Commercial Printing: How To Ensure Better Color Accuracy?

Have you experienced frustration when you have a color that is supposed to be blue and is ‘blue,’ but there is a hint of green in it? Or the color that should be pink on your print is purple? Making sure your colors are accurate across different devices can make all the difference.

In this article, we will share tips for better color accuracy for commercial printing. It is important for businesses that demand more accuracy to understand color spaces and gamut. Many unfamiliar with color management will be confused by these two terms. However, they are very different things.

What is a Color Space?

A color space is the range of colors available to a computer or device to show colors. In our world, we have three main color spaces: Adobe RGB (1998), sRGB and CMYK. These color spaces are also known as color models and have different characteristics.

Adobe RGB — This color space is based on the colors that are standard on the internet. Colors like blues and greens are generally lighter, and orange and reds are darker, so if you want to print these colors accurately, you need to ensure the color space is Adobe RGB.

sRGB — This color space is popular for images viewed on a computer monitor or through an online service like a website or e-commerce website. It is not recommended for printing as it does not display colors accurately.

CMYK — This color space is ideal for printing because it accurately represents colors. So, if you want to print correctly, your printer must be calibrated to the CMYK color space.

What is a Gamut?

A gamut is a range of colors determined by the device, such as your printer. If you calibrate your printer to the CMYK color space and your source files are in Adobe RGB, you will be using colors outside what is possible with the printer. This can result in colors with a different look and feel than expected or colors that will not print at all.

Both gamut and color space are important to understand. The manufacturer of the printer determines the color space, so it’s important that you calibrate your printer correctly. The gamut will depend on your device and specifications, but if you’re printing with a printer specified as CMYK and working in an Adobe RGB file, then the colors won’t be correct.

To ensure accurate colors, it is important to calibrate your printer to your digital source images. How? These tips might help:

1. Your printer settings must be at the default level, sometimes called “printer mode” or “printing mode.”
2. The recommended paper size and type should be chosen for your prints.
3. You should have your printer settings in the correct color space (CMYK, Adobe RGB, or custom).
4. Change your printer settings to match what you expect they should look like when printed, and make sure they are white-balanced correctly (so that they print neutral on any surface).
5. Print a test of your page at the correct settings.
6. Review the print test and make adjustments to the printer settings in case you need more color or less ink, etc.

Now that you know how to ensure better color accuracy, you can be confident that your colors will pop when you’re ready for your next print run. To ensure that you are using the right color space and gamut, it is important to understand different color spaces and gamuts. This will make the colors on your prints look great from every angle!