CMYK Printing - Why printing does not match with my screen color?

Understanding CMYK vs RGB

The first thing to understand about RGB and CMYK is the difference between additive and subtractive color spaces.

·        RGB is an additive color space; when you add the colors together, you get white.

·       CMYK exists in the subtractive color space; white only exists when the colors are absent.

Digital displays use additive colors. They create over 16 million colors using red, green, and blue pixels at varying intensities. Printed matter, by contrast, uses subtractive colors. Cyan, magenta, yellow, and black dots are used to create over 16 thousand colors.

                      

What is RGB and CMYK?

Additive color systems like RGB are called such because as you add the colors together, they get lighter until they reach white. Additive color systems like RGB are standard in digital material.

It’s logical if you remember that additive colors are created with light; the more light you add, the lighter and brighter the color gets.

While additive color systems are the standard in digital imagery, subtractive color systems like CMYK are standard in printed material.

This can cause some issues with accurate color reproduction, since digital displays can create many more colors than printed inks or dyes. In most color print jobs, you’ll start with a white background and use cyan, magenta, yellow, and black inks to block out parts of it and create various colors. You’re subtracting light from the original surface, hence the term subtractive.

 

When should you use CMYK versus RGB?

Which color model you use (CMYK vs. RGB) depends on the work you’re creating.

When designing for digital products (web designs, social media graphics, mobile designs, etc.) you’ll work in the RGB color space. While color accuracy between different kinds of digital displays varies, you’ll be able to see a fairly accurate representation on your own displays of what your users will see.

When working in print media, you’ll use the CMYK color space for your designs. This is where things get a little bit trickier. Printers will automatically convert RGB digital files to CMYK prior to printing, but this automatic conversion can create colors that appear significantly more muted than the colors you see on your display.

To help prevent this drastic difference in the final product, make sure that you’ve set your file’s color space to CMYK. While some colors may still not be a 100% match between your screen and the final printed product, you’ll get a much better approximation.

 

Issues converting RGB to CMYK

One of the biggest issues you may encounter as a graphic designer is when converting RGB images to CMYK. You’ll often find that the colors are not reproduced accurately.

When creating printed materials, you’ll want to make sure you’re working in a document set up to mimic CMYK colors for the most accurate end product.

Example: “My perfect new reflex blue brand color printed PURPLE!”

 

Whether you are a designer or business owner who hired a designer, you expect your color choices to look the same on paper as they did on your desktop monitor — and also the same on your boss’ cellphone where he viewed your proof, on your website where a coworker converted your design into a webpage, on signage, on packaging, and on all your marketing tools that will reach your audience. What sounds deceptively simple at first is actually a VERY tall order in a world where color reproduction and color perception are influenced by so many factors. 

In simplest terms, the colors available in the RGB color gamut (what you can see on your screen) are much greater than the colors available in the CMYK gamut (what can be printed). There are many ways print professionals try to minimize the color shift in the conversion from RGB to CMYK, but they are not all perfect solutions and some colors reveal much more visible differences than others. While the RGB gamut can display a large number of shades and nuances in darker blues, the CMYK gamut is more limited. In trying to reproduce those faint differences, the cyan and magenta used to create the blue with ultimately blend toward purple. Understanding this way back at the point of inspiration and design is essential to avoiding disappointment at the point of print.

Understanding the basic differences between CMYK and RGB color modes makes your job as a graphic designer more efficient and helps prevent surprises in your final products—whether they’re print or digital.