If you are designing anything that will either be published online or printed, you need to know how the two most common color models, CMYK and RGB, work. Long story short: RGB is for screens, like websites or televisions, and CMYK is for print collateral. At Alexander’s we use both color models, and understanding the difference between the two is essential for our potential customers and clients.
RGB Color Mode
RGB stands for Red, Green, and Blue, the colors associated with the primary colors. Electronic displays, such as television, LCD computer monitors, digital cameras, etc, use RGB. This color mode is what’s known as an additive type of color mode, meaning it combines the three primary to create different colors. When all three colors are added together, a pure white color is the result.
When editing photos or illustrations for screen-based displays, such as a website, you should use the RGB color mode to offer the widest range of colors.
CMYK Color Mode
CYMK stands for cyan, magenta, yellow and black. Unlike RGB, its process is more complicated. The CMYK color model is a subtractive process, which means that the four colors used in various tones subtracts light (or, white colors) to create unique colors. Combining cyan, magenta and yellow creates black (or k). This combined black completely removes light from paper.
If you are printing business cards, posters, newsletters, etc, you should use CMYK. You’ll most likely print on white paper. Here, K (black) will absorb the light, making the shades appear lighter.
You can see that RGB colors are brighter than the CMYK colors. This is because you are looking at the picture through a computer screen. Here, a light source communicates the colors to you. You can see the same colors in CMYK, in which the K, or black, is subtracting brightness from the white, thus looking more dull.
If you are creating something and aren’t sure which to use between CMYK and RGB, feel free to call our office or fill out the contact form below. We can help you from the brainstorming ideas to the having the final product in your hands.
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