Are you working in jpeg or tiff format, AmberJack?
I ask because the "after" version, while displaying nicer color seems to be muddied, with darker lines and letters. This can happen if you keep saving as .jpg, even if you set the level to 100%.
Also, and this is personal preference, I don't care much for the "shadows" that were added. I happen to one of those people who LIKES flat color.
What program are you using? With Photoshop, you could fairly easily eliminate that annoying dark tan/orange along the upper edge with a gradient overlay.
FWIW.
Peace, Jim (|:{>