Colour is an important element in printing as well as designing process. Many graphics software programs give you the choice to work in either RGB or CMYK. These are called "colour spaces". Computer Monitors, Scanners and Digital Cameras create images using combinations of just three colours: Red, Green and Blue called "RGB" (R)ed, (G)reen ,(B)lue. These are the primary colours of light, and are the colour range which you see on computer monitor. Printing presses print full colour pictures using a different set of colours, the primary colours of pigment: Cyan (C), Magenta (M), Yellow (Y) and Black (K) , called "CMYK". This is "4-colour process" or "full-colour" printing that comprises the majority of magazines and marketing materials you see every day. At some stage if you have a RGB file, it must be translated to CMYK in order to print it on a printing press.

Be aware that it is possible to see colours in RGB that you can't make with CMYK. They are said to be "out of the CMYK colour gamut". What happens is that the RGB-to-CMYK translator just gets as close as possible to the appearance of the original and that's as good as it can be. It's something that everyone in the industry puts up with. So it's best to select any colours you use for fonts or other design elements in your layout using CMYK definitions instead of RGB. That way, you will have a better idea of how they will appear in your printed piece. Here's a common example: many programs translate the 100% Blue in RGB into a somewhat purple-looking colour in CMYK. We recommend a CMYK value of 100-65-0-0 to get a nice clean blue. Working in the CMYK colour space allows you to select the CMYK recipe, or "screen build", that gives you the results you want.

It is best if You do the RGB / CMYK conversion to obtain design which are perfectly to your liking. Beware that is it possible to see colours in RGB that you can’t make with CMYK. It is advised if possible, start your design in CMYK mode. We are happy to talk you through the steps needed to get your document into the CMYK colour space. If you need our help to change the files from RGB to CMYK, don’t hesitate to contact us. We can use some standard programmes to convert the files for you.

Visible colour spectrum with print gamut

RGB is based on "additive colours" - combine red, green and blue light, and you get white light.