Getting a print to match exactly with what is shown on the computer monitor can involve some work. While it is certainly possible to achieve accurate color matches between your print and what the monitor shows, to get a perfect or exact match is likely impossible, even with highly-advanced professional equipment. That being said, our goal is to make your prints appear how you want it to. This means we will provide, to the best of our ability, printing results that display as accurately as possible to what appears on-screen.
What causes differences between what is on my monitor and what I print?
While there are several factors that can cause differences to occur when converting projects from on-screen over to print, there are three main culprits.
One is due to the screen & computer type and calibration settings. These parameters can all have an impact on how color displays and what the output looks like.
The second is due to the color differences between reproduction methods. Printers work in CMYK while monitors typically work in RGB. This creates discrepancies in rendered color gamut, meaning not all colors can’t be replicated perfectly between media types.
The third is paper. Sometimes the media itself doesn’t make a difference. It’s important to use the correct paper type. You can find a paper’s setting details on the side of the packaging box. The details usually include paper type (i.e. glossy, uncoated, plain, etc), paper size, and paper weight.
You can always run color tests with different paper types and calibration settings to get the most accuracy out of your prints. As you run each test, you can look for variances in quality of color, hue, and saturation levels.
How can I see how things will appear in print?
Photoshop has a powerful feature called Soft Proofing that will give you a preview on your monitor that accurately displays how a print from a given file will appear. Check out HamiltonColorLab for a step-by-step guide on how to use soft proofing.
Salt Lake Printing
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