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Cromid1000
Participating Frequently
March 29, 2023
Question

Prints too dark after file transfer

  • March 29, 2023
  • 2 replies
  • 954 views

Hey guys

so I'm an artist and have used photoshop to enchance my work for many, many years. Nothing has ever changed with my set up, settings or process and I have consistently used the same company for print. 
i scan my work and edit in cmyk format on photoshop on my Mac, as that is the format quested by the printers and then send the files as a jpeg via their website/email. For years they have come back to me exactly as the proofs would suggest with no issues, but more recently all my prints are coming back to me too dark or way overly saturated. The proofs on their end however still look fine. But something is making them darker when it comes to print.


they don't seem to have any clue as to what is causing this, and claim nothing has changed with the printing press or it's setting, but it can't be on my end since nothing has ever changed with my files

 

so figured I'd use the collective knowledge of all you guys, who are much more experienced than me.. so my question to you all is; do you have any idea what could be causing this? 

is there a potential that something like them maybe opening the file RGB and then printing in cmyk is causing the saturation?

Could it be their monitor calibration? 

or do you think something is wrong on my end, despite the fact some of my pieces been 6-7 years old and haven't been altered within that time?

 

any help would be great because they seem to think there's nothing they can do anymore 

 

 

This topic has been closed for replies.

2 replies

D Fosse
Community Expert
D FosseCommunity Expert
Community Expert
March 29, 2023

Well, if the profile is embedded and it is the correct profile, then it has to come out right - assuming, of course, that your monitor profile is  accurate so that you see it correctly.

 

So let's use logic: the CMYK profile characterizes a certain print process, an offset press calibrated to a certain standard, using certain inks on certain paper stock. If any of those change, then the profile is no longer valid.

 

Ask them about the profile again.

C
Cromid1000Author
Participating Frequently
March 30, 2023

Thanks for your reply, so the profile I've found out they're using is Forga39. So is there a potential this is causing the change.

 

might it be worthwhile I change the profile of one of my pieces and ask them to test print and see if it makes a difference?

 

D Fosse
Community Expert
D FosseCommunity Expert
Community Expert
March 30, 2023

Actually, the most common reason for dark prints is that the display is too bright. I didn't press that because you said "nothing changed" on your end.

 

But are you sure you haven't changed display calibration in any way? What is your white point luminance?

 

The visual reference here is the white paper. Monitor white should be a visual equivalent of paper white - as seen in your intended viewing light. The same for max ink vs. monitor black, but the white point is probably the most urgent here.

 

So do you see paper white on screen? The impression should be of a flat white, not a backlit white.

 

In most standard, "average" conditions, the recommended white point is somewhere around 120 cd/m². But so many things influence your perception that it's impossible to give any fixed numbers.

 

But yes, FOGRA39 is pretty different from US Web Coated (SWOP).

D Fosse
Community Expert
D FosseCommunity Expert
Community Expert
March 29, 2023

What CMYK profile are you using (and is it the one they request)? Is that profile embedded in your file?

C
Cromid1000Author
Participating Frequently
March 29, 2023

I'm using cmyk Us webcoated (swop) v2 and yeah it's embedded too.

 

I've emailed them again to ask what their profile is incase it's different to the one my artwork is set at.

potentially they've changed their profile and not made customers aware and it's having an effect?

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