There aren't many things our incredible DTG process can't achieve! However, when choosing the colors for your artwork, it’s important to note that they may look different on a real product than what you see on your computer monitor. Even if you have calibrated your monitor to a specific color profile, there are various factors that influence the final appearance of colors on a printed product. You can find out more about color matching for print-on-demand clothing in this blog post!
Because of this, we can’t guarantee color accuracy 100%. Consider the following factors:
- When printing on garments, it’s important to consider fabric material and garment color. The same color value will look a little different on when printed on 100% cotton vs. a fabric blend. Similarly, the same color value will look different when printed on a light vs. dark colored garment.
- We also print a white under base layer beneath prints on colored garments so that the colors look vibrant and stand out from the fabric. The same color value on one garment can look different when printed with vs. without a white under base. We've taken some photos where you can see how the same color values look different when printed on a white or black garment. Keep in mind that even the colors in these photos look different than on the original printed product. Referencing these photos is not a substitution for ordering color swatches on a sample product.
- The two most popular color spaces are RGB and CMYK. RGB has a wider gamut (the range of colors that can be expressed) and print files made in RGB can be saved as png files. CMYK, on the other hand, is the color space used when printing. Our printers automatically convert your submitted print files from RGB to CMYK, and this conversion changes the color gamut. That's why we suggest you design your file within the CMYK color space, but convert the file to RGB before saving. For best possible accuracy, convert the file to sRGB color profile, sRGB IEC61966-2.1 to be exact. This way your colors will stay within the gamut. Most editing programs have this color profile as default.
- You can download Printful’s color swatches here as well.
We also suggest ordering our pre-made color swatches on a sample product. You can use those swatches to decide which RGB values best compare to the desired results when printed on a physical product. This video shows you how to order your samples:
We also have a great Graphic Design Services team if you’d prefer we make any color corrections for you!
