BenQ Unveils Self-Calibrating, Certified, Professional Color Management Monitor for Cloud-Based Color Accuracy

BenQ America Corp. has introduced its new PG Series PG2401PT certified color management monitor. Made specifically for creative professionals such as photographers, graphic designers, color re-touchers, and printers requiring accurate and consistent on-screen color matching, the new device provides reliable, printing-certified soft proofing precision at an incredibly affordable price of $999. To increase collaboration and simplicity within the creative process, the new display supports today's cloud-based color proofing systems and comes equipped with self-calibrating and one-click proofing capabilities. The result is print-like color integrity during the entire workflow: from design to print, and over the cloud.

Maintaining color consistently from screen to print is imperative for creative professionals — whether it's designing new packaging or creating glossy magazine covers. To facilitate the process, today's cloud-based color proofing systems provide a centralized color communication workflow, which ensures complete integrity between printed products and their original design. When combined with the ability to produce color-accurate proofs from anywhere via the cloud, print environments can increase the efficiency of their operations by minimizing color revisions, reducing approval times, and delivering accurate brand colors each and every time.

"When selecting monitors, our customers look for a solid combination of innovative options and high-quality performance," said Dan Caldwell, President of Remote Director LLC. "Consequently, we are pleased to add BenQ's PG2401PT to our roster of supported displays for precise color viewing within Remote Director. Using our application's open architecture, existing clients can easily add BenQ monitors to their expanding usage needs, while new customers may opt for BenQ color management monitors for totally new system installations."

To facilitate collaboration between professionals, the self-calibrating PG2401PT monitor covers 100 percent CMYK, 99 percent of the Adobe® RBb color space, and is designed to take advantage of today's most popular cloud-based color proofing services, such as Adobe's Creative Cloud™ and PantoneLIVE™. To further ensure that on-screen colors visually match off-the-press colors for accurate reproduction, the PG2401PT is FograCert Softproof Monitor certified, as well as SWOP & GRACoL certified by the IDEAlliance®. Furthermore, the monitor comes with a detailed verification report to validate its performance in terms of brightness uniformity, Delta E, and gamma curve. The end result is accurate, predictable color quality, giving print shops and other visual artists access to a high-end monitor packed with feature-rich and collaborative capabilities — all at an exceptional price.

"Thanks to technologies such as matchmycolor's Colibri® and PantoneLIVE, spectral color specification and communication is moving rapidly to the cloud. In turn, color proofing systems including Remote Director and GMG Open Color are using spectral color data to produce color-accurate proofs," said John Sweeney, Director of Business Development at BenQ America Corp. "Designers can now automatically populate their spot color palettes with spectral data and deliver PDFX/4 files with spectral tags. When coupled with the accuracy of the PG2401PT, professionals gain the advantage of reduced cycle times and get brand colors right — the first time, every time."

"Our new PG2401PT monitor was engineered with a simple goal in mind: provide professionals with exact color representation from design to print," said Bob Wudeck, Associate Vice President, Strategy and Business Development at BenQ America Corp. "With the rapid growth of cloud-based services and color proofing systems, the PG2401PT accommodates the need for a color precision monitor that adheres to today's broader color ecosystem. When combined with its affordable $999 price point, today's photo, design, and printing communities gain an incredibly efficient solution that is certified on the highest precision platforms."

With full HD 1920 x 1200 resolution, 12M:1 ultra-high dynamic contrast ratio, and a brightness uniformity function, the PG2401PT allows users to experience bright, sharp, and consistent images across their entire display. To further guarantee consistent colors, the monitor comes equipped with a new hardware calibration function, enabling users to adjust the14-bit 3D Look Up Table (LUT) directly to keep images in line with original designs without affecting graphic settings. In addition, a 10-bit panel feature creates more than one billion colors — 64 times the amount of color available on an 8-bit panel — ensuring silky smooth gradations.

To enable total interoperability, the PG2401PT provides dynamic connectivity options via input ports, which allow users to switch easily between different connected devices. This allows professionals to connect their PG monitor directly to a PC via DVI-D, HDMI®, or DisplayPort, while Mac® users can utilize a Mini DisplayPort to connect with the displays. A USB3.0 port/card reader is also available to facilitate fast file transfers. To further simplify operation and increase comfort, the monitors are ergonomically designed with a wide adjustable stand, and an on-screen display allows automatic rotation to either portrait or landscape mode. To ensure smooth proofing, the monitor comes equipped with a shading hood that eliminates distracting glare effects.

The PG2401PT debuts at PRINT 13 on Sept. 8-12 in Chicago, Ill. Visitors to the trade event can see the monitor in action at the IDEAlliance Workflow Pavilion booth 4877. The PG2401PT will also be on display at partner booths including GTI Graphic Technology, Inc. (4437), Just Normlicht Inc. (4631), Color-Logic, Inc. (5049), and CGS ORIS (2644).

Available now at a special introductory price of $999, BenQ's PG2401PT monitor includes a free hood and is offered with the X-Rite® i1Display Pro calibrator through Dec. 31, 2013.