# HELP!! Cricut Design Space Prints My Images Darker Than Uploaded Image



## blingstreet (Jul 30, 2016)

Hello:

I have searched high and low on cricut.com, through Help & FAQ, on the internet and I cannot find anyone addressing the issue I'm having.

When I upload an image I created in Photoshop and save it as a .jpg file, then want to print & cut, the color printed has darkened significantly. It looks nothing like what I uploaded. When I print directly from Photoshop or Paint, the color is exactly what it should be. But, when I print from Cricut Design Space, with the same printer and settings, it's shades darker. 

Anyone have/had this problem and found a solution? I have 200 decal job and I can't even do the job. No, I can't afford an eco-solvent printer and just found out that my GCC Jaguar JII-61 will not operate with my Windows 8.1 unless I upgrade the motherboard. I don't have time for that (taking apart the cutter, waiting on the mb, etc).

My ICC profiles are set, I've calibrated my screen using Spyder5Pro. I don't know what else to do. 

Any help is greatly appreciated.


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## pippin decals (Aug 26, 2015)

You have to set the color differently when using Photoshop, I had the same problem with my girlfriends cricut cutter and when i attempted to print my photos that i took. I cant remember right now what i did exactly to fix it ,but i know it has to do with a print setting in Photoshop.. i will check mine out tomorrow and get back to you if i found the answer..


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## blingstreet (Jul 30, 2016)

pippin decals said:


> You have to set the color differently when using Photoshop, I had the same problem with my girlfriends cricut cutter and when i attempted to print my photos that i took. I cant remember right now what i did exactly to fix it ,but i know it has to do with a print setting in Photoshop.. i will check mine out tomorrow and get back to you if i found the answer..


Thanks Dwayne!

I have tried every single way to set the color settings in Photoshop. Even named the settings for that particular image. It prints fine in every other application except from Cricut's Design Space. I'm at a loss.


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## pippin decals (Aug 26, 2015)

No problem..Ill keep looking into tho....I have only used the cricut stuff a few times,Cause i bought me a much larger cutter . and my girlfriend uses the cricut it all the time, And i dont remember ever seeing anything about printing tho from there.. I will have to double check on that with her lol.... 

What steps do you take to get to the print part of it.. Thanks


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## pippin decals (Aug 26, 2015)

And i also use the spyder5 elite ,,, But i also bought full package setup for the Printer calibration deal...Its great software... I run 2 monitors from my laptop


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## pippin decals (Aug 26, 2015)

So i talked to a cricut support agent ,,and they said this-----
" In such cases, you need to upload the image once again and save it as ' Print then cut' and You need to also use erase option to erase the back ground noises in the design..

So far this is what they have said...


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## pippin decals (Aug 26, 2015)

After you sign in on the cricut design space page ,scroll down to where it say contact or contact us.,,From there it will take you a page where you can chat with a rep during open hours.. found the link -----https://help.cricut.com/search/node?keys=printing+correct+colors+


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## pippin decals (Aug 26, 2015)

Print and Cut with Cricut Explore - seeLINDSAY


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## pippin decals (Aug 26, 2015)

sorry to keep posting so much but i keep finding more and more,....CHECK THIS OUT ----

[media]http://content.cricut.com/b/pdfs/explore-manual2/15calibrationforprintthencut.pdf[/media]

Try saving your artwork as a PNG etc if cricut will let you uplaod that instead of a Jpeg. I think that is where you might be losing your colors at.. \Let me know .


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## blingstreet (Jul 30, 2016)

Thanks Dwayne. Yes, I had saved it as a Print & Cut. I tried all sorts of file types (gif, jpg, png, svg, etc) and erased the background but, nothing is working. I posted to Cricut's FB yesterday but, didn't get a response. Thanks for the link to their chat, I will contact them. 

Again, thanks for all your efforts in helping me.


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## mishfish (Nov 4, 2020)

blingstreet said:


> Thanks Dwayne. Yes, I had saved it as a Print & Cut. I tried all sorts of file types (gif, jpg, png, svg, etc) and erased the background but, nothing is working. I posted to Cricut's FB yesterday but, didn't get a response. Thanks for the link to their chat, I will contact them.
> 
> Again, thanks for all your efforts in helping me.


was there any solution?? i just downloaded cricut design space and i am having the exact same issues  printed on my printer through other applications and it was fine, when it was processed through the cricut app - the colors became so much darker!! even on the preview image on the app before printing it became darker, so i know it's not because of my printer. i use procreate and saved as a .png file


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## melokc (Nov 17, 2020)

mishfish said:


> was there any solution?? i just downloaded cricut design space and i am having the exact same issues  printed on my printer through other applications and it was fine, when it was processed through the cricut app - the colors became so much darker!! even on the preview image on the app before printing it became darker, so i know it's not because of my printer. i use procreate and saved as a .png file


I am new to cricut but work for a printer and I am having this issue as well. Any luck??


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## webtrekker (Jan 28, 2018)

Time to ditch Cricut Design Space in my opinion.


