By DTG
Short answer
Your print doesn’t match your screen because most monitors show pleasing color, not accurate color, and the screen is rarely set for the light you judge prints in. The fix has four parts: choose a monitor built for color work; calibrate and profile it, ideally with direct hardware calibration; set its white point and brightness to your print viewing light; and soft proof with an ICC profile for your printer and paper. The bottom line is saved time and materials: less time color-correcting images, less time to a correct print, and less paper and ink lost to reprints. Eizo ColorEdge CG monitors have the calibrator built in. CS models use an external Eizo sensor.
Have a question about color-accurate monitors? Talk to DTG or call 813.889.0660 (toll-free 800.681.0024).
Our most common in-bound tech support call is “why don’t my prints match my monitor?” “My screen looks just like the original, so why does the print look dull?” It affects fine art reproduction, photography, signs and commercial work alike. Here is what is going on, and how to fix it.
What is the most common mistake?
Assuming the monitor is right. Most monitors are made to produce pleasing color, bright and punchy, not accurate color. Few people stop to think that a screen has to be calibrated and profiled before it can match what the printer will produce. Out of the box, with default settings, it is almost always wrong for print matching.
A common scenario: matching a painting on canvas
Picture an artist who brings in an original painting and asks for a canvas print that matches its colors. They work on an off-the-shelf monitor or a laptop, on default settings, never calibrated. That screen is brighter and more saturated than the printer’s colors, so the first print always comes out darker and more muted than they expected.
So they start correcting the file, on a screen that is not showing brightness or color accurately. It is like trying to paint a room with the lights turned off. Only when you turn the lights on, by running the print, do you see that the colors are all wrong. This is a composite of a scenario we see often, not a particular customer, and it repeats across fine art, photos, signs and brand work.
Why does it happen?
A good match takes several things working together: steady lighting where you work and judge prints, dependable profiles that describe your printer and media, and a color-managed way of working. Of those, the monitor is the one you can fix first, and it is where most people have the biggest problem. A printer does what the file tells it to do. If the screen shows the wrong color, you correct things that were never wrong, and no profile can rescue the print. The cost is wasted paper, vinyl, canvas and ink, wasted editing time, reprints, and arguments about whose color was right.
Step 1: Which monitor is built for color work?
Eizo’s ColorEdge family is designed around the points below. CG models have the calibrator built in and include a hood. CS models use an external Eizo sensor, and the hood is optional. Both use direct hardware calibration with ColorNavigator 7. Our CG vs CS guide compares them, and the Eizo category lists what we carry.
Our rule of thumb: if you are someone who has to have the best, choose the CG. But the CS is about 99% of the CG for display accuracy, consistency and color gamut, so it is a very sound monitor for color work. The CG adds two conveniences. One is the automatic calibrator built in, so no one has to hang an external sensor on the screen. The other is a near-instant warm-up: in our experience a CG shows accurate color and brightness within a couple of minutes, while a CS takes around 15 minutes.
Think of the monitor as part of the printing system. Next to the printer, the ink and the media, it is among the more affordable components, and it can pay back quickly, because it prevents wasted prints.
Step 2: How do I calibrate and profile the monitor?
These are two separate jobs, and a calibration device does both.
Calibration brings the monitor to a known, repeatable standard: a white point, a brightness and a tone response. Profiling then records how that monitor actually reproduces color, and saves it as an ICC profile that your software uses to display files correctly. Without a custom calibration and profile, you are judging color with a generic idea of what your screen does. Every monitor is a little different, even two of the same model.
A sensor measures the display. Repeat the process regularly.
Where the calibrator lives. On an Eizo ColorEdge CG model, the calibrator is built in: a sensor in the front bezel swings out in front of the screen when it is needed, so there is no separate device to hang on the monitor, and it can recalibrate on a schedule you set. A ColorEdge CS model uses an external Eizo sensor that you attach to the screen when you calibrate, which we suggest doing every two to four weeks. Both do direct hardware calibration.
Step 3: Why calibrate in the monitor, not around it?
How the correction is applied matters. With standard monitors, the sensor’s adjustments are sent to the computer’s video card, which then alters the signal sent to the screen. It works, but it is a workaround. With direct hardware calibration, which both the Eizo ColorEdge CG and CS models feature, the software writes the white point, brightness and tone response into the monitor’s own look-up table (LUT). The monitor’s electronics do the work, and tones and colors blend more smoothly. Read hardware vs software calibration for a longer explanation.
The precision of that table counts too. A finer table leaves more room to correct without banding. Eizo lists a 16-bit LUT on the ColorEdge CG2700S, CG2700X, CG2400S, CS2400S, CS2731 and CS2740. Meanwhile, the spec-sheet staples, contrast ratio, dot pitch and peak brightness, tell you little about color accuracy. Check how the monitor calibrates before you check them.
Step 4: How do I match the screen to my viewing light?
You compare a print to a screen, in a room, under a light. So calibrate the screen to suit that light. Choose a white point and a brightness that match the place where you judge prints, ideally a viewing booth or a fixed, neutral lamp. As an example, a booth at 5000K calls for a screen white point to match, and many print workflows set brightness around 80 to 120 cd/m² so the screen does not outshine the paper. The right numbers depend on your light, so compare a proof with the screen and fine-tune.
A shading hood keeps room light and glare off the glass. The CG models in our guide include one, and it is optional on CS models. We carry the Eizo CH2710 hood for 27-inch ColorEdge monitors.
Step 5: What is soft proofing, and how do I do it?
