Why do my images look different printed compared to the screen?

This is one of our most asked questions after people have received their orders. As you are seeing your order on the screen, you are used to it and accept that the way you view on the screen is correct. Differences can be seen due to equipment, lighting and ambient environments, you will find that there will most likely be a glare on your screen which will alter how you view the images. When we print your images, our systems will look at the colour formal – RGB/ CMYK and then convert them to the correct colour profile that we use for printing.

RGB I mages print vibrant and saturated as part of the conversion process – most of our customers like this as it provides a sharp and vibrant image.

In some cases where our customers have water colour or softer artwork, this may give you a more vibrant image to what you were expecting. In cases like this, we recommend you convert your images into CMYK as this will then reduce the vibrancy of the image and give it the softer look that you are looking for.

There are many variables for us to look at when we are looking at the colour differences in customer orders. We calibrate our monitors here to match what we see on the screen compared to what we see on the printer. We can only do this as we have a starting point (the screen) and an end point (the printed version) and so we are unable to send this example to you in an email proof. You would need to get a final printed proof to be able to see how these colours come out after they have been printed. Due to the nature of different printing processes, it is extremely difficult to provide an exact colour match to something which you have previously been printed elsewhere or at home on your printers. All our print outputs will vary as well as they’re being a range of different paper options which everything will print different to.

We recommend that if you are not happy with how your images have been printed, you will need to adjust your images and then re upload them to the design studio and get another printed proof to see if you are happy with the changes.