If you haven’t made a mistake you haven’t learned anything, Its a great advice but not in every field, especially while printing when the mistake can’t be undone and it’s not cheap to afford. You can research to google and search about it like you are doing now. It is better than doing mistakes. Mistakes like thinking something will look similar on the paper or clothe as it looks on the screen. This is the reason why knowing about the difference between RGB and CMYK is SUPER important while printing about something.

What is RGB color mode?

RGB color is used for devices with a digital screen like TVs, smartphones, cameras, etc. Here RGB is the initials for

R=Red
G=Green
B =Blue

Then how do you see the other colors?

The 3 colors are called Additive colors which means they get mixed to make other colors that we see on the screen.

What is CMYK color mode?

The CMYK is the color scheme that is used in printers, it gets printed on physical goods. The color you see on papers, coffee mugs, T-shirts, or somewhere else is probably printed based on this color mode. Unlike its RGB counterpart, it does not only get mixed to create colors, it also decreases brightness from white. So it’s called subtractive colors.

The CMYK stands for.

C= Cyan

M= Magenta

Y= Yellow

K= Black

How do subtractive colors work?

As we said before it does not work like its RGB counterpart, so how does it create other colors? For the CMYK, the system subtracts BRIGHTNESS from the white. If you notice you would realize that the colors in CMYK also can be put together using the RGB colors, this is what happens here, For example, Cyan (C) is made up of Green (G) and Blue (B). The Magenta (M) is made of Red (R) Blue (B). The Yellow (Y) can be made by Red(R) and Green(G).

As the RGB cannot create black without subtracting brightness from white, the black color was added to the CMYK model afterward.

What is the difference between RGB and CMYK?

Well, the main thing to remember is that RGB is used for electronic prints (cameras, monitors, TVs) and CMYK is used for printing. Therefore, when you are designing something for print, you will be using the colors RGB. However, when it comes to actually print the end product, it will be printed in CMYK and not RGB.

This means when you are ready to print you must save it in CMYK format. Saving a file as RGB for print can sometimes impact the way certain colors are printed meaning you won’t get what you wanted to.

Though most modern printers will convert your RGB file to CMYK automatically, it can result in some colors appearing washed out so it is best to have your file saved as CMYK before pressing the print button.

You can save your artwork in CMYK format when you are first saving it. This way you will be able to get a good understanding of how your final piece of artwork will look should you decide to print a copy in-house for review.

How to Convert RGB to CMYK?

Most designing software will be set to work in RGB format. This color format has the widest range of colors to use from. Though you can, always have the option to, change your colors to a more printer-friendly CMYK format during the design process.

To accurately print a document or image you must convert the color from the original RGB format to CMYK. It is possible to do this by using software such as Adobe Photoshop Illustrator or Lightroom.

If you have you are creating your own artwork and setting it up to CMYK and if you are importing 3rd party images to add to your artwork, these images will likely be in RGB format. You will need to convert these images to CMYK using something like Photoshop or another editor before saving and adding to your final artwork. This ensures that any images placed in your file will be sent to print as CMYK.

So when it comes to working on your next brochure, leaflet, or poster, remember that on-screen it is RGB but when printed it is CMYK.

You just completed the comparison between RGB and CMYK format, Hope you like it. For more information on getting your brochure ready for print, get in touch with the Uxbridge Printers team today. If you have any suggestions please do let us know

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