Colour Gamut refers to the entire range of colors available on a particular device such as a monitor or printer.
A Card Printer is made up of a collection of electronic, software, firmware and manual components. These components work together to yield a particular colour range capability for that printer model.
Several Observations:
- Card Printers are not WYSIWYG. A monitor, which displays RGB signals, typically has a greater color gamut than a printer, which uses CMYK inks. This means that you may choose a colour on the monitor that the printer is not capable of printing.
- Within the CMYK colour range, each printer model will print a smaller subset of the CMYK Gamut. There is considerable overlap between the printers, so only a small percentage of colours are not actually achievable on certain models.
- When you transition from one printer model to another, you will notice a difference in the output colour. Upgrading from an older printer to a newer printer results in a noticeable colour difference on the printed card, and that can cause considerable concern.