Getting a good red

[twinsgran]

Can anyone advise me on the code for a pillar box red in adobe photoshop elements 6 please? I've tried so many reds that look good on screen but don't print out as good. Any help would be great, thanks.

[GoonerGary]

What are you trying to print onto?

The colours which you print onto mugs and T shirts etc using sub ink will not be as precise as your screen.

Your screen will not be displaying the correct colours also.


You can get fairly close, but your monitor and printer needs to be calibrated,and you'll need an ICC profile for them all to speak to each other.

No matter what pantone code or RGB value we give you for a red, that's not what will print out.

[pisquee]

Are you using an ICC profile (or PowerDriver) for your printer/inks?
If this is an ink manufacturer provided ICC, then you could get better results with a custom ICC profile making for your inks/printer, as this would be more finely tuned to the nuances of your printer.
If you haven't got your monitor ICC profiled also, then what you see there may not be the most accurate representation either.
Colour management needs to be set up properly within Photoshop to be able to handle the printer and workspace ICC profiles effectively.

[twinsgran]

Paul did my icc for me. I'm doing mainly mugs, but what looks red on screen comes out either too orangey or too brown for my liking. That's why I'm asking for what everyone uses as their red.

[smo]

But is your screen profiled as well or is it just the printer?

[Paul]

Reds and greys are worst to reproduce. I didn see ink yet that can produce corret res.

[twinsgran]

But is your screen profiled as well or is it just the printer?

Only the printer. I didn't know about getting the screen done.

[smo]

The problem (other than as Paul says reds are hard to reproduce) is that unless your screen is profiled and calibrated reguarly then what you see isnt what you get. You also get differences in colour depending on screen type and even things like viewing angle!

[GoonerGary]

If you are using a laptop, or LCD screen which shifts colour when you look at it from different angles you will never get close in a million years.

[JMugs]

The colour shift on my LCD screen is massive, so much so that it amuses me...

Janners