Thread: Flight Path
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Unread 04-12-2014, 09:43 PM
Sharon Passmore Sharon Passmore is offline
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Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Greenville, SC
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There are different color systems in use for print media vs images using light (TV computer etc...) This is because colors made from light and colors made from pigment work in an opposite way.

For print you need CMYK and this is based on pigments. This is "subtractive" color. Pigments absorb light, subtracting what light is bouncing back to your eye. All colors of pigments added together create black or close to black.

For images of light on a monitor, the system is RGB. This is "additive" color. Mixtures ADD more light shooting to your eye. All colors of RGB mixed together make bright white light.

There are some other systems but this is the main gist of it.

This is why an image created using an RGB system will look insipid and washed out when printed in CMYK (which is what your printer is doing) and vice versa. So, Yes!, check first but also simply convert your file to the correct color system for whichever output you want. There is usually a setting in the color menus of a program. And don't worry if your image on the monitor looks bad when you convert to CMYK - this is to be expected - just print one and judge from that.
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