As a photographer or designer, you might know that the most important thing is to have the best monitors for designers that displays lots of colors with excellent sharpness, brightness, and fidelity. After all, editing a photograph or creating a visual project on a monitor with few colors or no calibration can end your job in the customer’s eyes.
The purpose of this buying guide is to recommend the best monitors for designers and photographers. But not just for these professionals; they are ideal if your work depends on high fidelity and color gamut.
Panel technologies are primarily responsible for color availability. For example, the best panels are recent IPS or VA.
TN panels have few colors and poor angles, making the colors look different, but they are cheaper. You can find out more in our article about how to choose a good monitor.
All of these screens here are LED-backlit, with viewing angles of 170 degrees or higher. That way, you can see vivid, crisp colors no matter how far or angled you sit in front of the screen when using it.
For professionals, ergonomics, visual comfort, and the size of the screen are important. Some monitors have eye protection technologies. Some of them also have height adjustment and rotation features for better viewing.
The minimum screen size is 24 inches.
It’s ok to have a smaller screen, but if you want more room, then get something bigger like 2k or 4k. The bigger you have the space, the more work you can do at one time with an image or design editing.
Table of Contents
The 09 Best Monitors for Designers Reviews
BenQ PD2700Q – 2K QHD 27″
Screen size | : 27” IPS |
Resolution | : 2560×1440 QHD 2K |
PPI | : 108.79 |
Refresh rate | : 60Hz 4ms |
Ports: | : DisplayPort 1.2, Mini DisplayPort 1.2, HDMI 1.4, USB Hub 2.0 |
Colors | : 1.07 billion colors (10 bits – 100% REC 709, 100% sRGB) |
Brightness | : 350 cd/m2 |
Contrast | : 1000:1 (D: 20M:1) |
Built-in speakers | : (2x 1W) |
VESA | : 100mm |
The BenQ PD2700Q is the best monitor for designers and photographers. It has factory-calibrated colors, and it is certified by Technicolor. This makes your job easier because you don’t have to calibrate the colors yourself.
This 27″ QuadHD monitor is accurate. It can show all of the colors that are in the sRGB and Rec. 709 range. This is because it has an IPS panel with perfect viewing angles. With this, you can adjust it to see it well no matter what angle they are at or where they are sitting in front of the screen.
You need to think about how your eyes will feel after a long time on the computer. There are special features that protect your eyes from blue light and screen flicker. These features will make you safer and more comfortable without disrupting your sleep cycle.
This monitor is great for people who design, architects, animators, and photographers. The picture modes are pre-configured. For example, Dark Room mode adjusts images for greater clarity and detail in darker post-processing environments.
Using CAD/CAM software like SOLIDWORKS, AutoCAD, and CATIA, the CAD/CAM mode will make it easier to see the lines and shapes.
Animations allow you to draw in different environments. Many other technologies will help you see your drawings better and make them look real.
In conclusion, the BenQ PD2700Q is the most cost-effective professional design monitor currently available. If you want to invest in a professional monitor that will satisfy all your needs, we recommend it.
BenQ BL2420PT – 2K QHD 24″
Screen size | : 23.8” IPS |
Resolution | : 2560×1440 QHD 2K |
PPI | : 123 |
Refresh rate | : 60Hz 5ms |
Ports: | : DisplayPort 1.2, DVI-DL, D-Sub, HDMI 1.4, USB Hub 2.0 |
Colors | : 16.7 million colors (8 bits – 100% REC 709, 100% sRGB) |
Brightness | : 300 cd/m2 |
Contrast | : 1000:1 (D: 20M:1) |
Built-in speakers | (2x 1W): (2x 1W) |
VESA | : 100mm |
The BENQ BL2420PT monitor is a better value for money for professional designers, photographers, architects, engineers, stylists, etc. If you don’t need a big screen, the 23.8-inch model might be worth it.
The BL2420PT has a screen size of 23.8 inches, and it uses an IPS panel with QuadHD 2K resolution. You will not find a more apparent monitor than this one. This is because it is factory-calibrated using BenQ AQColor technology, so you don’t have to worry about calibrating the monitor yourself!
This monitor has technology that makes it easier to see. This monitor has a blue light filter that filters out the harmful blue light and a flicker-free screen, so you don’t get tired from looking at the screen.
The viewing angles on the model are significant. This means that it is easy to see your screen. It has a deep 8-bit panel and 100% sRGB rendering and Rec. 709. These are the main differences between this model and what we mentioned before it!