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## TeedUp (Apr 22, 2020)

webtrekker said:


> Time to ditch Cricut Design Space in my opinion.


If you have a Cricut cutter, you're pretty much stuck with Design Space. We're in the process of outgrowing our Cricut that my wife purchased for hobby before we started our business, but we still use it for now. The hardware works fine, but the Design Space software is the most horrible piece of ___ I've used this century. 

Given the amount of aisle space Cricut gets in the craft stores, it would seem they must be doing well enough to hire at least one decent programmer.


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## into the T (Aug 22, 2015)

TeedUp said:


> If you have a Cricut cutter, you're pretty much stuck with Design Space. We're in the process of outgrowing our Cricut that my wife purchased for hobby before we started our business, but we still use it for now. The hardware works fine, but the Design Space software is the most horrible piece of ___ I've used this century.
> 
> Given the amount of aisle space Cricut gets in the craft stores, it would seem they must be doing well enough to hire at least one decent programmer.


this may help you TeedUp (how to use scal with a cricut)
then, even if you upgrade to another cutter, scal comes along for the ride


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## mishfish (Nov 4, 2020)

melokc said:


> I am new to cricut but work for a printer and I am having this issue as well. Any luck??


YES! What you can try to do is check if your program is using CMYK or RGB. I was previously using RGB which is a color format for uploading online, whereas CMYK is color formatted for printing. I create on Procreate, and I just changed the settings to CMYK, made the design, and uploaded it on cricut and the quality was much better


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## melokc (Nov 17, 2020)

mishfish said:


> YES! What you can try to do is check if your program is using CMYK or RGB. I was previously using RGB which is a color format for uploading online, whereas CMYK is color formatted for printing. I create on Procreate, and I just changed the settings to CMYK, made the design, and uploaded it on cricut and the quality was much better


I’m working in Illustrator and it’s set up in cmyk so that’s not the issue. I am attempting to open the pdf in Ilustrator and will replace the photo and print it. We’ll see if it messes with the registration when I take it to cut. 
it also changes my vector images from black to a grayish black.


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## webtrekker (Jan 28, 2018)

melokc said:


> I’m working in Illustrator and it’s set up in cmyk so that’s not the issue. I am attempting to open the pdf in Ilustrator and will replace the photo and print it. We’ll see if it messes with the registration when I take it to cut.
> it also changes my vector images from black to a grayish black.


I think you're wrong.

Surely you should be working in RGB as that's what your printer will be expecting, not CMYK.


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## melokc (Nov 17, 2020)

webtrekker said:


> I think you're wrong.
> 
> Surely you should be working in RGB as that's what your printer will be expecting, not CMYK.


I checked and it’s definitely in cmyk. I’m new to cricut but not design software. I work for a printer and I’m also a graphic designer.


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## TeedUp (Apr 22, 2020)

into the T said:


> this may help you TeedUp (how to use scal with a cricut)
> then, even if you upgrade to another cutter, scal comes along for the ride


Thank you! Second sentence of that article:


> Many people think that it no longer works, and that they’re forced to use Cricut’s Design Space for their designs


That was what I had understood last time I researched it. I'm actually excited to try SCAL out!


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## TeedUp (Apr 22, 2020)

@webtrekker is right. I found this great reddit thread the other day that does a great job explaining why you should set up your docs in RGB, even though your printer is CMYK. It's one of the posts by Greenstrong:

__
https://www.reddit.com/r/Sublimation/comments/jv8ku3


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## webtrekker (Jan 28, 2018)

TeedUp said:


> Thank you! Second sentence of that article:
> 
> That was what I had understood last time I researched it. I'm actually excited to try SCAL out!





melokc said:


> I checked and it’s definitely in cmyk. I’m new to cricut but not design software. I work for a printer and I’m also a graphic designer.


Then surely, if you work for a printer, then you, or they, should know the answer to your problem. You could at least try setting AI to RGB mode instead of CMYK and see if it makes a difference. I design and print everything from Photoshop, which is set to RGB mode, and my printouts are perfect.

Don't you think it's strange that you can find no one else who has experienced the same issues as yourself with Cricut Design Space?


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## leie (Jul 6, 2021)

blingstreet said:


> Hello:
> 
> I have searched high and low on cricut.com, through Help & FAQ, on the internet and I cannot find anyone addressing the issue I'm having.
> 
> ...


 its been 7mo since this thread, but i am having this exact issue! i cannot for the life of me understand the issue!


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## TeedUp (Apr 22, 2020)

leie said:


> its been 7mo since this thread, but i am having this exact issue! i cannot for the life of me understand the issue!


Are you selecting the option in Design Space to print through the printer's dialogue box? If that doesn't help, what happens if you print the graphic file using a "normal" program, without using Design Space? Different result?


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## leie (Jul 6, 2021)

TeedUp said:


> Are you selecting the option in Design Space to print through the printer's dialogue box? If that doesn't help, what happens if you print the graphic file using a "normal" program, without using Design Space? Different result?


yes, i just did another print to double check on both and they're still dark. i believe its my printer, but i'm not sure how to fix it from that


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