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Printing Help

What’s the difference between RGB & CMYK?

RGB color was not designed for commercial printing of color graphics, CMYK was. Therefore, for best results, your artwork should be created in CMYK (not RGB and then converted) from the very start. CMYK refers to the ink colors used for all full color printing: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black. RGB refers to the colors Red, Green and Blue, used in computer monitors, digital cameras, scanners and art designed for websites. RGB is used for web work, CMYK is used for print work.

Why does the Blue or Green I selected off my color pallet not print the same? Two of the most misunderstood and troublesome colors we have ever run across are screen blue vs. printed blue and screen green vs. printed green. Certain RGB colors displayed on the computer monitor will not reproduce even close to the colors you see on the screen.

This is not an issue specific to our equipment, but rather, an industry wide issue.

How accurately will my printed graphics match what I see on my monitor?

The technology used for offset printing is a CMYK printing process, so therefore when printed, RGB monitor colors are simulated using Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black inks. Because of wide differences in monitors and how they display color, many printed (CMYK) colors do not accurately match the (RGB) colors you see on screen. Bottom line: although close, the final graphics we produce for you are likely to include colors that do not "match" the colors you see on your monitor.