Some people don’t realize the real importance of color management until it’s too late. If, for example, your digital colors don’t match print, you’ve got a problem. Getting digital colors to match what’s on printed media can be exceedingly tricky. Audits are complicated too, yet we must comply. When digital and print colors don’t match, you need to correct the discrepancy before customers catch on. Here’s a breakdown of why it’s so crucial that your brand colors match.
Matching Customer Expectations Means Matching Brand Colors
When a customer views your website and sees your brand colors, they will expect everything else with your brand’s name on it to feature the same colors. One of the biggest mistakes that a brand can make is to assume that their customers are too stupid or too undiscerning to tell the difference.
When a customer spots a difference when digital and print colors don’t match, they will think that something is up. Some customers will believe that it’s a knock-off of the real thing. Others will believe that the brand is shoddy and incapable. The logic is that if they can’t handle getting their colors right, what else are they doing wrong?
Your Brand, Your Colors
Customer expectations aside, there is another reason why you should make every effort to ensure that your brand colors remain the same in print and on the web. The colors you use are entirely part of your brand. Not only are your colors a part of your brand, but they’re an essential one.
Your brand colors are a reflection of your business. They reflect upon your quality, substance, ability, and character. Customers tune in on that, which is why brand colors are so important.
How to Get Digital & Print Colors to Match
If your digital and print colors don’t match and you’re getting frustrated trying to correct them, here’s some helpful advice. You’re disappointed for a reason; it takes a lot of skill and technical knowledge to get digital colors to match anything in print. Graphic designers know quite a bit, and color management professionals know even more. When you’re running a business, you don’t have time to struggle with technology to produce the colors that you need. Don’t be afraid to ask for a little help; it’ll save you a lot of time and money in the long run.
The problem gets even more complicated when you find that your web colors don’t also match between different devices. Your brand colors might look perfect on a PC and terrible on an iPhone. This problem is just as bad as when web and print colors don’t match. Fixing it is just as frustrating too.
One thing you can do to make it easier on yourself is to start using a Pantone swatch book for picking colors. Never pick brand colors off of a monitor; they won’t show up the same when you print them.
The Big Picture
Now that you know more about the importance of getting your brand colors to match in print and digital, it’s time to roll up your sleeves and get to it. Try comparing your brand colors on different devices and in print. Once you’ve got your things to match on different devices, then start focusing on getting them to match in print.
It doesn’t do any good to work on getting your brand colors to match on every device if they still don’t match in print. Take the time to get everything matching and take on extra help to get it done; you’ll need it.