Understanding Icc profiles
Understanding ICC Profiles in Large Format Digital Printing
Remember that trip to the Grand Canyon? You took so many beautiful photos on that trip. Wouldn’t it be nice to hang some of those photos up in your home or office?
But your local superstore closed its photo print shop years ago and you don’t want to print them on computer paper. You need something bigger.
You should consider printing photos onto acrylic or even metal through a print service. These materials provide a unique way to display your photos and give your decor more character.
Read on to learn more about metal and acrylic printing.
Why Print Photos at All?
In the digital age, it is so easy to take a photo. It seems that every mobile device can take a picture with the click of a button. Many people have thousands of photos saved on their phones.
When it’s so easy to have thousands of photos at your fingertips, people may wonder why you’d want a physical copy of a photo. There are many reasons why you might want to print a photo.
For one, photos make beautiful decorative options for a home or office. A nice vacation photo can add charm to a cubicle. Nature photos can have a calming presence in a dentist’s office.
You may want to create a physical photo book to pass down. It’s very easy to lose a digital photo, but a physical copy ensures that people will see it for generations to come.
Another reason for printing photos is to create prints of something that only has one original copy. Many people may fall in love with a painting, but only one exists. Offering prints of the painting allows multiple people to own a copy.
Gone are the days when the only way to have photos was through printing them at a photo shop in a retail store.
That does not mean that photography printing has gone the way of the dinosaur. Like many other industries, it has simply evolved. And now, you can print your photos on mediums such as acrylic and metal.
Acrylic and metal are particularly useful when you’re looking to do large format printing. This type of printing requires special equipment because the final product is larger than a typical picture.
Why Print Photos Onto Acrylic?
When doing large format printing, it’s important to consider the type of material you want the photo on. One option is to print on acrylic. This lightweight medium allows for easy installation of art indoors.
At first glance, the smooth appearance of acrylic gives it a glass-like look. But unlike glass, acrylic is shattered resistant. This allows for the safe transportation of your art.
Because it is smooth, acrylic provides a clean look for photos. Its shiny quality helps brighten up rooms.
The best acrylic prints display all the vibrant colors of your photo. Acrylic prints allow the depth of colors in your photo to stand out, so the results are visually attractive.
Acrylic is naturally UV resistant, so you can be sure your print will stay good-looking for years. It can even withstand direct sunlight.
Why Print Photos Onto Metal?
Metal is another modern material that you can print your photos on. Metal provides a unique and contemporary look. A metal print will make your photo memorable to anyone who sees it.
Metal prints are lightweight and come in custom sizes. They are great options for homes, offices, restaurants, and more.
Although many things made of metal are shiny, our custom metal prints are not. If you prefer a glossy image, a varnish can achieve that look.
Metal photos have a coating that makes them scratch and moisture-resistant. Metal is capable of withstanding harsh weather conditions such as heavy snow and wind.
This means you can display a metal photo outdoors. Our UV ink ensures that the photo will not fade outdoors, and you can enjoy it for years to come.
We can print your photo on white metal or brushed metal. With white metal, your colors will pop due to the contrast. Brushed metal has a texture that gives your photos unique characteristics.
What Is an ICC Profile?
The International Color Consortium (ICC) worked with individuals and corporations to develop a standard way to profile color. This standard is known as an ICC profile.
Sometimes information about color gets lost in the process of digitizing a piece of art and printing it out. Devices inherently have some differences, regardless of how carefully they are manufactured. The color on your drawing tablet may appear differently on your friend’s computer screen.
Additionally, different mediums have different properties. When you print a photo onto standard printer paper, it will look different than printing it onto acrylic or metal.
This is where having a good printer color profile comes in. The profile works with systems and programs to ensure that information about color doesn’t get lost. Then, when it comes time to print your art, your printer has all the information necessary to give accurate and consistent results.
If you want great-looking photos, you’ll want the best ICC profile you can get. Fortunately, it is easy to get a color profile.
You can download a generic profile from various places online. Some paper manufacturers offer them, and other color enthusiasts may develop some to share with the community. However, because these options are not customized for your use, they may not produce the results you want.
The best ICC profile is one that specifically caters to the devices that you’ll use for digitizing and printing. Art shops can create a custom profile for you. Because we are a print service dedicated to providing you with amazing prints, we will make sure your photos are printed with a custom ICC profile.
When designing for a printed format, the best color profile to use is CMYK, which uses the base colors of Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Key (or Black).
Print Your Large Format Projects
You have worked hard to perfect your art. Let us handle the printing. We’ll translate your creation onto a physical medium that you’ll be happy to display.
Contact us today to set up a time to talk about printing your photos onto acrylic or metal. We can’t wait to help you get your piece printed.
