MDOPE DESIGNER: RGB vs CMYK – Colors for the web vs print

Working together with web and print designs can be tricky and learning how color works can be the key to getting a successful color calibration for both your website and your printed designs such as business cards and brochures.

Web design uses color as RGB (red, green, blue) and print design uses color as CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, black.) Basically, monitors emit light and papers absorb light.  Computer monitors show color as red, green and blue light at a low-medium resolution usually 72-75 dots per inch. Print  production usually requires the four-color process CMYK in high resolution of at least 300 dpi.

Although all colors can be achieved by merging red, green and blue light, monitors are capable of displaying only a limited range of the visible spectrum. So when you want to convert your web files to produce artwork for business cards or brochures, changing the format from RGB to CMYK is very important for those printed documents.  If you are using Adobe Photoshop select: Menu> Image> Mode> CMYK when you begin a new file.

Printers who accept RGB files automatically convert the images to CMYK and that can result in faded, dull or inaccurate color representation in the final project. Converting your file to CMYK gives you better control over the final image outcome.