Quick Tip - Why Your Cover Looks Different On Your Laptop Than On Your Desktop Computer
Your cover looks different simply because there is a large difference in the display of these two monitors. You may still be using a CRT monitor with your desktop computer. Your laptop has an LCD display. The differences are huge.
LCDs can not ‘truly’ display as many colors as a CRT monitor. LCD displays have a lower contrast ratio. This is due to their “light valve” nature: some light always leaks out and turns black into gray. The result is a “washed out” look.
That alone will make your cover look very different. Skin tones look a lot less natural. Subtle details also suffer because of this.
To see your cover at it’s best, look at it on a CRT monitor.
Quick Tip - Why Does My Cover Look Horrible When I Print It?
Covers that are formatted properly for commercial printing (those actually found in bookstores) must be a minimum resolution of 300 dpi (dots-per-inch) to print properly.
The flip side of that is… eBook covers are designed to represent a product or service you sell online either by webpages or html email and don’t require a high resolution to display properly.
The standard resolution for images used online is 72 dpi. All browsers will display your image at 72 dpi regardless of the actual image dpi. Based on this information, designing ebook covers at a higher resolution is simply a waste.
The drawback is when you try and print your ebook cover. Since the resolution is set for online use, it will look washed out when printed.
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I am the graphic designer at CustomDesignGraphics.com. My top priorities are quality work and customer satisfaction. Anything less just isn't acceptable. I work primarily with self published authors, coaches, virtual assistants, their clients and other online professionals to bring depth and impact to their products.
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RIP dear friend.
Just wanted to stop in and get your opinion on my latest cover design posted to my blog...
I would love your input.
Aidana WillowRaven
www.WillowRavenIllustration.com
901-325-1402
Your cover looks different simply because there is a large difference in the display of these two monitors. You may still be using a CRT monitor with your desktop computer. Your laptop has an LCD display. The differences are huge.
LCDs can not ‘truly’ display as many colors as a CRT monitor. LCD displays have a lower contrast ratio. This is due to their “light valve” nature: some light always leaks out and turns black into gray. The result is a “washed out” look.
That alone will make your cover look very different. Skin tones look a lot less natural. Subtle details also suffer because of this.
To see your cover at it’s best, look at it on a CRT monitor.
Covers that are formatted properly for commercial printing (those actually found in bookstores) must be a minimum resolution of 300 dpi (dots-per-inch) to print properly.
The flip side of that is… eBook covers are designed to represent a product or service you sell online either by webpages or html email and don’t require a high resolution to display properly.
The standard resolution for images used online is 72 dpi. All browsers will display your image at 72 dpi regardless of the actual image dpi. Based on this information, designing ebook covers at a higher resolution is simply a waste.
The drawback is when you try and print your ebook cover. Since the resolution is set for online use, it will look washed out when printed.