuff -- screenshots, helpful instructions I need to refer to, sometimes an abundance of palettes -- but not for work.  The only reason I know it does a better job of rendering guidelines, etc., is because I have dragged InDesign docs over there just to see the diff.  But that is not where I want to work on them, and I don't care that much if the monitors both do the same job or are identical. I just want my MAIN monitor to do its own job correctly! <sigh>  Hence my questions re preferred monitors, any adjustments I may have missed (though I can't imagine a single one), and any monitor or video card recommendations to improve the situation.

[BobLevine]

Have you tried them both in portrait and both in landscape?

[casinclaire]

Someone else asked that, too.  But it doesn't seem relevant in this case.  I used the one that is now portrait as a landscape monitor for years; it looks the same in both orientations.  Have not tried the larger monitor as portrait but do not want to use it that way, so don't see the point in disrupting my desk so as to flip it around. If it can't do what I need it to do as it is, I need a different solution than that.