: How to maintain the colours of my design when printing I have taken a long time to design my own business card in Photoshop. However, the colours are much darker and all wrong (sometimes too

@Vandalay110

The way to specify colors for printing (simplified).


Get a CMYK swatchbook printed on the same stock you are using (gloss, matte, flat, newsprint, whatever).
Check the CMYK values in the file using the tools in Acrobat (for CMYK PDF or EPS file) or Photoshop. Compare to the swatchbook. For example, the 100M 100Y "red" that you see on screen is fiction. The washed out tomato red 100M 100Y swatch (if you're printing on newsprint, say) is what you're going to get from the press.
Adjust the color values in the file as necessary. This may involve creating new color swatches in your app, or using adjustment tools to modify the shades, but in any case, you must use actual color values based on the swatch book.
For critical work ($$$$), request a Matchprint(tm) -- a reproduction of the printing plates that shows the exact dot patterns and colors that will be used for printing. This is also called a contract proof because it's what the printer is promising to reproduce -- it's your "contract" with the printer for a successful print job.


Note: Some digital printers do not use this workflow, because they are not using printing plates, so the matchprint is a digital proof, or even a PDF file -- but it should still be a faithful reproduction of the actual CMYK color values that will be used.

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@Michele215

If everyone else is mistaken... there is a chance you are the one that has it wrong on the first place. n_n

You normally should not use Photoshop to design a business card. You might get the text too fuzzy. But let us think you have the correct resolution.

If you have done your image in RGB mode... ouch, there is a big chance you can not print the colors you see.

If you are using CMYK mode, take a look at this: How configure color in InDesign for a specific printer?

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