I finally hit 4.2 on a press check and realized I was wrong about RGB

For years I swore I could eyeball RGB to CMYK conversions just fine on my monitor. Then last month I was checking a batch of business cards at the print shop in Austin and the numbers read 4.2 delta E from what I uploaded. That's when I finally bought a real color calibration tool and started paying attention to proofing. Has anyone else had a wakeup call from a hard number like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

amy_reed797h ago

Funny thing, that exact same thing happened to me about two years ago. Used to be the same way (just eyeballing everything) and swore my monitor was calibrated enough. Had a batch of posters come back from the printer and the blues were totally wrong, like a 5.2 delta E difference. Made me feel pretty stupid honestly. That number really hits different when you see it in black and white, you know? Now I check everything with a hardware calibrator before sending it off. Saves a ton of headache and money on reprints.

hart.zara7h ago

oh man same exact thing happened to me a few months ago. i was sending a logo to get printed on some merch and thought it looked fine on my screen. then the printer called and said the difference was 3.8 delta e on the reds and i felt so dumb for not checking sooner. like you said seeing that number just hits different and makes you realize youve been guessing this whole time. now i calibrate my monitor every single week and double check everything with a soft proof before i hit send. its wild how much of a difference it makes and honestly saves so much stress later on.