RGB vs CMYK: Why Your Artwork Looks Different in Print

It is one of the most common surprises in print: you approve a design on screen, the colours look vibrant and perfect, and then the finished job arrives looking slightly different. The greens are a touch flatter, the blues a little less electric. It is not a mistake, and it is rarely anyone's fault. It comes down to the difference between two colour systems: RGB and CMYK.

RGB: the colours your screen makes with light

Every monitor, phone and tablet creates colour by mixing Red, Green and Blue light. Because it uses light rather than ink, RGB can produce extremely bright, saturated colours, especially in the neon and electric range. The trouble is that paper does not emit light, so those screen-only colours simply cannot be reproduced with ink.

CMYK: the colours a printing press actually uses

Commercial printing mixes four inks: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Key (black). Layered together, these recreate the vast majority of colours your eye expects, but the achievable range, known as the gamut, is narrower than RGB. When a bright RGB colour is converted to CMYK, the press picks the closest ink mix it can, which is why some shades shift.

How to avoid surprises

• Design in CMYK from the start where your software allows, so what you see is closer to what you get.
• Avoid relying on neon brights for anything critical, such as a logo colour.
• Use a Pantone reference if an exact brand colour matters to you.
• Send a proof or request one before a large run, so there are no surprises.

We will check it for you

As a family-run print and display specialist based in Dorset, serving Dorchester, Poole and Wareham as well as customers right across the UK, we have been getting colour right since 2008. Every order includes a free artwork check, so our team will flag any RGB colours likely to shift and advise you before we print a single sheet. We also offer free UK delivery on your finished job.

Whether you are ordering standard business cards or a full marketing suite, getting the colour right the first time saves time and money. Browse our full range and place your order today and let us make sure your print looks exactly as you intended.