Any advice or consideration to have when looking to buy an external monitor?
I'm looking for something suitable for graphic design/illustration work. And I would rather avoid Apple (even though it's presented as the best choice out there).
If second hand, what should I pay attention to?
Advice may vary a lot depending on your budget.
If buying second hand in person it's very worthwhile to display a 100% white image full screen and look for variation in the colour and brightness.
Lots of screens age poorly. Maybe the backlights age unevenly? I'm not sure.
My Dell UP3216Q is/was a good screen with good colour resolution and gamut, but it is no longer consistent in colour and contrast across its width. (It's over 10 years old though)
It's annoying and sad as you shouldn't have to replace a quality screen every 5 years.
I generally look for wide gamut and high viewing angles (eg IPS screens) but a new consumer level IPS screen can be more consistent and practical to use than an aged semi-pro screen.
@xenogon thanks so much for your input, definitely a good advice to display a white screen and look at how the monitor behaves. Will certainly do so if going for a second hand device.
My concern was also about what you mentioned regarding a new middle-range screen outperforming a 5yo-ish pro screen.
Not sure what to give priority to - but the environmental part plays a role too, so will see what the second hand market has to offer first 🙃
another good test is to open a colour critical image, and slide the window around the screen to see if there are shapes or shadows that don't move with the image.
I just tried this again, and mine is visibly imperfect, but it is not as bad as I remember from last time I did a colour critical job for printing which was over a year ago. I must have been in hypersensitive and critical mode.
I think errors in the printing process are likely to make more difference actually.
Simona
xenogon