Even a perfectly calibrated screen does not guarantee a true match on paper. You also have to use it properly, and the most useful habit is soft proofing: previewing, on screen, how the image will look on your printer and paper. You need a calibrated monitor and an accurate ICC profile that describes your printer and media. In Photoshop:
- Calibrate and profile the monitor first. Soft proofing on an uncalibrated screen only gives you a confident wrong answer.
- Make sure you have an ICC profile for the exact printer, paper or media, and ink you will use.
- Open the image in Photoshop and choose View > Proof Setup > Custom.
- In the dialog that opens, pick your printer and media profile as the device to simulate, and choose the rendering intent you plan to print with.
- Click OK and watch the image shift. That shift is the print’s likely color and tone range, shown on your screen. Toggle View > Proof Colors to flip between the proof and the original.
- Make your corrections while the proof is on, then print with the same rendering intent you proofed with.
Our advice on the rendering intent is to try Perceptual and Relative Colorimetric with Black Point Compensation. Every image behaves differently, and whichever you choose in the proof, use the same setting when you print.
Menu names can vary between versions. Paper makers publish generic profiles, and DTG’s custom ICC printer profiling service builds one for your exact printer, RIP, media and ink. Our soft-proofing support guide (or our newer Eizo ColorEdge photo and fine-art print-proofing guide) and the article on matching an Eizo monitor to your printer have more.
Will my print ever match my screen exactly?
No, and a trustworthy shop will tell you so. As we put it, “we can’t promise 100% perfect match from monitor to print – it’s physics.” A screen is transmissive color, light shining through the display, and a print is reflective color, light coming off paper. They are not the same. Calibration, profiles and soft proofing get you as close as physics allows, and that is close enough to work with confidence and save media on the way.
What does it mean for your kind of work?
Fine art reproduction
Scans never capture a painting perfectly, so the color correction has to happen on a screen you can trust. See color-accurate monitors for fine art reproduction.
Photo-accurate printing
Prints that come out dark and muted are the classic sign of an uncalibrated monitor. See color-accurate monitors for photo printing.
Sign printing
Client logos and Pantone colors have to print on banner, vinyl and wall covering. See color-accurate monitors for sign printing.
Brand and commercial printing
A color-managed workflow with soft proofing warns prepress when something is off. See color-accurate monitors for brand and commercial printing.
Can I just calibrate the monitor I already have?
Yes. Calibrating and profiling the monitor you already own is much better than leaving it uncalibrated, but it is not the same as an Eizo ColorEdge. A Calibrite calibrator measures your screen and builds a profile, and the correction is applied through the computer’s video card. What you see on screen is changed and brought in line with the calibration target, so colors are far more predictable. It is just not as accurate or as clean as hardware calibration, which writes the correction into the monitor’s own memory (its look-up table) and generally keeps tones smoother and color steadier. That is how Eizo ColorEdge monitors work. A calibrator improves the consistency and quality of what a monitor shows, but it can only do so much: if the monitor itself, such as a laptop screen, is lower quality, there is a limit to what calibration can fix. A Calibrite will not turn an average monitor into an Eizo ColorEdge.
Here is our honest ranking: no calibration, then a Calibrite on your existing monitor, then Eizo hardware calibration (a CG with the sensor built in, or a CS with an external Eizo sensor). DTG sells the Calibrite Display Pro HL and the entry-level Display 123; see all Calibrite calibrators. To compare the Eizo route, read our CG vs CS guide. Not sure which fits your screen? Ask DTG.
Frequently asked questions
Why does my print look darker than my screen?
The screen is usually brighter and more saturated than the paper under your lamp, especially on default settings. Calibrate it, lower the brightness and match it to your viewing light.
Will a calibrated monitor fix everything?
No. You also need printer and media profiles, soft proofing and consistent light. But without a calibrated monitor, none of the rest can be trusted.
What is the difference between calibrating and profiling?
Calibration sets the monitor to a known, repeatable state. Profiling records how the calibrated monitor shows color, so your software can use that information.
Is hardware calibration really better?
For smoothness and consistency, generally yes, because the correction happens inside the monitor instead of passing through the computer’s video card.
Do I need a separate calibrator for an Eizo ColorEdge?
You need a sensor to calibrate any ColorEdge. CG models have it built into the bezel, so there is nothing separate to attach. CS models use an external Eizo sensor, which is included in some bundles we sell.
How often should I recalibrate?
Regularly. With a CS model, you run the external sensor yourself, and every two to four weeks is a sensible rhythm. CG models can recalibrate on a schedule you choose.
Is a budget monitor good enough?
It can be, depending on who buys your prints. If they only want pleasing color, as with portrait or consumer prints, a budget monitor may do. If you print for professionals who expect accurate color, spend a bit more. It quickly pays for itself in saved time and materials.
Will my print ever match my screen exactly?
No. A screen shines light through the display and a print reflects light off paper, so they will never be identical. A calibrated, profiled monitor with soft proofing gets you as close as physics allows.
Talk to DTG
Still not matching? DTG is an authorized Eizo reseller in Tampa, FL. Tell us what you print and we will help you choose a monitor, a sensor and a workflow that fit your work. A DTG color specialist follows up personally.
Call us: 813.889.0660 or toll-free 800.681.0024.
You can also contact us online or browse the Eizo ColorEdge monitors we carry.
About the author: The author has been providing color management and printing solutions to the fine art reproduction, digital photography, sign making, proofing and digital textile markets since 1993, and has been writing, training and teaching on the subject for various publications and in many different forums over the years.
Keep reading
- Color-accurate monitors for fine art reproduction
- Color-accurate monitors for photo printing
- Color-accurate monitors for sign printing
- Color-accurate monitors for brand and commercial printing
- Eizo ColorEdge CG vs CS: which series to buy
- Match your Eizo monitor to your printer: soft proofing
