Photoshop CC: The Missing Manual

Chapter 17. Photoshop and Print

Getting your prints to match what you see onscreen is one of the biggest challenges you’ll face when dealing with digital images. Unless you prepare your monitor and files properly, it’s impossible to make them match. As you learned before, image files are actually filled with grayscale information—it’s the monitor and printer’s job to give them color. And with the sheer volume of monitors, printers, inks, and papers out there, producing consistent color can be a nightmare.

Thankfully, there’s a solution, but it lies in understanding why this stuff happens to begin with. Unfortunately, that means learning about things like color modes, gamuts, and color profiles. These are heady topics, to be sure, but it’s not rocket science. The main concepts are (fairly) straightforward, and if you can make it through this chapter (an energy drink will help), you’ll know how to create consistent, predictable, high-quality prints.