Hey hanamichy,

As you suspected, there are a lot of differences between glossy coated and matte uncoated stock. The most obvious is that matte uncoated gains more in midtones, sometimes up to 15% more, shadows are less dense and color gamut is much reduced.

Now, what do you do about it?

Well, since uncoated matte behaves very differently from manufacturer to manufacturer, I'm afraid there is very little to do since there is there is no standard CMYK tweak that will achieve a better result on uncoated matte stock. If the tweaking you witnessed resulted in a better product, there is little chance that this behavior will be repeatable on the particular stock you've chosen.

As a retoucher and color separator for many years, I would ask the printer if I could submit RGB (with embedded profile) and place responsibility of separations directly into the hands of the print shop. Have them run contract proofs and sign off when the color is 'right'.

Else, ensure the printer tells you which CMYK ICC Profile they want you to use for your specific press condition and convert from RGB to that profile.

99% of the time, you will be told to use U.S Web Coated, in which case, there is nothing to be done but trust the plates were linerized to approximate the intended result.

Optimally, the printer will have created his own ICC profile for that press/stock condition and will email you a copy. This, however, is more the exception than the rule.

Hope that helps!

A good printer, with a prepress person who know's what's going on, should know and be able to adjust it without you having to think about it. We had different color correction presets that we used for different types of stocks, and different types of jobs, and sometimes certain customers.

most of those adjustments come with experience of the output equipment, so your own sdjustments may actually make things more difficult for the prepress person at the printing co. You are better off giving it to them in the way you'd like it to come out, and let them adjust it on their end to match what you want.

The best bet, if you have direct contact with the print company, is to show concern about it when placing the order and they will take special care in getting that perfect for you.

"...and mamma cried: Watch out where the huskies go, don't you eat that yellow snow" - Frank Zappa

Thank you very much for the information. It really helps to hear from the pros!