We’ve created this resource center because we understand how important your images are to you. Print on demand (POD) technology has come a long way, but still has a way go to match true offset quality. Results can be amazing, but getting an image you like – from your back-lit RGB monitor to a book printed on a CMYK printer – can sometimes be a challenge. Several variables come into play between your monitor and our global print network. In POD, books – covers and pages – are printed on different print devices, which means that even though everything is calibrated to the Blurb ICC Profile, variables are a given. Controlling as many variables as possible is what color management is all about.
With a properly calibrated monitor to accurately soft proof your images, using the Blurb ICC Profile helps you manage color more closely. Before embarking on setting up a color-managed workflow, please set your expectations appropriately. It is simply not possible for POD printers to duplicate the finely controlled color management that is possible with offset printing, so some slight hue differences may appear from book to book.
The Blurb ICC Profile is based on the GRACoL2009 reference used in high-end commercial printing. Using this profile allows you to soft proof your images while in RGB or to convert your images to the CMYK color space of the print device.
To learn more, see How to Set Up a Blurb Color-Managed Workflow
The material in this tab is for users of Blurb BookWright only – if you are using Blurb’s plug-in for Adobe InDesign or our PDF to Book workflow for other layout software, click on the InDesign/PDF tab above.
The material in this tab is for users of Blurb’s plug-in for Adobe InDesign or PDF to Book workflow only – if you are using Blurb BookWright to create your book, click on the BookWright tab above.