Understanding how monitor colors and print colors differ
Computer monitor colors and printed colors may often be quite different — which is a challenge when you are trying to match a certain color. Colors can also appear different from monitor to monitor.
Image colors on a monitor are influenced by a variety of factors:
• the color range, called the color gamut, of the input device (such as the scanner or camera)
• the manufacturer and age of the monitor
• the monitor’s brightness and contrast settings
When you print an image, you introduce other factors that influence color:
• the quality and absorption properties of the paper
• the color gamut of the printer
• the conversion of RGB values from the monitor to the CMYK values of the printer’s ink
This conversion is a challenge because of the different approaches to color between monitors and printers. Because monitors use light to display color, they use additive colors—when you add them together, they produce white. Conversely, when you remove all monitor colors you produce black. Because printers use ink to display color, they use subtractive colors—when you remove colors, you produce white, and when you add all printer colors you produce black. As a result, monitors and printers have different color gamuts. Although they share many of the same colors, there are some colors a monitor can display that a printer can’t print and some colors a printer can print that a monitor can’t display.
Given all the factors that go into producing colors, how do you go about making colors accurate and consistent? Try these options:
• You can calibrate your monitor every few months.
• You can get to know the differences between your monitor’s colors and your printer’s colors so you can adjust your images as needed. You can do this by printing out several photos or other images and comparing them to the image on-screen. For example, your printer may always print colors darker than your monitor displays them. Knowing this, you can modify the lightness of your images accordingly.
• You can use Windows Color Management, which helps to improve color consistency across devices.