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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Posts
    1

    Default Which format is the best for print?

    Hello,
    I'm an amatore graphic designer, I use of Xara Xtreme. I've designed a postal card but when I printed the file, the quality was darker than the original one in screen. I printed on different pages. in normal paper is better than other but on special paper (postal card) is really bad. Which format is suitable for prints work. And is there any setting for PDF format to change ??

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Nov 2000
    Location
    Red Boiling Springs TN USA
    Posts
    19,208

    Default Re: Which format is the best for print?

    Hi Terenkleon, welcome to Talkgraphics.

    The problem is due to the difference in screen color (RGB) and print color (CMYK). You can view your work in simulated print color by going to the Window menu > Show Printer Colors > Simulate Print Colors. What you see will still be a little brighter than you will get from a printer so you may need to experiment by making some test prints and adjusting the colors in your work.
    Soquili
    a.k.a. Bill Taylor
    Bill is no longer with us. He died on 10 Dec 2012. We remember him always.
    My TG Album
    Last XaReg update

  3. #3

    Default Re: Which format is the best for print?

    If you are a graphic designer, it would pay to purchase swatch books for seeing how various colors will look when printed. the type of stock, coated versus uncoated, makes a difference due to ink absorption. Coated stock the print will look lighter and perhaps brighter as ink doesn't get absorbed as much as uncoated stock.

    Design in CMYK if the intent is professional printing. Trust the swatch books though there will still be color shifting due to different presses and papers. But they will give you a basis for tweaking color values.

    The ones I heartily recommend are available for both coated and uncoated stock and are relatively inexpensive.
    http://www.tintbooks.com/index.htm

    If you are going to use Pantone colors, you are likely stuck purchasing color books direct from Pantone but are only needed to visually match Pantone color or picking CMYK "equivalents," which are close but not a match per se.

    Take care, Mike

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Dec 2000
    Location
    Hautes Pyrénées, France
    Posts
    5,083

    Default Re: Which format is the best for print?

    Quote Originally Posted by terenkleon View Post
    I've designed a postal card but when I printed the file, the quality was darker than the original one in screen
    What did you print this card on and what did you print it with?
    If someone tried to make me dig my own grave I would say No.
    They're going to kill me anyway and I'd love to die the way I lived:
    Avoiding Manual Labour.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jun 2002
    Location
    Dunoon, Scotland
    Posts
    4,778

    Default Re: Which format is the best for print?

    My question is very similar to Frank's. Are you using your own printer, desktop printer, or are you sending it away to a print shop to be printed? If it is the later then go with #post 2 suggestions along with #post 3. Also if your are using a certain print shop frequently get a colour chart printed but make sure that each colour has also it values printed as well so that you only use a restricted palette and that you know when you pick a colour what it will look like when printed in CMYK. If it is the first then through your printer driver control the flow of ink when your printing on thick card. Also either here or on the internet do a search on printing in CMYK from RGB, also look at your PDF export in Acrobat. Even from true CMYK programmes from Adobe certain colours will always give you some cause for concern.
    Design is thinking made visual.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Posts
    2

    Default Re: Which format is the best for print?

    You may want to familiarize yourself with different paper stocks. Different paper stocks deliver different result.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Posts
    19

    Default Re: Which format is the best for print?

    Different stocks print differently because of the ink absorption so you can't expect prints to turn out identically for different papers. That's why it's good to have some paper or cards in stock for making test prints, so that you can make adjustments to your designs before you print the final output.

 

 

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