You design something on your phone or laptop, it looks bright and punchy, and then the printed piece comes back a little calmer. Nothing went wrong with the press. Screens and paper make color in two completely different ways, and knowing the difference helps you get the print you expect.
RGB: color made of light
Your screen makes color by shining tiny red, green and blue lights. Mix them and you get brighter colors; all three at full strength make white. That's called additive color. Phones, monitors, TVs and cameras all work in RGB, so almost every file starts out that way.
CMYK: color made of ink
A press puts ink on paper: cyan, magenta, yellow and black (the K). Each ink absorbs some light and reflects the rest. Layer more ink and the color gets darker, which is why it's called subtractive color. Paper can only reflect the light that hits it; it can't glow the way a screen does.
Gamut: the colors each one can reach
The full range of colors a device can show is its gamut. A screen's gamut is bigger than ink's in the bright, saturated areas. Some colors you can see on screen simply can't be made with four inks on paper.
The ones that change most:
- Bright, electric greens, like lime or neon green, come out softer and more olive.
- Vivid blues, especially bright royal and electric blue, can shift toward purple or look flatter.
- Glowing oranges and hot pinks lose some of their punch.
Darker, earthier and pastel colors usually print very close to what you see. If your brand color is a neon, plan for it to look a little calmer in print, or talk to us about it before the job runs.
Rich black vs plain black
Black is the one color where CMYK gives you a choice. Plain black is black ink only: 0/0/0/100 (C/M/Y/K). It's crisp and perfect for text. But on a large area, black ink alone can look a little washed out, closer to a very dark grey.
Rich black adds the other inks underneath, for example 60/40/40/100. It looks deeper and more solid on big backgrounds, bold headlines and large shapes.
Don't use rich black for small text, fine lines or thin type. Four inks have to line up perfectly, and on tiny letters the slightest shift can make them look fuzzy with a colored edge. For body text, keep it at 100K. And don't set everything to 100/100/100/100: too much ink can smudge and take longer to dry.
Converting your file to CMYK
The best time to switch is at the start, so the colors you pick are colors ink can actually make.
- InDesign and Illustrator: in Illustrator, use File › Document Color Mode › CMYK Color. In InDesign, make your swatches CMYK. When exporting, choose a print PDF preset and convert colors to the destination.
- Photoshop: Image › Mode › CMYK Color. Save a copy of the RGB original first, because converting back won't bring lost colors back.
- Canva and Word: these work in RGB. That's okay. Export a high-quality PDF and we'll convert it for print. Just expect the bright colors to soften a little.
If you do convert yourself, look at your file again afterwards. Any color that changed a lot on screen is one that would have changed in print too, and now you can adjust it.
Why to ask for a proof
No screen shows print color perfectly, and every screen is set differently. A proof is your chance to see the colors on real paper before the whole run is printed. For brand colors, wedding and simcha invitations, or anything where color really matters, ask us for a proof when you request your quote.
Get it right from the start
Our free print templates for business cards, postcards, flyers, letterhead, envelopes and presentation folders are set up in CMYK, with bleed and safe areas marked. Bring your file to our shop in Williamsburg, Brooklyn or in Monsey, NY, and we'll look it over with you.
Not sure your file is ready? Send it to us at Printout Williamsburg or Printout Monsey and we'll check it before it prints.