If you ever happened to get a chance to work with designers and printing services, chances are you might some sort of knowledge on the process of converting digital images to hard copies. There are many factors to consider in the printing process, and these factors are often what ensure that the printed copies maintain the closest resemblance to their digital counterparts. Of course, when it comes to printing, most individuals would have worked with the traditional printing of images or documents, but it is wrong to assume that every method and type of print follows the same guidelines. In fact, when it comes to sticker printing, you will find that there are many other factors to take into consideration, and these are mostly related to the colour balance of your digital artworks. To highlight some examples, consider the following tips:
Method of printing – your average printout would be done on a normal paper or otherwise, by using either a black and white printer, or a colour one. There are different varieties of printers based on the different technologies being used nowadays, but the gist is that colour gradations and different shades are achieved through the mixing of inks. This is the principal reason why designers and printing services advise you to make use of the CMYK colour mode: opposed to the RGB colour mode, this can more faithfully reproduce colours when printed out.
When it comes to stickers, the CMYK colour mode is similarly used, but there is a difference in how the colour shades are achieved. Instead of mixing the colours together, adhesive printing makes use of what is known as a CMYK process colour, whereby small dots of cyan, magenta, yellow and black are used in different percentages to recreate different colours. Beyond this, there is also a process where a specific colour shade can be reproduced; known as a custom Pantone (PMS), this is a considerably more expensive alternative and often used only in the event of printing large batches of the same type.
Balancing colour values – as a result of the above method of printing, it is crucial to achieve the correct balance in colour values in order to recreate the colours in a printed adhesive. Basically, what this means is that a poorly balanced colour scheme – which can and often does look good digitally – can turn out disappointing when printed. The key to achieving a good colour balance is abiding by not only the principles of complementary colours and gradations, but also correctly understanding how colours are reproduced both on the screen and in print.