Do Multiple Monitors Need Separate Profiles?

[smoke665]

I'm getting confusing answers when I search for the answer to this, ranging from yes, to know, to maybe. Can anyone clue me in on this. Looking at adding an external monitor to laptop.

 

[KmH]

Multiple displays attached to the same computer?

Editing images using 2 displays with the same computer my #1 display is where the image was and the #2 display is where all my Ps work pallets and tools were.
I only calibrated my #1 display.

 

[smoke665]

Multiple displays attached to the same computer?

Editing images using 2 displays with the same computer my #1 display is where the image was and the #2 display is where all my Ps work pallets and tools were.
I only calibrated my #1 display.

So I'm assuming this was a personal choice and not hardware related? If you did use both for editing would you calibrate each? This is the confusing part because both use the same video card, but some say there are multiple LUT's on the card

 

[480sparky]

.......
I only calibrated my #1 display.

Same here. I calibrate the monitor that displays the image I'm editing. The toolboxes and other stuff is on the (uncalibrated) second monitor.

 

[smoke665]

.......
I only calibrated my #1 display.

Same here. I calibrate the monitor that displays the image I'm editing. The toolboxes and other stuff is on the (uncalibrated) second monitor.

So do you just drag them from one to the other?

 

[480sparky]

So do you just drag them from one to the other?

Yep. This is assuming your app supports multiple monitors. Some don't.

The reason I don't calibrate the second monitor is I don't care whether it's calibrated or not. I'm not concerned about the toolboxes, the histogram, the EXIF data display etc are 'correctly displayed'.

 

[ac12]

#1 - As was mentioned, do you have a need to calibrate the 2nd monitor?

If you only look at the images on monitor #1, then #2 does not need to be calibrated.
If you look at and work on the images on BOTH monitors, then both need to be calibrated.​

#2 - Can the profiling program, the OS and the hardware support multiple profiles.

At one point in the past, I recall that a single video card that drove 2 monitors could only be calibrated for ONE monitor. If you wanted to calibrate the 2nd monitor, you had to install a 2nd video card for the 2nd monitor.
I don't know if that has changed in the years since, it may have.​

 

[smoke665]

If you wanted to calibrate the 2nd monitor, you had to install a 2nd video card for the 2nd monitor.
I don't know if that has changed in the years since, it may have

That was something confusing as supposedly some cards access multiple look up tables (LUT's). LookUp Tables (LUT) and Intel Graphics FAQ Supposedly X-Rite has a free app that will check your card.