Incorrect colors when printing

  • 15 November 2021
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I have added my own color to the board (#06F9B7), but when I export and print the board, the color does not appear as in the board. I am currently using the free version, does exporting to higher quality (premium version) help or how could I solve this problem? The problem is not in the printer and I have tried both PDF and image export, same problem in both. 


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@Senja  - You’re most likely experiencing RGB(graphics displayed on monitor) → CMYK(printing toner colors) conversion issues.

 


Here’s a fun graphic that outlines this not-so-fun issue. Its known as “Gamut” the area in ‘color space’ achievably represented by a display medium.

CMYK is printers.  You’ll see that it’s shape outlines the smallest range of color space. And sadly, outside of it’s bounds is your beautiful color. Out of gamut.  

A few more thoughts here:

https://www.insights4print.ceo/2017/01/brand-colors-printing-cmyk-better-safe-sorry/


Solutions:

  • Finding best approximation: Tools exist to help you navigate ‘in-gamut CMYK’ … example here and here - good search terms ‘cmyk-friendly (or ‘safe’) color picker’. 
  • Pro-photographers traffic in high-gamut printers and related techniques.
  • If you have Photoshop, you can put your hex color into the color tool, then select the little color box under the “ ! ” exclamation mark by the larger color boxes. 

    It will move your color picker to the “autocalculated” in-gamut color approximation… and … you’ll reach for the tissues as you cry at the loss of such a vibrant color. 

 

PS; You look back at that color wheel, and (you’re looking at it on an RGB monitor), and there’s actually colors out of RGB gamut, so how is the monitor displaying them? Well, those are actually a fake representation of colors that monitors can’t produce but our eyes can see…  So I like to think that if we want to take a break from monitors and do some optical digital detox … we can shut the screens off, and go find those colors in the color-space wilderness, like, by staring at flowers in a garden. Like the eye’s equivalent of an organic raw food diet. 

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