Color Gradient on External Display using a Macbook

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Level 1

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Color Gradient on External Display using a Macbook

I noticed that a gradient created in Photoshop on my 13" Macbook looks too sharp(not a gradual blend) and I can see some "banding" between the colors. There is nothing wrong with the laptop but my question is would the gradient look more professional on an external apple cinema display hooked up to my Macbook? Or is the fact that I don't have a dedicated video card in my Macbook mean that the gradient would likely appear poorly on my Cinema Display as well?

Macbook, Mac OS X (10.5.2)

Posted on Mar 5, 2008 7:13 PM

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Answer 1

bdkjones

Level 4

1,335 points

Mar 5, 2008 7:32 PM in response to macdaddy007

First:

The lack of a discrete video card on the MacBook has absolutely NO impact on gradients in Photoshop. In fact, except for rendering some of the filters in that application, a discrete graphics card has no benefit in Photoshop.

Secondly:

How familiar are you with Photoshop? The overwhelmingly likely cause of your problem is that the gradient is done incorrectly. (For example, if you try to apply a gradient to a low-resolution image, you'll get banding. Make sure your image resolution is 300ppi.) I use Photoshop on my MacBook all the time with a variety of gradients and I've never had this problem. I also have a 23" Cinema Display that I use with the MacBook -- gradients appear exactly the same on both displays.

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Answer 2

macdaddy007 Author

Level 1

0 points

Mar 5, 2008 8:36 PM in response to bdkjones

I work with Photoshop all day long.

At the Mac Store the other day I created the same gradient in the same size at 72 dpi on both a Macbook and Macbook pro. The Macbook gradient blended its colors too abruptly whereas the Macbook pro gradient was much more gradual. And I made sure the magnifications on both files were set at 100%. In my opinion the Macbook pro created a much better gradient.

If I got a Macbook I would want to make sure that a gradient looks professional on my external display powered from the macbook.

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