There are a couple of factors that could cause this issue to occur — some of them in your control, some of them unfortunately not. Please take a moment to read through the possible causes below to find out what can be done about this unfortunate issue that you experienced.
Monitor Calibration/Brightness Issue
The first one, which is one of the more common reasons, is your monitor’s calibration and brightness. If you haven’t taken the steps to properly calibrate your monitor and your brightness is dialed up high, then there’s a good chance that the photos and colors you are seeing on your screen aren’t true to the file you ultimately sent us. To correct that inconsistency, you can follow these steps here to properly calibrate your monitor:
http://www.wikihow.com/Calibrate-Your-Monitor
Our Create & Print software online does add a "subtle bump" to photos to ensure that they print bright and clear, however, our Artisan® software does not. Artisan® does include an option to add Perfectly Clear if you would like to lighten photos as needed.
Material
Another reason for the discrepancy can be the type of material your project was printed on. Your photos will print fuzzier and less vibrant on a 12x12 canvas as opposed to a 4x8 card. Even the types of paper we use can present the same photo differently. The same photo can look bright and crisp on a page print while looking more subdued and elegant in a lay-flat book. This is due to the different types of finishes we offer. Our cards, page prints and desk calendars use a satin (glossier) finish whereas our lay-flat and standard books use a matte and dull (halfway between satin and matte) finish.
If you’ve taken all of this into account but still feel like we made a mistake, please email us at support@forever.com with the following information:
- Name
- Order number
- Photos of the printed product
- Screenshots of the project in Artisan®