220-1101 Question 190
Single answerColor gamutA graphic designer reports that product photos look vibrant on her laptop but appear dull and less saturated on an external monitor connected through HDMI. The monitor is functioning normally at its native resolution, and there are no visible artifacts or brightness issues. The designer specifically needs better accuracy for editing images intended for web use. Which action is the BEST next step for the technician to recommend?
- A
Replace the HDMI cable with a higher-refresh-rate cable so the monitor can display more colors
- B
Use a display that supports a wider color gamut, such as one with better sRGB coverage, and calibrate it
- C
Increase the monitor's sharpness setting to improve color depth and saturation
- D
Lower the screen resolution to reduce compression and allow more vivid colors
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: B
Explanation
The best answer is to use a display with a wider and more appropriate color gamut and calibrate it. In practical support scenarios, a technician should distinguish between resolution, refresh rate, sharpness, and color gamut. A monitor can operate perfectly at native resolution yet still reproduce a narrower range of colors than needed for photo editing. For web-focused design work, sRGB coverage is especially important because sRGB is the standard color space used by most websites, browsers, and typical consumer displays. Best practices from monitor vendors and color-management guidance consistently recommend choosing a display with suitable gamut coverage for the workflow and performing calibration for accurate output. In A+ terms, this tests recognizing display characteristics and matching the hardware to the user's job requirements rather than replacing unrelated components.
- A. Incorrect.
Incorrect. HDMI cable changes do not typically expand a display's color gamut in this scenario. If the monitor already works correctly at native resolution without artifacts, the issue is more likely the monitor's gamut capability or calibration rather than the cable. A common misconception is that a 'better' cable improves color range, but gamut is primarily determined by the display panel and supported color standards.
- B. Correct.
Correct. Color gamut refers to the range of colors a display can reproduce. If the user needs more accurate image editing for web content, a monitor with strong sRGB coverage is an appropriate recommendation because sRGB is the standard color space for most web content. Calibration is also important so the display reproduces colors as accurately as possible within its supported gamut.
- C. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Sharpness affects edge definition and image processing, not the monitor's color gamut. Someone might choose this option because a sharper image can appear subjectively better, but it does not solve limited color reproduction or inaccurate saturation.
- D. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Lowering resolution does not improve color gamut. Resolution affects image detail and workspace, while gamut affects the range of colors the monitor can display. This distractor targets the common confusion between display resolution and color capabilities.