That's easy... cause ink is a chemical and when applied to a surface with a different chemical make up it will react different. did you specify in your printer settings that you are printing to a matte finish? the printer will adjust (usually in this case it lays down the ink much slower)

'I will become the most powerful Jedi ever!'

different papers have different levels of absorbancy as well ...

I did change the setting from plain paper to matte photo paper...and the plain paper version is closer to the real color, than the photo paper version. This printing stuff truly stumps me!!

sb

Printing is like women... You will never understand it, and the one thing you can count on is haveing it piss you off daily!

Ha hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!

Welcome to MY life.
Every thing I print on prints a PMS callout a different color.
Vinyl, photo paper, plain paper, wallpaper, laminate, backlit, canvas, satin, poplin, etc....
on every different kind of printer- inkjet, Vutek, Lightjet, Lambda
And at every different print vendor, this guy, that guy and the guy over there...

Usually there is an ICC profile for the medium and the printer but even that is never quite right.

And you wonder why I vent about color issues all the time...

hahahahahaha...

Post Edited (PrintDriver) : 5/28/2004 2:51:50 AM GMT

Many people don't respect the people responsible for prepress in a commercial print shop. I'm telling you, these people are brilliant! It's one thing to come up with a creative, innovative design that utilizes a special fold, a die cut, metallic inks, a spot gloss varnish and a spot matte varnish, and some flashy stock to print it all on, but it takes people like this to really kick you in the pants and say 'pick two of those things, but NO MORE!'.

Seriously, when I deal with digital output (mainly a canon color copier), I am never really satisfied with the color. I've had a customer approve a booklet cover that was mainly orange only to have the color come out much darker when the job is actually to be printed. I showed the approved cover next to the dark orange cover, and asked the production manager for an explaination. She told me the approved version was the copier's 'I'm so tired' orange, and could only be achieved when it is seconds away from a service call.

This can all be very frusterating, but only when you don't compare it to waking up without hands and feet.

-Jason

99% of what passes for music these days, SILENCE is more compelling1

you know a big help would be to purchase the Pantone swatch book for spot to process so you know exactly what you're getting. i haven't really dealt with color issues like some of you. i consider myself lucky in that respect. it seems that i do get what i wanted and i use the printing company that i used to work for because i know they are good at what they do.

to those of you who do your spot proofing through home printers (inkjet or laser or whatever), make sure you have the correct pantone swatches to show your clients so they know what they're getting. most, and by good reason, assume that what they see is what they get. you also have to remember that a color that is saturated and brilliant as a spot, won't be in cmyk. everything is more dull when converted to process.

i don't know if this helps any or not ... but my $0.02

Pantone spot to process doesn't work for digital output (except in the still very rare instance of an extremely well managed color lab using a working CMS - and they still charge per critical match).

For digital:
Call out the friggin PMS colors in your file.
Don't use tints unless they are percentages ending in 0 - though we prefer not to have em at all.
And realize tints are a separate color match from the 100% PMS. (PMS 200 at 100% and PMS 200 at 80% will cost you two matches.)
Tints tend to print weird as the CMYK/RGB formulae fall apart at faint hues. (I've seen oranges turn green in the 20-30% range.)
There are no screens in digital (unless YOU make em with a 100% PMS)
There are no seps in digital.
Files sent as PDF's cannot be corrected for color. Native format is still preferred.

I'm ranting.
sorry

----
PrintDriver is a large format digital print dude whose information may not apply to the 4-color/offset print world.

keep ranting this is grea! thanks! I'm going to rant too...because we have a set of colors we are supposed to use, and some work has been done using tints of these colors...to me, they look like another color, so in effect, not the RIGHT color...anyway, that's my rant.
But now you have me thinking that becuase I used the same screen of the color...that may be the problem...of I go, to test this...later.

sb

I've just signed myself up for a digital pre-press course...not that it'll make me a pro, but at least help me understand the process and what the h is going on. There is so much to know. Folks here aren't into knowledge sharing so that's why I keep posting here..hoping at least I can pick up some pointers.

sb

Hey Shirb -

Sorry for the rant, and my large format stuff is something you probably won't learn in a prepress course. I work in a somewhat obscure part of the larger graphic design realm. But someday you may find yourself designing graphics for a tradeshow booth or an office mural or lobby graphics, something bigger than usual, and ya just gotta know there are different rules for the completely digital inkspew or Lambda type print processes is all.

Screens are cool for offset or probably even 4-color (and spot printing) but if you are doing a process that doesn't require seps then, as a general rule, my rant applies.

Your problem lies in exactly what joe said. Different coatings react differently with the inks. Unless you print out your whole PMS chart and choose a color that way, or somehow get an ICC profile to feed your Epson (and I doubt one exists unless you are using epson paper product$$) you will virtually never get your desktop inkjet or laser to match the pms color you want. Also, it may be virtually impossible for any print vendor to match your hard copy gamut. Do what 3howards says and print it out close as possible, then show the client chips to represent actual color.

Shirbit, I have taken more than a few courses with this Guy www.chromaticity.com/jnate.html. It was very expensive but if you are in the wisconsin area and have a chance to take his two day course on color management you will not regret it. He is a genius! He thought me every thing I know about color theory and workflow management!

Mick, that was a good link.
Wish I had the time to learn more about real CM.
And you weren't kidding about expensive.
Hmmm. Wonder if Boss man would pay.

He also teaches courses for a local company called MacTraining Enterprises www.mactraining.com/ for about a quarter of the price.