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RGB vs CMYK
“Could we print the brochure in RGB? You know, it would be cheaper if we use one color less…”
To those who are unfamiliar with the world of printing; offset and digital printing requires 4 basic colors to make up the wide range of colors that are represented in the natural world: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black.In the digital/computer/television world, it is all made up of 3 colors, Red, Green and Blue. The combinations of these 3 colors are an interpretation of the actual natural light colors on your monitor.
If you look closely at your monitor, it’s made up of tiny RGB lights and if you look closely at a full color printed material, it’s made up of CMYK dots. This is what makes printing work.
- RGB – Good for computer/digital use. Bad and not usable for printing (paper or clothing)
- CMYK – Good for offset and digital printing. Bad and not interpreted correctly on the computer
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I needed this tutorial desperatly. I’ve had this frustration for almost two years since I bought a HP PC. I have to work so much on the photos and there are still many I can never print, and they look great on the monitor. I have my prints done by Costco, I take a Photography class, everyone seems to have no problem, with no monitor calibration or any extra work. If this works, Thank you, thank you, thank you. Even monitor calibration did not help. So frustrating, and I love Photography.
Good luck with your photos. Color printing is a hard thing to master. Don’t give up!