Hi Everyone,
I create all of my designs in Procreate. When I upload the files to Zazzle they appear to be so vibrant and exactly how I intended the design. However, when the product is printed, the colors are way off from the original design. Is anyone else having this issue? Is this a file type issue (i.e. should I be saving in a different format than what I’m using? Currently, I’m exporting as PNG or JPEG)?
Thank you in advance for your help.
What products are they complaining about?
@Naptowntails
What color profile are you using? Adobe RGB (1998)? Try using that when you create the Image, and save it with that profile. Example: In Photoshop, color settings>Settings>AdobeRGB>Working Spaces>Adobe RGB (1998)
Note: uncoated paper changes the color result. Absorbent products change the color result. Do not use CMYK, the color range is different, changes the range. If I remember correctly, Z converts the image to what they use, which I believe they said is RGB, this was discussed years ago, and Scott? chimed in to say that they use the above profile, RGB.
Ornaments, grocery bags, t-shirts, and some of the greeting cards. I’m wondering if it’s RGB vs. CMYK options within Procreate combined with the file type?
Hi…this is more likely due to the actual printing process rather than your artwork. Depending on the product ordered there are many factors that can change the end color, such as if it’s a large format printer and they are spraying directly onto the product the color can be effected, if they are running the machine at 8 pass instead of 16 pass the color will not be as vibrant, or clogged printer heads not spraying correctly. For paper products, colored paper or textured surfaces can dull the ink and change the color, it goes on and on. The companies that are fulfilling these orders are putting out multiple 1,000’s of orders daily, I’m sure quality control is tough to keep up with.
Yes, Zazzle suggests using RGB and allowing them to do the conversions BUT.. all printing is done in CMYK.. some processes may use extended gamut inks BUT it’s still not RGB, which has a far greater range than any printing process… When you design, even if you choose to leave your files as RGB, you still should preview them in a printing color space to get an idea of how the file will print. Some colors will not reproduce- bright, brights and neons, some are difficult- greens can be difficult and will often appear darker and muddier than they appear on your screen.
Personally, I do not convert photographic images from RGB, but when I draw in Illustrator, I do it in CMYK.
So do your products come out the way you intended through Zazzle when you create in CYMK?
Thank you so much for your response. Have you personally found anything that works particularly well outstanding printing jobs for you in your business on Zazzle?
They should.. I use a print safe palette, so all of the colors I select should at least be in gamut.. The material printed will influence the colors too.. absorbent materials, like cloth and matte paper, or anything that is not a bright white base will not appear as snappy as things like plastics or ceramics.
Ok, thank you so much. Sounds like I will need to start creating in multiple, different color profiles for each design based on what the material the design will be printed.
I’m not sure what you’re asking.. I’ve never had any complaints about color or print quality… I certainly have not seen each and everything I’ve designed in actual print though..
I’m pretty sure Zazzle uses sRGB, not Adobe RGB. If so, that could account for some color differences, since Adobe RGB has a wider gamut.
Have you looked at your Zazzle store from a computer? My ipad has more vivid colors than my laptop, but Zazzle prints much more closely to my laptop than my ipad. I work almost exclusively in srgb, and haven’t had a problem with printing differences, but I sometimes have to adjust my designs on my laptop to make sure that they look good on Zazzle.
If possible, you should order some samples, at least of greeting cards, to compare the print to what you see. Then you have an idea of how to adjust your artwork to compensate.
This is a super complicated topic, and I don’t think there’s a perfect solution, because there are SOOOO many variables involved.
Don’t know what sort of system you’re using for designing, but you might want to consider downloading the correct color profile for your monitor or display and installing it in your system just to be sure that the colors you are using are being accurately displayed on your screen. How to change and install color profiles on Windows 11 (xda-developers.com)
That, of course, doesn’t guarantee that the customer’s device has an accurate color profile installed, and, of course, the colors will print differently on different materials.
There’s also the fact that many of the Zazzle mockups show the color being significantly lighter than the actual color. I recently had a long correspondence with someone on Zazzle’s quality control team and was told that the color in the design tool is the more accurate one, and that at least some colors will print darker than the actual chosen color. He advised me to avoid using very dark blues and purples because these can print black. I’m just talking about background colors set in the design tool, not uploaded artwork here.
I do think that if Zazzle cannot reproduce certain colors in the print process, they might want to consider omitting them from the color picker in the design tool. That wouldn’t solve any problems with uploaded artwork, but it would at least prevent both customers and designers from choosing a color that is out of range for Zazzle’s print process.
Sooo… I dunno. Those are some things to consider, but I think the basic answer is to refer the unhappy folks to customer service and let them sort it out.
That’s a great idea about looking at it from a laptop vs. ipad. I’ve only been viewing from my ipad. Thanks for the info!
Yes, I try to order samples but have not ordered everything in my store (about 900 products….).
Thank you so much for taking the time to write this and share your thoughts. These all are great points. Thank you!
Even if you work in Adobe RGB you should convert your work to sRGB and include the color profile for safety before exporting to JPG or PNG. Zazzle uses sRGB like most other printers. I always work in sRGB for a better visual idea but when I import imagery I switch to Adobe RGB, look at how it looks, then copy the image, switch back to sRGB and paste the image back with the converted ADOBE colors. After that, if needed I lower the opacity of the converted Adobe layer to avoid too saturated colors and merge the two.
I hope navy blue isn’t too dark! I have so many navy blue products! The invitations I’ve gotten samples of printed fine, so I think that’s an OK color.
It was a total shock when I got the email from quality control because I’d had nothing but 5 star reviews on products using that color - some people even remarked that the color was perfect, others posted pictures and it looked great. So I don’t know if something in the print process changed or what. Anyhow, they helped me change all the colors to what they said was the darkest blue they could handle. I’m still adjusting covers and making sure everything got changed. I mean, I’d rather change it than have unhappy customers, but I am still scratching my head a bit.
