Colors

[question.boy]

Good morning,

I developed a very straight forward html page using dreamweaver. I
spent hours (I'm learning) to get the layout and colors just right.
Now that I have put it in place, a couple user commented on the
colors. When I saw the page on there PCs the colors are completly
different from that which appears on my laptop. Why is there a
difference and how can I set it up so what I develop is actually what
the person at the other end will see as well?

Thank you in advance,

QB

 

[Andy Dingley]

I developed a very straight forward html page using dreamweaver.

Tell us the URL, then we can see it too.

When I saw the page on there PCs the colors are completly
different from that which appears on my laptop.

The way you say "PC" suggests that you might be using a Mac. If so, do
some research on "gamma".

Otherwise look up "gamma" anyway. Just the difference between a CRT
and an LCD can make some difference, depending on how subtle your
colours are. In general, teh intawebs make a fair attempt at
delivering the same RGB triplet, but what this turns into as a colour
is up to the users' hardware. Then the user's eyes make their own
differences.


dorayme has to write CSS using the Martian Extended CSS 4 quintuplet
for colours, so as to specify the ultraviolet and onfra-red components
properly to her sensory tentacles. Poor old Blinky has to annotate the
browser window chrome for its electrical field strength too, otherwise
his hammerhead can't sense the window scrollbars.

 

[Adrienne Boswell]

Gazing into my crystal ball I observed (e-mail address removed) writing
in @k13g2000hse.googlegroups.com:

Good morning,

I developed a very straight forward html page using dreamweaver. I
spent hours (I'm learning) to get the layout and colors just right.
Now that I have put it in place, a couple user commented on the
colors. When I saw the page on there PCs the colors are completly
different from that which appears on my laptop. Why is there a
difference and how can I set it up so what I develop is actually what
the person at the other end will see as well?

Thank you in advance,

QB

People are never going to see exactly the same color. There are several
things to consider, calibration, monitor type, driver, angle, even time
of day. Then there are people who have various types of color
blindness.

Go to your nearest electronics store. They usually have a few shelves
filled with televisions, all showing the same program, but what is seen
on each is different.

The best thing to do is to make sure there is enough contrast between
foreground and background colors, and that the colors compliment
eachother. There are many color tools, both web based, and software
based, that can help you with that.

 

[Travis Newbury]

When I saw the page on there PCs the colors are completly
different from that which appears on my laptop. Why is there a
difference and how can I set it up so what I develop is actually what
the person at the other end will see as well?

LCD colors and CRT colors are not necessarily the same. You can
calibrate the colors of the monitor (either CRT or LCD) but since you
can't do that on everyone's computer hat might come to your website
then you should probably not worry about it.

 

[Blinky the Shark]

I worked at a television station for a while - the broadcast engineers there
referred to NTSC as "Never Twice the Same Color."

I can confirm that that's widespread, from my work in the business in the
Midwest and here in Hollywood.

 

[still just me]

Why is there a
difference and how can I set it up so what I develop is actually what
the person at the other end will see as well?

As others have pointed out, you can't predict what colors will
actually show up on a specific monitor. There's a tremendous
difference in LCD vs. CRT and similarly within the groups (one CRT to
another).

Your best bet is to study graphic design - at least in terms of color
selection. Choose colors that work based on those principles. Preview
on an many hardware devices as you reasonable can and adjust as
needed, then hope for the best on the thousands of other hardware
platforms.

If it bothers you... just think how the companies who've spent tens,
or hundreds of thousands of dollars choosing a "brand" feel when the
minute Pantone choices they debated for hours and then copyrighted in
the "print-only" days get thrown out the window with on-line design
issues.

 

[dorayme]

Good morning,

I developed a very straight forward html page using dreamweaver. I
spent hours (I'm learning) to get the layout and colors just right.
Now that I have put it in place, a couple user commented on the
colors. When I saw the page on there PCs the colors are completly
different from that which appears on my laptop. Why is there a
difference and how can I set it up so what I develop is actually what
the person at the other end will see as well?

Was the difference greater with the site you developed than most other
sites?

 

[Art]

Good morning,

I developed a very straight forward html page using dreamweaver. I
spent hours (I'm learning) to get the layout and colors just right.
Now that I have put it in place, a couple user commented on the
colors. When I saw the page on there PCs the colors are completly
different from that which appears on my laptop. Why is there a
difference and how can I set it up so what I develop is actually what
the person at the other end will see as well?

Thank you in advance,

QB

QB,
As others have noted in this thread, getting identical color (or colour)
reproduction on a wide range of potential target systems for a wide
range of humanoids is a challenging exercise and in many instances just
not achievable.

A prudent approach is to pick complementary colors that provide
acceptable contrast. Also, avoid subtle pastels (especially for text)
that tend to wash out on less than high end monitors. Awareness of your
target audience and any potential visual limitations will be helpful as
well in the process.

There's an online tool that will assist you in these decisions at:

http://wellstyled.com/tools/colorscheme2/index-en.html

The tool has selections to approximate how specific colors are perceived
based on a number of color perception limitations.

There are also some downloadable tools at:

http://www.paciellogroup.com/resources/contrast-analyser.html

for both Mac and PC.

These tools will not necessarily get you to your goal of identical color
reproduction, but with the right choices, can produce acceptable results.

HTH,
Art