Graphic Pieces - Color Reproduction

Let's get your color pixel perfect! 

This guide will run through some essential things to know to get the colors on your graphical products to really POP. 

For more general advice on graphic products, check out the general advice for these products.

Let's get physical.

Remember that previews of products are digitally rendered close-ups - as such, they will display your artwork exactly as it was created. But when this is scaled down, and transferred onto real materials, they will look different. 

The backlit screen of your computer or phone will make some colors appear brighter than they are when printed. This is particularly noticeable on bright oranges, reds and neon colors. You don't need to avoid these colors, but just be aware that there will be a slight variation on how they appear when transferred.

Deep solid colors (like blues, purples, greens) look great.

Check your color profile.

When uploading your design to our system ready for print, your image will be converted to a .PNG file to enable transparency. This file type does not support CMYK color profiles, and so the color in your image will be converted to an RGB color profile. This will still work just fine, but If you have designed your message card using the CMYK color profile, the colors in the image might look slightly different when printed.

If you require pixel-perfect color, we recommend designing your message cards using an RGB color profile.

Choose the correct DPI.

The DPI (dots per inch) setting controls the amount of detail a print will have when the artwork is applied to the product. For best results, you should set the DPI of your artwork to 300. Lower DPI settings will work too, but you'll be missing out on quality.

Make neon colors POP.

There is a trick you can use to make neon colors really jump out. Enabling transparency will mean colors will print directly onto the metal instead of a white background, this can make bright, and neon colors look metallic and reflective. A really cool effect!

Use contrasting colors.

Restricting your color scheme to 2 or 3 sharply contrasting colors (light vs dark colors, for example) will ensure the colors don't blend together when transferred and will keep your text and designs looking sharp. 

Check it out in real life.

If you're unsure how your design will look when transferred, printing it on a regular printer will give a far more accurate representation of the finished product than your screen.

If you are still unsure, we recommend always ordering a sample of your products before making them available for general sale. This will help you weed out any issues with your designs without leaving customers unimpressed.