Picture quality mac/pc

[percyp]

This isn't a which is best thread...
When using my new iMac and cs6, I manage to get very crisp and colourful photos, yet when I view the same photos on my pc or laptop, they seem very washed-out and a little less sharp. Could this just be a case of different calibrations between screens, or is it something else? I have read somewhere about srgb and cmyk, but I don't really understand the difference or even whether it could be the cause. I'm new to macs and CS 6.
Any help would be great,
Thanks

 

[GardenersHelper]

Using Google I found several several references to this issue of images prepared on a MAC looking dull on a PC, going back ten years or more. This was one of the more recent ones. I searched for "mac photos dull on PC" and this or similar searches may provide more information.

It may be because your Mac screen is calibrated differently. I believe MACs used to be calibrated to a gamma of 1.8, with PCs being calibrated to a gamma of 2.2, but I seem to recall reading that MACs use 2.2 as well these days. Even if this is the case now, it might be that your MAC, or alternatively your PC and your laptop, are a long way from the "common currency" of gamma 2.2.

However, this may be to do with colour spaces.

It is possible that your Mac is using the Adobe RGB colour space, while your PC and laptop are most probably using the sRGB colour space. The Adobe RGB colour space can display more colours than the sRGB colour space (see sRGB versus Adobe RGB 1988). If you prepare an image using the Adobe RGB colour space it may look dull when displayed using the sRGB colour space.