How can I make my Monitor screen colors match my prints?

Question

I have a CRT Monitor 19 inch. I just use Photoshop. How can I make it to where - print colors will match the screen colors when I print - I'm using a digital printer or a desktop HP printer. I work in CMYK?

Answer 1

I also agree that it would be very difficult to calibrate enough to get a good match. Even on our color laser copier (we've had the canon clc1120 for a few years now) it can shift slightly from print to print. At least that has been my own experience. When we first got it I had expectations that all of our prints would match perfectly every time and we wouldn't have to deal with the color shifts that occurred when we outsourced them. Wrong. I've just had to learn how to gauge the differences between the monitor and the copier (right after calibration) and can usually get what I'm looking for.

On another note....I don't know how it works for your HP digital, but I might try playing around with the color profile options when you print. It might get you closer to what you want? I might be wrong - it's just a thought...

Good luck!

Answer 2

I agree that there is no perfect solution for what you are looking for. You can tweak but will never gain perfection. The desktop HP forget about and the digital depends greatly on what you have for a digital printer resolution, inks, DPI, percentages and the image you begin with. We do calibrate our monitors but found that you cant calibrate the printers to the point of production due to the fact you would have to calibrate every job. If your looking for making exact color proofs. Check with Kodak I have seen some of their equipment run and it does a great job. Get ready to spend the bucks though, a system runs about 3/4 to over a million for some of thier best. One of the only systems I have seen, with my limited span, that will come very close to what you are looking for.

We use greytag for calibrating our monitors.
www.gretagmacbeth.com

Good luck

Here is what we do.
Do all art
send to a film house
they print
and send to us

Answer 3

You probably need a better printer. Not all printers have the right colors in their ink. With HP you can get a Photo cartridge which features more colors along with black. Many people I know who do Color Graphics use Color LaserJets and DesignJets. Both have high-quality printing and both are expensive; the Color LaserJet: $1300, The DesignJet: $15000. DesignJets are for Poster Printing. Normally for Corporate or Educational use. Hope this helps!

Answer 4

you can't.

the short answer is they will never match.. monitors project light.. prints absorb light

where 100% of the values red, green and blue form white..

and wheras prints in CMYK use cyan, magenta, yellow and black to create black

therefore RGB can represent more vibrant colours (typically greens, reds, oranges) that would otherwise be out of gamut and cannot be duplicated by traditional CMYK printing..

There is a newer form of printing called hexachrome (6 colours) that introduces a bright orange and green to the traditional CMYK - it comes a little closer to RGB gamut.