Have you ever tried to match colors on a printed project? It can be really hard! There are a few reasons it’s hard to color match when printing, and I’ll help you troubleshoot those today. Here are some basic tips to start out, but you’ll want to read the full explanation for a deeper understanding of why color matching is tough with digital printers!

Some tips for color matching when printing:

• Make sure you’re printing in CMYK, not RGB
• Calibrate your monitor
• Print all pieces from the same printer, on the same paper
• Make sure your ink / toner cartridges are full
• Print sample swatches (like these) to try different values before printing your final work
• Use a different print method, like offset, letterpress, or screen printing
• Work with a print shop that does color matching

What kind of printing are we using? 

First, let’s establish that most of us are using in-house printers, or printing at a print shop. Check this post for more information about my favorite printers for stationery. Almost everything we think of as standard printing will fall under the category of “digital printing”. That means there isn’t a die, screen, or plate used in the printing process. It’s just ink or toner on paper.

It can either be an inkjet printer, that uses ink that’s sprayed onto the paper, or a laser printer, that uses toner that is fused (with heat) onto the paper. Either way, when you’re digitally printing, you’re using a 4-color ink process called CMYK printing. 

CMYK Printing Stands for the four colors of ink or toner used to create your image: 

C: Cyan
M: Magenta
Y: Yellow
K: Black

CMYK colors, which tell your colors how to print, are different from RGB colors, which are how the colors appear on your screen. More about CMYK vs. RGB colors can be found here. If you are having trouble with your printer’s colors, first make sure your files are converted from RGB to CMYK. You always want to use RGB colors for things that will be shown on screen, and CMYK colors for things that will be printed. 

What is a CMYK Code?

When using those CMYK colors to print, each of your file colors will have a certain CMYK code. Those CMYK codes tell the printer what percentage of each color of ink or toner to use. 

So a CMYK code of 12-35-64-10, would use 12% Cyan, 35% Magenta, 64% yellow, and 10% black. This particular CMYK code would make a color somewhere in the burnt orange / rust color range.

Here’s a hint: If your color code has 6 digits, or 3 separate numbers, it’s likely not in CMYK. In CMYK, you’ll always have 4 numbers in your color code. Color codes like #EF495A are typically Hex codes, which is a way of expressing RGB colors on screen, and won’t be helpful for printing.

Why is CMYK printing hard to color match?

If you have a code telling the printer how much of each color to use – wouldn’t those colors match all the time? In theory, yes. In practice, not at all. This is the crux of why you’re probably having print color matching issues. 

Why is it so hard to match colors in CMYK? The main reason is that with standard printers, you don’t have a lot of control over what goes into the ink or toner, or over how those inks and toners mix.

If you’re a t-shirt printer mixing screen printing inks, you’ll use what’s called the Pantone Matching System. This is a certified system of colors with certified formulas. So if 1,000 t-shirt printers mixed the same Pantone color, you’d get the same results each time. But they’re working with clear formulas and the same materials each time. That’s not the case with digital printers. 

All printers are using different types of inks and toners. They’re mixing them in slightly different ways. And outside factors like the weather and how full your ink / toner cartridges are can affect the outcome as well!

I printed this same document on 3 printers (Left to right): One from my favorite print shop, PrintsWell Fulfillment; one from my laser printer, and one from my inkjet printer. I used the same CMYK codes on all 3 (it was the exact same file). As you can see, each printer printed the colors a bit differently.

This is for a few reasons, namely:

• PrintsWell Fulfillment uses commercial-grade printers (they’re as big as my office – check out the tour I did of their printing facility!), whereas my in-house printers are both more hobby-grade
• Two of the options were inkjet and one is laser
• The weather is different on each
• My ink and toner cartridges are at different levels

How do you fix printer color issues?

There are a few things you can do to help make your printers print more accurate colors. Let’s start with some basics:

• Ensure you’re printing in CMYK, not RGB
• Ensure your ink or toner cartridges are full
• Calibrate your monitor – there are lots of ways to do this! Look up how to calibrate your monitor specifically on Google!
• Print on the same paper, around the same time (because weather and things can affect your colors!)

I generally try to print most of my wedding invitation orders through PrintsWell Fulfillment, so I have my monitor and file settings calibrated to their printers. That way, most things print just like they look on-screen.

If these tips don’t work, or you’re still having color matching issues, one of the best things I can recommend is printing a sample swatch page. Basically, you’ll print a few different versions of similar color swatches, and see which one gives you the correct color.

For years, I would make my own individual swatch pages depending on the colors that I needed. I often looked for a large color chart PDF with CMYK codes listed on each swatch. I could never find this, so I finally created one, and it’s helped so much with print color matching!

How to print color match with samples from The Printable Palette

Basically, The Printable Palette is a giant printable color chart you can use to help with color matching! If you’re using the same printer a lot, you can print the entire palette from that printer, and use it whenever you need it. Or, if you just need it for one project, you can just print a page or two of the color range you need.

Here’s how to use The Printable Palette to match an Envelope Color:

1. Print the Palette swatch file on whichever printer and paper you’re using for your final project
2. Locate the swatch that matches your envelope best, and note the CMYK code
3. Change your print file CMYK code to the one you noted from the matching swatch
4. Print your final project! It should match perfectly!

Here’s a video of how to use The Printable Palette

If you’re using multiple different printers for your project, you should print the swatches on each one and use different CMYK codes that give the result you want. Sometimes it takes a different CMYK code for a different printer to achieve the same result. This way, you can skip making a ton of color adjustments on your file or print settings – and just use the right CMYK value every time!

Why do colors look different on screen from printed on paper? 

There are a few reasons colors look different on screen from when they’re printed:

• Screens use RGB colors, printers use CMYK colors
• They aren’t backlit on paper like on a screen
• All printers handle color differently
• You don’t have a lot of control over how your printers mix color
• Papers can provide their own color cast
• Other factors like the weather, ink levels, and type of printer!

Calibrating your monitor is often a good way to fix this, but depending on your printer and print settings, you’ll likely want to follow some of the other tips shared in this article to make your colors print more accurately to the screen!

Get The Printable Palette to help you color match from screen to paper with over 2,000 individual CMYK swatches!

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I get it – print color matching can be tough! There’s a lot of interesting science that goes into it, but I hope these basic tools give you a good starting point for matching your colors from screen to paper. In general, it comes down to the fact that every printer is combining inks differently, and will give you different results. The most guaranteed way to match colors is to use a printing process like letterpress or screen printing where inks are mixed using Pantone formulas. But if your job requires digital printing, then you can use some of these tips for the best possible match!