Still, you will get excellent image quality with pre-configured modes like Dark Room, CAD/CAM, and Animator mode. These work to help you get more detail, color fidelity, and sharpness in photos, videos, projects, and designs.
I like BenQ because it is a professional company. This model of theirs has similar features but costs less money. It can also be adjusted in height, swivel, and tilt.
Dell UltraSharp UP3216Q
Screen size | : 31.5” IPS |
Resolution | : 3840×2160 UHD 4K |
Hardware Interface | : HDMI |
Refresh rate | : 60Hz |
Ports: | : DisplayPort, Mini DisplayPort, HDMI, USB Hub |
Colors | : 1.07 billion colors (10 bits – 100% REC 709, 99.5% aRGB, 87% |
Brightness | : 300 cd/m2 (typical) |
Contrast | : 1000 to 1 (typical), 2 Million to 1 (dynamic) |
VESA | : 100mm |
The Dell UltraSharp UP3216Q is the best-selling monitor in the country. Not just for designers and photographers, but also for video editors, animators, among other professionals. It is important to think about who will be using your monitor before buying it and for what purpose you will use it.
The Dell UltraSharp UP3216Q has many features that make it good for professionals, so only people investing in their studio or office should buy this type of monitor.
This monitor has a 4K resolution and high fidelity of factory-calibrated colors. It is one of the only monitors that support much of the DCI-P3 color spectrum, which is also used in digital film projection.
As designers and photographers, we need to show RGB color fidelity. With 100% sRGB and 99.5% Adobe RGB (aRGB), you can edit with confidence that what you see is the real color of the image.
Its 4K UltraHD resolution gives you more space to work. This makes it easier for you to see everything and be more productive because it does not zoom out.
LG 32UK550-B – 4K UHD 32″
Screen size | : 32 Inches |
Resolution | : 3840×2160 UHD 4K |
PPI | : 139.87 |
Refresh rate | : 60Hz 4ms |
Ports: | : DisplayPort, 2x HDMI, USB Hub |
Colors | : 1.07 billion HDR10 colors (10 bit – 95% DCI-P3, 99.9% sRGB) |
Brightness | : 300 cd/m2 |
Contrast | : 3000:1 |
VESA | : 100mm |
Speakers | : (2x 5W) |
The LG 32UK550-B is a good option if you want a 4K monitor but don’t want to spend too much money. It is advertised as a gamer monitor (with AMD FreeSync) that is cost-effective for designers and photographers.
The new 4K monitor is even better for watching videos and looking at pictures. It has UltraHD 4K resolution, 10bit deep VA panel, and HDR10 compatibility.
With over 1.07 billion colors, good contrast, and a big range of colors, the monitor will have accurate colors. The HDR10 feature is another difference from other models. It increases color accuracy and sharpness.
It is factory calibrated with Color Calibrated technology. However, you may need to calibrate the monitor to your liking. This monitor does not have professional monitor calibration technologies.
It is easy to configure through the OnScreen Control, which has a variety of configurations and modes. It is also PIP compatible, so you can display images from different devices at the same time.
Ergonomically, it only offers height adjustment. It is VESA 100X100 compatible. The best viewing angles are with the monitor stand or on the wall/panel.
This monitor has many features, including reading mode, contrast stabilization, Flicker Safe, blue light reduction, built-in speakers (2x5W), AMD FreeSync for gamers, and much more.
This LG monitor is perfect for people who want a 32″ 4K monitor to work with video and image editing, and it is versatile. If you want it, then don’t regret buying it. There are no better monitors in this price range.
Samsung U28E590D
Screen size | : 28″ TN |
Resolution | : 3840×2160 UHD 4K |
In box | : Monitor, Power Cable, HDMI/DP Cable, Quick Setup Guide |
Refresh rate | : 60Hz |
Ports: | : DisplayPort, DVI, HDMI, USB 3.0 |
Colors | : 1.07 billion colors (10 bits – 97% REC 709, 97.5% aRGB, 78% DCI-P3, 98% sRGB) |
Brightness | : 300 cd/m2 |
Contrast | : 3000:1 |
VESA | : 75mm |
Samsung is a leader in the manufacture of panels, and they could not be left off this list. The monitor that we picked for this list is the U28E590D. It is not as powerful as Dell, but it has more benefits.
This monitor uses the new generation of TN panels. It is cheaper to have a large screen with UltraHD (4K) resolution. The viewing angles are 170º and 160º, similar to better panels (VA/IPS – 178º and 178º).
Samsung’s U28E590D has great quality. It is very sharp and clear. The 10-bit panel offers 1.07 billion colors in total, the same amount of colors on high-end models.
