202 - Matte v glossy screens

Debate with Nathan Wrigley and David Waumsley

Setting up the Debate

Nathan says 'Matte and Glossy' sound like a Las Vegas cabaret act so David's down for a quick win on this one!

This is a little bit of a sham debate as it is as silly as matte or gloss paper.

But some designers have a preference for one over the other and all of us who make websites probably need to consider that visitors may have vastly different experiences depending on what they use.

We have some confessions first:

• Neither of us have given this much thought before
• We most certainly will display our ignorance
• We will definitely wander into chat about the other factors that affect a visitor's viewing experiences. (browsers, eyecare software, colour gamut range, nits and calibration)

Further reading which will educate you far better than this podcast!

https://pcmonitors.info/articles/matte-vs-glossy-monitors/

https://gigaom.com/2009/06/16/matte-vs-glossy-debate-heats-up-are-glossy-displays-a-health-hazard/

https://www.quora.com/Which-one-is-better-for-laptop-a-glossy-or-matte-screen

https://www.quora.com/Which-screen-is-better-for-design-Glossy-or-Anti-glare

https://html.developreference.com/article/12592355/CSS+color+difference+between+Browsers

https://www.howtogeek.com/181727/glossy-vs.-matte-lcds-which-should-you-choose-when-buying-a-display/

The points in favour of glossy

• Brighter and more vibrant (uplifting) 
• As we move more to vibrant smartphone, it's useful to design on a glossy screen... it may better reflect that experience
• No yellow or purple hues distorting the palette (particular never seeing true grey)
• Don’t need manufacturers deciding for us what glare issues are. We can add our own
• Can see subtle shades (#fafafa)
• Easier to wipe clean

The points in favour of matte (anti-glare)

• Some will say there is no difference between a matte screen with a anti-glare cover, which makes it matte (there are some who argue antiglare and anti reflective are different again)
• Health and eye stain (from distracting reflection and too much contrast)
• If brand colours are going to print (likely) a matte screen is likely to be a better representation of that (better than a glossy backlit vibrant version)
• Anti-glare seems to be on the increase (hard to prove but it seems to be the trend)
• If you can make it look good on matte, you've succeeded!
• A damp microfiber cloth will clean the anti glare screens

Additional thoughts

• Which is more popular? Hard to say. David could not get a powerful glossy laptop and has not found a glossy 24 inch monitor. But touch screen devices need glossy and 2 in 1 laptops/pads are popular
• Microsoft's ClearType on by default - remember that
• Browser styles (text decoration) Firefox and Safari use the sRGB colour profile. Chrome does not or does not by default  (chrome://flags/#force-color-profile)
• Calibration tools like Datacolour SpyderX Pro can be useful (https://www.creativebloq.com/features/best-monitor-calibrator)
• How many nits? What an odd question! https://www.howtogeek.com/402006/what-are-nits-of-brightness-on-a-tv/
• Color gamut (Adobe’s SRGB)
• Most decent normal monitors will cover 100% of the sRGB colour space, which translates to about 70% of the Adobe RGB space. Anything above 90% is fine, but the displays included on cheap tablets, laptops and monitors may only cover 60-70%.
• What about people who like a dark UI over a light one?
• Web safe colours are not considered relevant today. Web safe colours emerged during the early era of the internet; a standardized palette of 216 colors that displayed consistently across all major browsers.
• Pixels (retina)

If any of this has meant anything to you, or you have a comment, please leave on below, or find the thread in the WP Builds Facebook Group!