Help printing DVD covers... (1 Viewer)

[MarcoBiscotti]

So I have a handfull of DVD covers on my hardrvie leftover from the glory days of dvdcoverart.com...

I have an Epson Stylus CX6600 printer and picked up some really expensive HP Premium Plus glossy photo paper the other day to try and print some of these out.

Well the detail and quality look amazing... but for some reason I can't get accurate colors to match that of what I see on my screen and I don't know why!!!

For instance, I have a cover and insert for the Muppets Magic dvd that I was trying to print, but all the hues are shifted and tinted to a shade of blue...

Kermit's sweater is more brown than the bright red that it appears on my screen. The pink honker muppet looks more bluish light-grey with a tiny hint of pink mixed in.

I've tried using the color enhancing feature but it doesn't make any noticeable difference and I don't want to keep wasting paper and running my ink cartridges dry...

How do I get accurate colors exactly as they are depicted on my monitor???

Can anyone please help?

Why does red turn brown and pink turn grey, etc?

I'd REALLY appreciate any helpful tips!

 

[Marko Berg]

Your dilemma is well-known in the desktop publishing industry where they have solutions to overcome or at least alleviate the problem of seeing one colour but printing another, but these solutions can be expensive to a home user.

To get to the heart of the problem, you need to understand basic colour theory. Click here for a web page that explains in brief the differences between additive and subtractive colour systems. You'll notice the differences between the two kinds of systems make it difficult to exactly reproduce a certain hue, tint, or shade of colour on paper.

Professionals use colour calibration tools that are expensive. Hopefully another member can help you with inexpensive software or other tools to help you with the problem.

 

[ChristopherDAC]

It's simple: your monitor's colours are different from ink colours. What you see on your monitor will never match exactly what you print out, unless possibly -- and I want to stress that this is a very remote possibility -- you were to be able to calibrate it to match exactly a particular batch of ink. It just isn't going to happen, and that only makes sense, if you realise that a computer screen emits light and a printed page reflects it. Don't freak out about it, it's perfectly normal, if possibly a little disappointing. Maybe you should try manipulating the colour balance of your monitor so it looks like your printouts?

 

[Andrew Chong]

Just when you thought you've finished doing all the calibration you need to do (with your home theatre), calibration for your computer might also be a necessity.

If you don't mind spending some money, the best way to ensure that your printouts come out as intended is to use a colorimeter and its software such as MonacoOPTIXXR (info), ColorVision's Spyder (info), or others.

The use of such tools should help you to avoid having to make multiple test prints with your expensive paper and inks.

 

[MarcoBiscotti]

Thanks guys...

Basically, apart from calibrating my monitor - you're saying it will be next to impossible to get accurate colors in my printouts? :frowning:

Kermit's shirt is supposed to be red, not brownish maroon!

 

[ChristopherDAC]

Yeah, basically you'll have to change your monitor's colour settings to look like your printouts look now, then use a photo editor to change the colour balance of the picture so that it looks on the monitor [with the new settings] like it looked on the monitor before [with the old settings]. If that makes any sense!

 

[Christ Reynolds]

if you have a fedex kinko's (not sure if they are in canada), they will print out your dvd cover for about $1. it will look good, too. any reputable print shop should be able to give you excellent results, it may be worth looking into if you are only going to be printing a few covers.

CJ

 

[MarcoBiscotti]

Thanks guys...


Chris, I have like 20 covers to print.

I'm trying to print the Disney Animated Classics that were hosted on DVDCoverArt.com but instead of the grey metalic background, I'm getting an ugly turquoise color...

I still think something is not right, that shouldn't be happening.

My printer is brand new btw, the printer and cartridges are maybe 2 weeks old...

 

[PhillJones]

We have a plotter at work that prints all blues out as purple. When colours matter, people do a test print and then color shift their images in photoshop so that they're distorted on the screen but come out right from the plotter.

Do you have some image processing software that can do this?

You'd only have to calibrate it once then just colorshift everything by the same ammount.