RGB & CMYK Guide – The differences between RGB and CMYK why they matter
A good question. The simple answer is it depends. With advances in conversion technology It certainly matters less now than it used to. However using the correct colour model for your project will create a better, more representative result. To understand which should be used where and when it is important to understand what they both are. RGB and CMYK are both colour models. Essentially this means they are a way of computers encoding data relating to colour. Think of them like languages. Whilst they may be saying exactly the same thing they go about doing it in different ways.
So what is RGB?
RGB is the format that you are most likely to already be familiar with. All the digital photos that you take on your phone or camera will be stored as RGB files and many image manipulation programs all the way from Paint to Adobe Photoshop are likely to use this by default. The reason for this is simple, RGB is all about light. All colours created in RGB are a mix of the 3 primary colours Red, Green and Blue (Hence RGB). Consequently RGB is perfect for anything that is intended to be displayed on a screen. So if you are making a Powerpoint slide presentation, creating a video or designing some artwork for a new website you are significantly better off using RGB.
What is CMYK then?
Whilst RGB was all about colour, CMYK is all about ink. Its primary colours are Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black. Whereas RGB is an additive colour method CMYK is subtractive. This means the higher colour value added the less light is reflected. Ideally you always want to print in CMYK as the colour breakdown corresponds with the ink that will be used for printing. This means that theoretically you should know exactly what colour you should be getting with your finished product. Printing from RGB will require the file to be converted into CMYK. This is a problem because (If you will play along with the language analogy for a while longer) this leaves us open for something to get lost in translation.
RBG & CYMK FAQ’s
Clearing up those obvious questions
Does it matter if I want to print with an RGB file?
It really depends on how colour critical your job is. Today’s conversion processes are very good and will give you a very close match but if you are after a like for like result you really need to be using CMYK from the start.
Are there other colour models?
There are indeed. RGB and CMYK are by far the biggest and most commonly used but others like HSV, HSL under the umbrella of HSB’s are commonly used in computer graphics.
How is Pantone different from RGB & CMYK then?
Pantone and the Pantone Matching System (PMS) Are standard set colours that can either be colour matched to with CMYK or printed directly using Pantone inks (Think of it almost like buying a paint colour) Pantone colours are typically used for corporate colours, images and logos.
Subscribe To Our Newsletter
Keep up to date with Print news as well as tips and tricks on how to make the most out of your print.
You have Successfully Subscribed!