Color Matching Guide for Custom Printing

Color can appear different across phones, monitors, office printers, fabrics, vinyl, and other printed materials. Providing clear brand references helps the design team understand which colors matter most, but an illuminated screen is not a physical print sample.

Screen colors translated through printing inks and fabric swatches to a custom table cover
Screen color, print inks, materials, and lighting all influence the final appearance.

Provide brand-color references

If your organization has a brand guide, include the listed color values with the artwork. Pantone references can be especially useful when a particular corporate, school, team, or franchise color is important. Also identify which elements require the closest consistency.

Why screen color differs

Displays create color with emitted light, while printed products reflect light. Screen brightness, display calibration, viewing angle, ambient lighting, printing method, and material can all affect appearance. Two customers can view the same mockup on different screens and see slightly different colors.

Useful information to send

  • Approved Pantone or brand-color references.
  • The original logo or brand-guide file.
  • A description of which colors are critical.
  • A reference to an existing approved printed item when relevant.
  • Any color that must not be substituted.

Avoid unreliable references

Do not use a phone photograph of a printed item as the only color standard. Camera processing, room lighting, reflections, and the viewing screen can all shift the result. Likewise, an office-printer output is not necessarily an accurate production reference.

Review the mockup carefully

Confirm that the correct logo version and intended color references were supplied. Check for accidental color changes, transparency, outlines, gradients, and background interactions. If a specific color requirement is essential, communicate it before approving the artwork.

Material and printing considerations

The same artwork can appear somewhat different on satin fabric, stretch fabric, vinyl, flag material, stickers, or canopy fabric. The surrounding colors and lighting at an event also influence perception. Ask questions during proof review when matching expectations are important.

Approval reminder

Artwork approval should confirm the layout, wording, logo selection, and communicated color references. It should not be based solely on the apparent color of one uncalibrated screen.

Review the mockup and artwork approval process, or return to the artwork resource center.