Correct color printing

B
Posted By
Bernie
Aug 16, 2007
Views
396
Replies
8
Status
Closed
I should double charge my customers for extra hassle

No, you should let your customers know that paying for a proof is a worthwhile investment.

Unless they insist on going cheap in which case the quality may suffer

"Fast, Accurate, Cheap, pick any two"
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H
Ho
Aug 16, 2007
Ho mentioned that CMYK is not the best for vivid color printing. What can I used instead to get vivid results?

Depends on how vivid you want. Hexachrome printing, high fidelity printing or whatever iterations are offered now can provide more vivid colors than std. CMYK (by using 6 inks instead of 4). The gamut is about equivalent to RGB. I have no idea what it costs. Never used it or looked into running a hex job.

Spot colors are also an option for some types of printing.

Here is a quick example of what happens to vivid RGB colors when converted to CMYK.

<http://img250.imageshack.us/my.php?image=rgbcharthz9.jpg>
SP
Sid_Phillips
Aug 17, 2007
For most customers you will have to use CMYK printing on an offset press. And yes, this often means a reduced color gamut and somewhat dull colors. That’s why it’s important to soft-proof to whatever press standard your printer uses, typically some version of SWOP or GRACOL and correct as best you can to the soft-proof.

Developing a close relationship with a printer is your best educational tool. I learn more from press operators than anyone else about how to optimize my files for press. And if your printer has pre-press graphic artists pump them for as much info as you can. Also read anything you can find from Dan Margulis – he has written several books and articles on how to color-correct and prep files for printing. Highly recommended.
CK
Christine_Krof_Shock
Aug 18, 2007
Trust me…buy the guys who run your job a 12 pack and spend an hour with them…do this every time you run a job and you learn!Make sure your job is the last one on press for the day if you plan to do this so as not to tick off the management.

Creo Staccato is excellent and my printer in Loveland, CO charges the same for CMYK or Staccato…it’s as close to hexachrome as you will get without the upcharge…Great color…20 micron dot, and fantastic for metalics! (no tinted spot varnishes necessary)
JR
Juliet_Robles
Dec 11, 2007
used to have a problem in printing my colored documents or photos. when i use the color blue it seem to come out a very light color of violet, and green becomes a very light color like mint green or lighter
and when i’m printing there’s always a horizontal line on the page.

really don’t know what’s the cause of it! please try to help me!!!!

thank you so much,
ms. juliet robles
MD
Michael_D_Sullivan
Dec 11, 2007
Juliet, have you calibrated and profiled your monitor with a colorimeter, and do you use accurate printer profiles? Unless you have, the colors on your monitor have an undefined relationship with the colors in your files, and how they print. Calibrating and profiling ensures that what you see as "blue" is "blue" in the file and will print as "blue," or as close to it as your printer can make it. If your monitor isn’t calibrated and profiled, you could be looking at a file that should display as purple and see it as blue, but it prints as purple.

For an example of why you need to calibrate and profile your monitor, go to Best Buy or Circuit City and look at the 500 TVs tuned to the same movie or football game and notice how no two look alike. Each one has been adjusted differently, so what’s green on one looks blue on another. How would you know how to adjust the color in Photoshop if your monitor isn’t producing an accurate reproduction of the image?
L
LenHewitt
Dec 11, 2007
Juliet,

In addition to Michael’s sage advice, the Line you mention sounds like a blocked ink jet on your printer.
B
Beemer
Dec 13, 2007
wrote in message
used to have a problem in printing my colored documents or photos. when i use the color blue it seem to come out a very light color of violet, and green becomes a very light color like mint green or lighter and when i’m printing there’s always a horizontal line on the page.
really don’t know what’s the cause of it! please try to help me!!!!
thank you so much,
ms. juliet robles
Juliet,

If your printer is an Epson then like in my case your print head may need replacing.

Do you get the line if you print the printer test page?

regards,

Beemer
RB
Ryan_Brock
Jan 4, 2008
If you’re using solid colors, you should definitely be referencing a Pantone 4-Color Process Guide. On your for-press file, you can list the colors for the printer to use as reference. Just make a small list somewhere near the dead area of your artwork. I sometimes even include Pantone solids in the list for them to check against (even though they may not be using spot color).

You just cannot rely on what you see on-screen, calibrated or not.

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