Creating artwork for print can be a rewarding experience, but it also comes with its own set of considerations, especially when it comes to Print Colors. Unlike the vibrant and expansive color ranges we see on our digital screens, print colors operate within a more limited spectrum. This article explores why understanding print colors is crucial for designers and artists who want their printed pieces to accurately reflect their digital creations.
The initial thought for many artists might be to simply start their digital art with an ICC profile and assume that’s enough. However, limiting your digital file to a specific printer’s color profile right from the beginning can actually reduce your options in the long run. Imagine you create a beautiful piece, restricting its colors to match a particular printer. What happens if, in the future, you want to use a printer that can reproduce an even wider range of colors? By locking yourself into a narrow color profile early on, you limit your artwork’s potential.
A more future-proof approach is to maintain your original artwork in a wide RGB color gamut. Think of this as having a larger palette of colors to work with. Then, while you are designing, utilize a technique called soft-proofing. Soft-proofing allows you to preview on your screen how your design will look when printed with a specific printer, ink, and paper combination. It’s like simulating the printing process on your monitor. This way, you can make adjustments to your print colors as you work, ensuring they will look their best in the final printed piece, without permanently restricting your design’s color range. Keeping the original file in a wide RGB gamut provides flexibility for future printing possibilities. If new printing technologies emerge that can reproduce even richer print colors, your original artwork will be ready to take advantage of them.
Some artists might find adjusting colors for print to be an extra, time-consuming step. And it’s true, if your primary concern is how your artwork looks on a digital screen, or perhaps as an original painting, then you might not need to worry as much about the nuances of print colors. For example, an oil painter focused on the original artwork may prioritize vibrant pigments without concern for print limitations. However, if print colors and accurate reproduction are important – perhaps for book covers, posters, or branded materials – then understanding and managing print colors becomes essential.
Even before the digital age, designers working primarily for print understood the importance of print colors. They often relied on CMYK swatch books to select color palettes, knowing precisely how those colors would reproduce in print. If a project required a specific vivid brand color, they might even use a spot ink, understanding its unique print color characteristics. The point is, working within the limitations of print colors is not a new concept. It’s a fundamental aspect of ensuring your design translates effectively from screen to print.
For artists using iPads, the workflow presents a unique challenge. While soft-proofing is a valuable tool for previewing print colors on desktop computers, it’s not currently widely available in iPad apps, including Adobe apps. This is partly due to the limited color management customization on iPad OS.
However, if you use both an iPad and a desktop computer with a calibrated display, you can create a workable workflow. Start your design on the iPad, then open it on your computer to soft-proof and adjust the print colors. Once you’ve refined the color palette using soft-proofing on your desktop, you can reopen the file on your iPad and continue working, knowing your print colors are optimized. Using cloud documents in applications like Adobe Illustrator can streamline this process, allowing seamless transitions between devices.
It’s worth noting that Apple displays, including iPads, utilize the P3 wide color gamut, which is similar in size to Adobe RGB but with a slightly different color range. When you design in Adobe RGB and preview on a P3 display for printing in a more restricted CMYK gamut, you are navigating a series of color spaces. Understanding these color gamut differences and employing techniques like soft-proofing are key to achieving predictable and satisfying print colors. By mastering these techniques, artists and designers can minimize surprises and ensure their printed artwork truly reflects their creative vision.
