If you’ve ever asked why your printed product looks different from what you saw on the screen, you most likely received an answer made up of acronyms. That’s because these acronyms represent the color standards used in the printing and design industries. Each color model produces color in a unique way. Learning more about the particulars of each model will help you master the screen-to-print color conversion.
CMYK
CMYK stands for cyan, magenta, yellow and key (black).
The CMYK color is often referred to as the four-color process, because it uses four colors to create a wide range of hues with approximate print results.
CMYK colors are subtractive colors, meaning that they work by subtracting some wavelengths of light reflected off of white paper, but not others. The absorbed (subtracted) colors are not visible, while the unabsorbed colors remain visible. Each of the four colors in the CMYK model absorbs a complementary color, preventing the complementary color from being visible. Cyan controls the amount of red you see. Magenta controls green visibility, and yellow controls blue visibility. The black ink is included to enhance the sharpness of an image and to cover up registration errors.
Techniques such as dithering and halftoning can be used to create the illusion of different colors within a limited color palette. A dithered image uses a pattern of available colors to produce an overall image of another color. For example, a pattern of tiny blue and yellow dots can create the illusion of a solid green color. Halftoning refers to printing colors at varying percentages of their full saturation in order to give the illusion of a color not included in the palette. For example, magenta can appear as light pink if it’s only partially saturated.
When to Use CMYK
CMYK is the most commonly used color printing process. It provides the greatest accuracy when
printing photographs, and is best for any print design that uses
four or more colors.
Some tones don’t translate well to the CMYK color space, including metallic colors, neon or fluorescent colors, and orange.
RGB
RGB stands for red, green and blue.
RGB colors are additive colors, meaning that they are created by adding colored light beams together. All of the RGB hues are created by using varying combinations of the primary red, green and blue. The intensity of colors is equivalent to the level of light. For example, lighter, whiter tones have a strong light intensity. The darkest colors have zero intensity. When all three colors are added at a density of 100%, they produce white.
Because your computer screen emits light instead of reflecting it, it uses this model. Therefore, the colors that you view on your computer, digital camera and television are RGB colors.
When to Use RGB
When
designing for the web, you should only use RGB colors. For process color printing, RGB colors should be converted into CMYK so that the printed product matches the image on your monitor. Color differences between monitors can also make this more confusing. The monitor you use can make an image look brighter or darker than it would look on another screen. Therefore, the printed product could vary from your expectations even more. Try viewing it on another display screen before you decide to print.
Pantone Matching System
The
Pantone Matching System (PMS) is a standardized, organized system that allows colors to be reproduced accurately and consistently. Designers often use PMS colors because they don’t need to be mixed. Each one already exist as a set color with an allocated number, which allows for reliable results.
A Pantone color is a “spot color.” Rather than mixing colors the way CMYK does (example: 4% cyan, 84% magenta, 100% yellow, 0% key) the Pantone color prints as the exact color you need (example: 100% PANTONE 1665 C). Most of the Pantone colors lie beyond the reach of CMYK, but Pantone can convert an image to either CMYK or RGB, depending on whether it will be applied to web or print.
When to Use Pantone
For Logos or brand coloring that must be consistent, Pantone is the best choice, because the color of the finished product will be the exact one you choose. Pantone is also the best option for
black and white printing or
monochromatic designs, and should only be used when working with
three or less colors.
The Pantone system can produce special colors that CMYK can’t produce. Therefore, the system can be used to correct limitations of CMYK, such as the inability to produce
fluorescent colors or metallic colors.
How Signazon Color Works
Signazon’s designer displays artwork in RGB, but prints in CMYK. For this reason, we design our templates in CMYK and translate those colors to RGB so that you can view them on your screen. That way, the colors you choose in the designer will be consistent with those of your printed product. We are currently getting the most of out of our CMYK printing with
GRACoL/G7, a calibration method for adjusting any CMYK imaging device to better achieve a close visual match.