How can I calibrate my screen colors with dotphoto printers?

dotphoto prints using the sRGB color space that is standardized across the Internet, computers, printers, and cameras. sRGB is often the default color space for cameras.

If you are adjusting colors using the Adobe RGB color space, you will see different colors. More on Adobe RGB vs sRGB.

Color is a matter of science and taste. For instance, dotphoto's printers are calibrated to the sRGB standard; you may calibrate your monitor to the same sRGB standard, but two people may perceive the same colors differently -- as this article illustrates: The Science of Why No one Agrees on the Color of this Dress.

The best way to ensure color satisfaction is (1) calibrate your monitor to the sRGB standard (2) if you are pre-processing images in Adobe Photoshop or other editing software, use the sRGB standard that will align with dotphoto's printers, and (3) trust your eyes. While dotphoto and other editing software provide automatic tools that are meant to help improve colors, your own eyes are the best judge of what you prefer. We at dotphoto do our best to provide a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) experience, but we all see a little differently. If you have calibrated your screen and you don't like what you are seeing, don't print until you have modified your images to suit your own taste.

sRGB (standard Red Green Blue) is an RGB color space that HP and Microsoft created cooperatively in 1996 to use on monitors, printers, and the Internet. It was subsequently standardized by the IEC as IEC 61966-2-1:1999. It is often the "default" color space for images that contain no color space information, especially if the images' pixels are stored in 8-bit integers per color channel.

sRGB uses the ITU-R BT.709 primaries, the same as in studio monitors and HDTV, a transfer function (gamma curve) typical of CRTs, and a viewing environment designed to match typical home and office viewing conditions. This specification allowed sRGB to be directly displayed on typical CRT monitors of the time, which greatly aided its acceptance.

How to calibrate your monitor to sRGB

TECHNICAL INFORMATION ABOUT SRGB

Reference Name: sRGB

Definition: IEC 61966-2-1:1999

Responsible Organization: International Standard defining this colour encoding published by IEC, Geneva (document available through National Standards Bodies). Characterisation data derived from this was defined by ICC.

DOCUMENTATION

Documentation source see Amendment 1 to IEC 61966-2-1:1999.

ENCODING CHARACTERISTICS

Color space

Type: Colorimetric RGB color space

Color gamut: CRT-based (ITU-R BT.709-3)

RGB primaries:

Color component transfer function:

White point luminance: 80 cd/m²

White point chromaticity: x = 0.3127, y = 0.3290 (D65)

Encoding Range: linear RGB: 0.0 to 1.0

Bit depth: 8 (others allowed)

Image state: Output-referred (CRT)

Reference viewing environment

Image background (proximal field): 16 cd/m²

Viewing surround: 4.1 cd/m²

Ambient illuminance: 64 lux

Adapted white point luminance: Unspecified

Adapted white point chromaticity: Unspecified

Reference medium

White point luminance: 80 cd/m²

White point chromaticity: x = 0.3127, y = 0.3290 (D65)

Black point luminance: 0.2 cd/m²

Black point chromaticity: unspecified

PROFILES

Both ICC v2 and v4 profiles are available here