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Checking your Monitor's Color Resolution
Ever bring up a website on your monitor and find it looks ghastly? Don't blame the designer too quickly, because it may very well be that your monitor's color resolution is not set to a high enough setting for desktop publishing and digital media.
It's pretty easy to check your settings:
- At your Windows desktop, right mouse click any clear space where there isn't an icon.
- Select PROPERTIES. This brings up the control panel for your monitor.
- Click on the thumbtab for SETTINGS.
- In the lower left, there's a pop-down menu for different color settings. The highest is 32-bit True Color, and that's what you need in order to see the most accurate color on your monitor for graphics and color photos. Note that some computers can only view 24-bit True Color. Choose the highest quality your computer has.
We recommend 32-64 MB VRAM (video RAM, not regular RAM) to do desktop publishing and web development. If you don't have enough VRAM, you won't be able to select 32-bit True Color. In that case, select the next best setting, which is 24-bit True Color.
| lo color = 8 bit = | 256 colors |
| hi color = 16 bi t= | 65,000 colors |
| Truecolor = 24 bit = |
Millions of colors |
| Truecolor = 32 bit = | More Millions of colors |
That ghastly website may have looked that way because your system is set to 16-bit High Color or even lower, 256 colors. These settings are much too low if you are doing any sort of publishing or design work — you can't truly see the colors that you are specifying in your own work, or that other designers have intended you to see in their websites and artwork.
Checking Pixel Resolution of Monitors
While you're in the monitor control panel, the lower right side has the settings for the pixel resolution of the monitor. The higher the number, the more workarea you can see in the monitor. However, the higher settings also require more VRAM, so you'll need to balance your system between the settings for color and pixels to match the amount of VRAM you have. If you're doing a lot of design work, your monitor should be set for 800 x 600 resolution or higher in order for you to see enough of your projects on your monitor.
Calling the IT Department...
If you find that you can't get the high pixel resolution or 24-bit/32-bit True Color that you think you need, your IT department will need to install additional VRAM on your system. We have a technical spec sheet for computer systems that can help your IT folks understand why this is so important for your job. Many of our government agencies and corporate clients refer to it when purchasing equipment.