How to get colors to print correctly

Question

I've been creating some ads for print. I noticed that the solid colors in the ads (ie. boxes, vector logos...) are a lot different in print than they appear on screen. (For example, a "teal" comes out as a blue, and a "taupe" comes out as a green) I realize the difference has to do with the screen colors being RGB and print is CMYK. I design the ads in CMYK mode.
So, what is the best way in Illustrator to get the printed color as close to the screen color as possible? Should I be using spot colors?
I suppose the same question can be asked about designing logos in Illy. How do you select the appropriate colors so that they print as close to as they appear on screen?
Thank you,
Ron

Answer 1

>There are two issues that have not been addressed. The quality of the monitor affects how colors are displayed. If you have a poor LCD, and slouch when you're using it, the viewing angles might throw off your color sense.
Nobody reads post #5.
>If you're doing big print runs, you might want a color test page shown to you before you print out a million copies.
Hector, what you call a "color test page" is known as a
contract proof here, and it's something on which you should
absolutely insist, whether the print run is large or small. Once you sign off on the proof, it becomes the printer's responsibility to get the colors right. This is S.O.P.
With unlimited budgets, an unlimited number of custom (e.g., Pantone) colors are possible. But even that road has bumps. Use too many colors and, aside from the expense, you're looking at multiple passes through the press with attendant potential registration problems. Plus, if your document contains photographic images, colors can come out wacky no matter how many Pantones you specify.
CMYK is a real-world solution for those with cost constraints. It behooves the designer, therefore, to invest in a decent monitor and calibrator and take the time to understand modern profile-based color management.
>The printer might be using a diffrent color profile
Of course, they'll be using a different color profile
if they know what they're doing. The standard SWOP profile you might use for your document, for example, is a
generic profile. The printing company should be making a conversion to a custom profile that represents their output device, namely their particular printing press with the paper and inks in use.
The entire point of your embedding a profile is to enable the output service provider to apply an appropriate device profile at press time without having to guess what the CMYK "numbers" (values) mean in your particular document.
If they
don't use a "different" profile, you're in trouble.