Why doesn’t the color on my computer monitor
look like my printed job?
Light & Color
As we all learned in elementary school, the primary colors are Red, Blue & Yellow. These colors refer to pigment and paint, rather than the light spectrum;
in fact the primary colors of the light spectrum are Red, Green & Blue. The
reason objects appear as a certain color is because they absorb some colors
and reflect others. Hence, a blue object appears blue because it is absorbing
green and red light and reflecting blue toward the eye.
Primary Colors
Computers & Color
Computers generate colors based on RGB (Red, Green & Blue). These colors
are created by adding light to change a black appearing screen. Screen color is
called additive color because light is added to create color. Four-color process
printing uses reflection of certain colors until a desired color is visible. Process
printing is called subtractive color because inks are used to partially block the
reflection of light.
RGB Colors
Process Printing & Color (CMYK)
Four-color process printing uses different percentages of Cyan, Magenta,
Yellow & Black (CMYK) to create or “build” color. This technique is often
times called screened color because screens of each color are used to
create a new color. Because process colors are built from two to four inks,
they may at times look murkier than spot color. Some spot colors are
impossible to render through process color. Hence your computer monitor
can create colors that cannot be reproduced in print. A conversion from
RGB to CMYK is necessary for printing process color.
Some Pantone Colors
PMS 032
PMS 116
PMS 185
PMS 201
PMS 290
PMS 300
PMS 368
PMS 501
Reflex
Blue
CMYK Colors
Pantone Matching System (PMS)
The most popular color matching system used by the printing industry to
print spot colors is the Pantone Matching System. Ink is mixed using exact
measurements determined by the PMS color system to create a specific
color. This assures that you get the right color when the file is printed,
even though the color may not look right when displayed on your monitor.
If your job is not printing four-color process, we will ask you for a PMS
number to guarantee the look you want. If necessary, ask to look at
one of our Pantone Color books to verify your spot ink color.
Most applications that support color printing (i.e. Pagemaker, Quark,
Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop, Publisher) allow you to specify colors by
indicating the Pantone name or number. Be aware that not all Pantone
colors reproduce accurately when converted to CMYK printing. Consider
this when designing your print job.
Remember, never judge color based on what it looks like
on your computer monitor. The incompatability of screen
color and printed color is a major issue and should be
resolved prior to putting your job into print production.