The monitor has a screen for looking at things. It is 28″ big. The resolution is 4K. This means it can show pictures of 8.3 billion colors and a 1000:1 contrast ratio, so you can see all the details on it! The viewing angles are not good, though – this means that you need to look at the monitor from the right side, or else you will not be able to see what’s on it well.
There is also no way to change its height or turn it around, but there are other monitors that might have these features if those are important to you in your purchase decision-making process.
Dell Ultrasharp U2718Q
Screen size | : 27” IPS |
Resolution | : 3840×2160 UHD 4K |
Refresh rate | : 60Hz |
Ports: | : DisplayPort, Mini DisplayPort, HDMI, USB Hub |
Colors | : 1.07 billion colors (10 bits – 99% REC 709, 99.5% aRGB, 80.7% DCI-P3, 99.9% sRGB) |
Brightness | : 350 cd/m² |
Contrast | : 3000:1 |
VESA | : 100mm |
The Dell UltraSharp U2718Q monitor is the best value for image quality, design, comfort, and ergonomics. It has the same features as Dell UP3216Q, like UltraHD 4K screen, 1.07 billion colors, high brightness rate 350 cd/m², and IPS panel.
There are many monitors to be used with your Macbook Pro, iMac, or Air computer. One of these is the miniDP monitor. It is great for people with Macbooks Pro, iMacs, or Airs. There are also HDMI, DisplayPort, and USB 3.0 ports which you can use easily on the screen in different places.
These monitors have colors that are rich and sharp. They also have good contrast and brightness. It is easy to work on them when there is a lot of light around. You can work on them in any environment because they have an anti-reflective coating, 3H anti-glare, and excellent 178/178° viewing angles.
The monitor is great for photographers, architects, and designers. It can be rotated easily, and it has the right colors (Delta E). The monitor can be changed to any color or be customized with software. We recommend the Dell U2718Q monitor because it is versatile. It can meet photographers’ and designers’ needs and people who need to read or browse on a computer.
Dell P2418D 24” – Professional 2K QHD
Screen size | : 23.8” IPS |
Resolution | : 2560 × 1440 QHD 2K |
Refresh rate | : 60Hz 8ms |
PPI | : 123 |
Ports: | : DisplayPort 1.2, HDMI 1.4, USB Hub 3.0 |
Colors | : 16.7 million colors (8 bits – 99% REC 709, 99.5% sRGB) |
Brightness | : 300 cd/m2 |
Contrast | : 1000:1 (D: 20M:1) |
VESA | : 100mm |
The Dell P2418D is a professional monitor with a QuadHD 2K 2560×1440 resolution. This resolution offers a lot of definition and sharpness, without the letters and icons getting small like on 4K monitors.
The P2418D is good for video and pictures. It has true colors out of the box (but there is room for improvement). It supports a typical sRGB color gamut, with 178/178 viewing angles and 123 PPI pixel density.
The picture on this monitor is good. It has a contrast ratio of 1000:1, and it is very bright with 300cd/m².
This makes you have better color depth, but we noticed a bit of IPS Glow (characteristic of IPS technology) when in dark areas.
This desk is good for your body. It can be adjusted higher, and it can swivel around. It has holes to put a stand-in too that is made for 100×100 inch screens.
There are some technologies like Flicker-Free and blue light reduction. These technologies make you feel better when your eyes are feeling tired. That means that you can keep working for a long time without straining your eyes. The minimal edges on the screen also help to reduce distractions, which is good for productivity.
Compatible with Dell Display Manager, you can adjust the settings for your computer’s monitor. You can split the screen into two parts and calibrate the colors.
Unfortunately, your color calibration is not done with an X-Rite colorimeter like Dell’s more expensive monitors. The Dell P2418D monitor should be your choice if you look for a professional monitor to edit and work with photos, images, and video. It has 2 USB 3.0 ports for convenience.
LG 29WK500 29” – Ultrawide Best Value for Professional 2K QHD
Screen size | : 29” IPS |
Resolution | : 2560×1080 Ultrawide Full HD |
Refresh rate | : 75Hz 5ms |
PPI | : 95.81 |
Ports: | : 2x HDMI |
Colors | : 16.7 million colors (8 bit – 99% sRGB) |
Brightness | : 250 cd/m2 |
Contrast | : 1000:1 (D: 20M:1) |
VESA | : 100mm |
The LG 29WK500 is a monitor for people that are designing or taking pictures. It has an ultra-widescreen size and resolution. This is better than other monitors with the same size and resolution because it only costs less money.
