> However, in order to get the appearance right, you have to gamma-correct 
> your monitor

All monitors (all consumer ones at least) apply a gamma function to the 
incoming data before displaying it.  This is fixed, you cannot change this, 
it's just how they work (this was how CRTs worked, LCDs just copied them so 
everything looks the same as before).

This is the whole point of why you *must* "gamma correct" data before 
sending it to the monitor (that just means applying the inverse of the 
monitor gamma function, so it cancels out).

So, no, you don't need to "gamma correct" your monitor - that makes no sense 
at all.

I have no idea what printers do, but I imagine the consumer printer drivers 
try to match the print output closely to what is shown on a typical display, 
so you probably should send them a gamma corrected image too.

BTW, all images you see on the web and photos from digital cameras etc are 
already gamma corrected, so they just get sent straight to the monitor.  If 
you goal is to make the output from POV look like a photo (ie 
photorealistic) then you must therefore gamma correct before writing to the 
file.

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