Monitor vs. Proof vs. Print – Why Can They All Look Different?
OR: Why doesn’t the proof match my screen?
You’ve designed your job, you love the color and you send it off to the printer. It sails through preflight and a couple of days later you receive your high quality Epson color proofs.
The color isn’t the same as what you saw on your screen! What’s going on? Worse yet, some of these photos have been printed by other companies and the printed pieces don’t match the high quality Epson proofs either. Uh oh.
Reasons for Color Difference
Don’t panic; this is a common occurrence. As mentioned in a previous article, the RGB color model used by computer monitors is completely different from the CMYK color model used in printing. The very nature of this difference accounts for some of the variation in color that you see.
There are many factors which can account for color difference. Some computers run color calibration software, some don’t. Some monitors are CRT, some are LCD. Some plates are generated using film and some plates are generated directly from a computer file. Some stocks make colors look brighter, some stocks make colors look darker or muddier.
This is why the same image printed on different kind of stocks, using different plating methods, or printed by different companies, can potentially all look slightly different.
At Crescent Printing, our high quality 9600 Epson proofer very accurately represents the color of the file you have given us. This means the Epson proof we provide is the only thing you should look at to determine if the color is acceptable. The proofs are generated using an international standard that our presses can hit and which our pressmen will use to match the color once your job is ready for printing.
In addition, Crescent Printing has G7 Master Certification. We worked with G7 experts who helped us calibrate our equipment to meet the G7 standards. The result is consistency; not just from piece to piece within the same print order, but for different products ordered at different times.
Visual uniformity is important to you, our customer, and also to your end customers. If you have additional questions about color accuracy or need help with a specific project, please contact us.
