We have had a few clients lately commenting on how the proof we output for them does not match the colour that is being displayed on their screen. Our response to that is always “Is your monitor calibrated?”
Since monitors display in RGB (Red, Green, Blue) they are able to display more colours then a CMYK colour space can. Simply put a colour that appears on your monitor might not necessarily be achievable when printing on a CMYK printer. Monitor calibration is done to mimic a colour space that closely represents the CMYK colours.
A good article to read more on monitor calibration can be found here.
There are 2 different ways to calibrate.
- Downloading software to aid you in adjusting your monitor to the proper settings. This is the most cost friendly way as some software is free to download.Here are a few free optionsYou can surf to this website and use the on screen instructions
Or you can download free monitor profiling software here.
- Purchase a Monitor Colorimeter. While using the tool is the most accurate way to adjust the colour profile of your monitor, it’s also the most expensive. This is the method we use to make sure our monitors are calibrated. We purchased a Spyder Elite 3 calibration tool available here. We purchased it through Vistek Canada.
There are other versions that are less expensive that will do what you need. It works for MAC and PC platforms and is fairly easy to use. Try it!
If you use these products in conjunction with calibrating your output printers, you will achieve more accurate colour and be able to show your clients – both internal and external – a closer representation of the colour you strive to achieve.
If you are a designer, this can save valuable time as you design your pieces – you can be content with the fact that your creation is accurate and will output as you see on your screen.