The advantage of UltraWide monitors is that you have a larger field of view, which means it’s easier to edit pictures. You can also put more tools in these programs like Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop or AutoCAD.
Furthermore, the Split Screen 2.0 software lets you split the screen into equal parts so that you can do work on all of them at once. Programmers or traders often use it, but other video and image professionals can use it too.
The IPS panel with 2560x1080p (21:9) resolution has a good color quality, perfect viewing angles, and better sharpness and detail than regular FullHD.
There is less pixel per inch with ultrawide resolution compared to resolutions like 2K and 4K. But when you use the ultrawide display, there will be no aliasing on the screen. And it will be easier to find defects if you are used to working with higher resolutions.
Ergonomically, your computer screen does not have any adjustments for height, being able to swivel or pivot. This is solved by using a good hinged mount that is VESA 100X100 compatible.
This best monitors for designers has the technology to make it easier for you to see. It is a blue light reducer and is flicker safe. It also has some great features like Reader Mode, Super Resolution+, OnScreen Control, etc.
In summary, I would recommend the 29W500 for your home office. It has space and quality that will work well with image editing, music production, CAD/CAM software. Plus, it is great for gaming. The 29W500 is a good choice if you want to be able to do all these things in your home office.”
LG 24MK430H 24″ – Good and Cheap
Screen size | : 23.8” IPS |
Resolution | : 1920×1080 Full HD 1080p |
Refresh rate | : 75Hz 5ms |
PPI | : 92.56 |
Ports: | : D-Sub, HDMI |
Colors | : 16.7 million colors (8 bit – 99% sRGB) |
Brightness | : 250 cd/m2 |
Contrast | : 1000:1 (D: 20M:1) |
VESA | : 75mm |
The LG 24MK430H is the cheapest monitor on this list. It has the good image quality and color fidelity. Every IPS panel has perfect viewing angles – they don’t change colors depending on how you look at them from a different angle.
This screen is 23.8″ wide and can show 1920×1080 images. This best monitors for designers has many colors that are 16.7 million, and it is bright and has good contrast (250cd/m2). It can show 99% of the colors in sRGB, which is a good number for monitors in this price range.
This monitor is good for editing photos and videos. It can also be used by people who want to play online games. It has special features that help with this, like AMD FreeSync compatibility, a low input lag, a response time of 5 ms, and a refresh rate of 75 Hz.
Ergonomically offers nothing but tilt adjustment. However, it is compatible with a 75x75mm VESA drill hole pattern. Another positive point is the technology to reduce the emission of blue light and to flicker (Flicker Safe).
Read also here- Best Monitor for CAD Reviews and Buying Guide.
All in all, it is a cheap video and image editing monitor. It is great for people just starting and don’t want to spend a lot of money. The monitor has an excellent internal configuration and quality panel.
Which Consider when buying the best monitors for designers?
If we were choosing a monitor for image editing, it would have to have good colors. It would also need to be bright so that you can see what is on the screen. You will not edit images if the brightness is too low or if the colors are dull. These two things are essential, and you will need them when editing photos.
One way to know how sharp your computer is is to find out its pixels per inch. Dell’s has the highest number of Pixels Per Inch (PPI) of the models reported above. The higher the number of pixels per inch, the sharper images will be on your screen.
Premium monitors offer more than just excellent image quality. They have USB Hubs, so you can use flash drives and memory cards. If you need multiple inputs, like HDMI, then purchase a premium monitor. These generally support larger devices too.
For those who spend hours using the computer, it is ideal to have eye strain reduction technologies. These technologies are known as ( Eye Saver Mode, Flicker Free, or Flicker Safe ), reducing panel flicker and preventing eye strain. Another benefit is reducing blue light, which mainly helps those who work at night and/or in dark places.
Thin edges are best for having a multi-monitor setup. Thick edges can prevent you from lining up the monitor side by side and increasing the resolution. Dell models have thin edges, so they are known for this.
Most of these best monitors for designers are made with LED lights. They are efficient and save energy. Furthermore, they are made from recyclable materials and in quantities that do not harm the environment.
Details about here: Best Budget Monitor for Graphic Design
Final Considerations
These were selected from the best monitors for professionals in photography, video image editing, and designers. Experts in the field helped to pick which ones are the best ones for you.
Regardless of the model you buy, you will get a great deal. You can use these monitors for many different software programs such as Lightroom, Photoshop, AutoCAD, etc.
There are many options for you to choose from. We hope this guide has helped you pick the one that is best for you and your budget. For more information, visit our site often to see what else we have to offer.
Full Review of the MSI Prestige PS341WU Monitor Here.