Suggest specs for a monitor good for working with PSE 15 please

[ear41]

First I am an amateur and don't need perfection or an extremely expensive monitor. However I need to get a monitor and what specs should I look for that will work well with PSE for editing? I heard about ISP but I am not sure about that and anything else. Thanks,

[nee.rai27]

Hi ear,

Thanks for posting to Adobe forums. You can go to this link to know everything about the System requirements for PSE 15

[MichelBParis · Accepted solution]

The general rules to choose a monitor for comfortable and reliable retouching are true for Elements. That includes:

- comfortable size for viewing not too close (22" - 27")

- angle of view, color range, non glossy screen. Thats where you should forget common TN displays and rather look at IPS or PVA ones.

- Nearly all display are delivered with too much brightness for retouching work. The factory state calibration is rarely ok, so you'll have to use an hardware calibration device.

My specific advice for Elements and the Organizer is to use a standard resolution monitor: HD: 1920 x 1080 or 1920 x1200 pixels. Don't waste your money on HiDpi displays which don't give you any advantage for retouching and which create problems to scale the menu interface (the solutions are different from the organizer and the editor).

A good 22" - 24" PVA or IPS display and an affordable hardware calibration tool (I have Spyder Expres) with 1920 x 1200 resolution is my own choice.

[ear41]

Hi Michel B: Thanks so much for you very comprehensive answer would you please elaborate on what you meant by: the italicized  Don't waste your money on HiDpi displays which don't give you any advantage for retouching and which create problems to scale the menu interface (the solutions are different from the organizer and the editor).

I have been looking at a highly rated 27in 2560x1440. Do you think that resolution would also give me the problems that you speak of?

Thanks  Ed: I will be travelling so if I don't respond to your gracious response, I will get back to you.

[MichelBParis]

Don't waste your money on HiDpi displays which don't give you any advantage for retouching and which create problems to scale the menu interface (the solutions are different from the organizer and the editor).

I have been looking at a highly rated 27in 2560x1440. Do you think that resolution would also give me the problems that you speak of?

Precisely the interface display problem on Elements (or Photoshop) is described in many posts like the followings in the feedback forum.

Photoshop: Support scalable user interface UI for high resolution monitors | Photoshop Family Custom...

Elements: Support scalable user interface UI for high resolution monitors | Photoshop Family Custome...

The solution since version 13.1 of Elements has been to offer an option to display at 200% interface size (a single pixel of the image is displayed by 4 pixels on the screen). Good for real 4k resolution, but with 2560 x 1440 you get problems with the display of the menus and tool bars: they are too much enlarged at 200% and you can't display the full length and heights of the menus and tools palettes.

Chances are that you'll find the menu fonts too small and tiring for your eyesight at 100%.. or you'll have to have the display  nearer to you, which is not ergonomic at all.

For the organizer, the font size is determined by the Windows settings for fonts: 125% would be ideal (probably also for other non Adobe softwares). The 200% trick only works for the editor.

My firm belief is that the other (real) qualities of your chosen display type have nothing to do with the resolution. On normal image editing conditions, you can't see the difference. For image quality assessment, you zoom freely. For interface use, you have to get big enough fonts to be easily legible. You don't care if the fonts are more finely drawn if the difference can only be seen with a magnifying glass. Another reason not to pay for an 'improvement' you can't see is that a bigger resolution requires more hardware power; probably not significant in your case, but very real for 4k and 4k displays.