How to create accurate prints?
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So as I’ve been getting into digital pet portraits I’ve been trying to figure out how to get the prints to look as accurate to the digital piece as possible.
There’s a great printer near me who I’ve been working with and I had some proofs made with them today that look pretty good but there’s still a loss in accuracy particularly with values after adjusting the the files to be more print ready.
What can I do while working on the paintings as well as adjusting them for print that will yield the best results?
Things to note: I’m working in procreate, I don’t have photoshop, I do have affinity photo, I’m working in a CMYK color profile however my Printer said that their printer is an RGB printer (which I didn’t even know was a thing) so I maybe able to work in a RGB profile.
Thanks for any advice you have to offer!
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This Adobe forum post may address some of your concerns:
Why do some printers print RGB and some CMYK if all printers are CMYK..?In addition, I would advise the following:
- As for loss in accuracy with values, you may need to adjust the contrast in the final artwork. Have the printer check in Photoshop the Gamut Warning and Proof Colors.
- If the proof has a shift in color hue, adjust the color channels to the finish piece to compensate. An experienced printer can offer recommendations. If they don't, you're going to have to determine how much cyan, magenta, yellow and/or black to add/subtract. Always keep a unaltered copy of the artwork.
- Supplying the printer with a .psd or .tiff file (held in high regard for its fidelity in color and image quality).
- Ask the printer if they can do test strips instead of proofs. It'll be a lot cheaper than proofs ($1 the last time I was at Dick Blick). Instruct the printer to print the section with the most detail, so you can better judge tone shifts, etc.
- Unless the printer has better software for converting CMYK to RGB, you should do this yourself. Having the printing machine do the conversion usually doesn't perform well.
- Keep in mind the color of the paper. Some have a slight yellow tone and will affect the image quality.
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@Griffin if your printer is printing in rgb, and you're submitting cmyk that would be where your color discrepancy is likely coming from. Finding out which printing schematics they use is ideal before sending in the file for print. My printer also uses rgb (but it's more than 3 colors to print) . They've said that they do some tweaking to ensure it looks the same as the screen they get it on, but everything I've printed has turned out exactly as I wanted it to. I would follow their guidelines even though cmyk is traditionally what's used for print.
