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Differences between the range of colours
a monitor or printer can reproduce
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Neither a printer nor a monitor is capable of reproducing the
full range of colours visible to the human eye. Each device is
restricted to a certain range of colours. In addition to this, a
printer cannot reproduce all of the colours displayed on a
monitor, and vice versa.
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Both devices use very different technologies to represent
colour. A monitor uses Red, Green and Blue (RGB) phosphors
(or LCDs), a printer uses Cyan, Yellow, Magenta and Black
(CMYK) toner or ink.
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A monitor can display very vivid colours such as intense reds
and blues and these cannot be easily produced on any printer
using toner or ink. Similarly, there are certain colours, (some
yellows for example), that can be printed, but cannot be
displayed accurately on a monitor. This disparity between
monitors and printers is often the main reason that printed
colours do not match the colours displayed onscreen.
Viewing conditions
A print can look very different under different lighting conditions. For
example, the colours in a print may look different when viewed
standing next to a sunlit window, compared to how they look under
standard office fluorescent lighting.
Printer driver colour settings
The driver settings for Manual colour can change the appearance of a
print. There are several options available to help match the printed
colours with those displayed onscreen. These options are explained
in subsequent sections of the User Manual.