A Guide to Improving Colour Print Quality

 

Bright, quality colour prints are a hard thing to beat. They attract attention and look beautiful. Whether you frequently print in colour or only do so from time to time, knowing how to create the best quality prints is a good skill to have.

If you’re looking to improve your colour prints, there are several steps you can take before heading out to buy a new printer.

So, how can you improve your colour printing? Below are six simple tips you can try at home to improve your colour print quality.

 

Invest in quality ink

 

When it comes to printing colours, quality ink makes all the difference. A high-quality ink can help you produce great colour prints. While saving money on the ink you print with may be an option for those looking to reduce costs, it may also mean creating prints of a lesser quality. At Ink Station, we stock a wide range of OEM cartridges and inks, designed to work with your printer.

 

Tinker with your resolution settings

 

Did you know that your print resolution settings can have a pretty big impact on the quality of the prints you produce? If you’re noticing your colour prints aren’t quite turning out the way you want them to, you may like to increase the maximum DPI for your print resolution. This can be done by simply changing the settings in the print dialog screen. After doing so, you should notice a positive difference in the pages you print in colour.

 

Complete a printer head alignment and clean

 

If your colour prints are turning out a little streaky or uneven, you may like to try a printer clean and head alignment. This can be done quite easily on a PC by selecting your printer from the ‘Devices and printers’ menu, then choosing ‘Display printer properties’ and clicking on the maintenance tab. Once there, you can perform both a nozzle check and a deep clean of your machine. This should help unclog any blockages and should hopefully see your printer performing well again.

 

Use high-quality paper

 

High-quality paper can also improve the look of your colour prints. Paper that is of a low quality may cause colours to bleed or turn out dull. Spending a little extra on quality paper can make all the difference with your printing. There are many different options to choose from when it comes to printer paper. For best results for colour prints, you’ll likely want to invest in paper that is created for the job at hand. For example, there is paper created specifically for inkjet machines, paper for laser machines, and paper for creating photographic prints. You can choose printer paper that has a gloss or matte finish, depending on your desired outcome. Generally, paper with a gloss finish tends to make colours turn out brighter.

 

Consider monitor calibration

 

If your pages and photos look good on screen but not when printed, you may need to calibrate the settings of your monitor to sync with the colours on your printed pages. Seeing a design on a screen but something completely different when printed can be pretty frustrating. Calibrating your monitor means the colours in your prints should reflect those on the screen. This is generally a pretty easy fix. For PCs running Windows 10, the process can be done by searching for ‘colour calibration’, clicking on the results, then selecting ‘Calibrate Display’ from the Advanced tab. From here you will be guided through the steps to complete the task, finally selecting ‘Current Calibration’ and ‘Finish’.

 

Change to a colour printing mode

 

A colour printing mode can help you produce better quality prints. The method for doing this can often be as simple as opening up your printer preferences within the ‘Printers & devices’ screen and changing the settings to Colour or Auto Colour. The exact steps of implementing this change will differ depending on the make and model of your printer. With a little bit of research, you should be able to find out how to ensure your specific machine uses colour printing mode for colour prints.

We hope you’ve enjoyed learning about some of the different methods for improving your colour print quality. While it may be tempting to throw out your old machine and purchase a new one if you’re having issues, instead you may be able to implement some of the above tips to improve the quality of your prints.