Preparing your files for print

In this post, I’ll go through some suggetions you can use to get the best results when ordering printed fabric from Eye Candey. Our goal is to have the colors in your fabrics look as similar as possible to your image file. Please remember that it is not possible for any printer to reproduce colors as vivid and saturated as what you would see on a computer monitor. (Please see our post on Color Matching 101 for more information on color matching). The following are the things we’ll need from you to print your designs:

A high resolution image file. You can submit your images to us in either JPEG, PNG, or TIFF format. If submitting a TIFF file, do not compress the image. We recommend your files be created with a resolution of 150 dpi or higher. (No cheating here – do not try to create your image at 72 dpi and then convert or resize it to 150dpi – we can tell when you do this and it does not produce the best result). The minimum dpi that we can accept will be 150dpi.

Here are some things that can be done to minimize the color shifting between on-screen and printed images. Some of these techniques are for more advanced designers, but don’t worry – you will still get great prints using the procedures above. Some other image creation tips are:

Order a swatch - when color matching is a high-priority we recommend ordering a swatch of your fabric design prior to placing an order for yardage.
Color mode: If possible you should try to create your image in the LAB color mode. LAB, or CIE Lab is a color space that gives the most consistent representation of color regardless of the device used to create it. This will decrease the color shifting in your printed images to only colors that are out of our printers gamut.
Users can install our color swatch files: We have created a swatch of colors in Photoshop that you can install and use to create your images. This swatch represents colors that can be reproduced with our printers with no shifting of colors. Click here to download our custom swatch file. Save the *.aco file in: Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop X\Presets\Color Swatches X is the version number for your install of Photoshop. To load: go to the Swatches palette, then click the small arrow in the top right corner and choose printswatch.aco from the swatch collections and click load.
Advanced users can install our ICC Profile: An ICC Profile is a file that describes how a device (i.e. a printer, monitor, scanner, etc.) reproduces color. We can provide you with an ICC Profile of our printer. With an accurately calibrated monitor, this profile can be used to generate a ‘soft proof’ of your image in Photoshop versions 6.0 and later, which will show you what your printed image will look like. Click here to download the ICC Profile. After downloading, right-click on the file and select install profile. Then in Photoshop, open your image, go to View>Proof Setup>Custom and you can select the Eye Candey ICC Profile. This will show you what your image file will look like printed on our printers. Your original image won’t be changed in any way.