Why colours print differently from what you see on screen!

We have clients that have designed artwork that once printed, are surprised as to why the colour of the finished product isn’t what they expected or doesn’t match the colour they were working with on-screen. There is a logical explanation to this and why what you see on screen is not necessarily the way it will print on paper.

The first thing to understand is the difference between RGB, CMYK, and Spot Colours and what they really mean in terms of your artwork design and printing:

• RGB stands for Red, Green, Blue and refers to how colours are viewed on a computer screen. RGB colour is an additive colour model in which red, green and blue light are added together in a variety of ways to produce a broad range of colours. White is the “additive” combination of all the primary colours.
• CMYK stands for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Keyline (Black). This is the preferred colour option when printing detailed artwork with images and graphics containing more than 4 colours. During printing, each colour is applied to the surface one at a time in a layered fashion using four different print plates. The CMYK model is the opposite of RGB as black is the “subtractive” combination of all the primary printed colours.
• Spot Colours are picked using the PMS (Pantone Matching System). Compared to CMYK, spot colour blends inks during the print process and then transfers solid fields of the pre-mixed ink directly onto the page. Spot Colour can only typically be used for print pieces with 1 - 3 colours only. Print pieces using spot colour are bright and vibrant and are a great choice for printing logos, text, and simple illustrations.

One of the most common issues designers face when crossing over from web design to print design, and vice-versa, is maintaining consistent colours. When designing for print you need to use CMYK or spot colour, while web design needs to be done in RGB colour. It's important to remember that CMYK printing gives a lot smaller colour range than RGB, so colours that you can see on your screen might not be achievable in print. To make sure you maintain consistency across print and online, it's best to start with CMYK colours, and convert to RGB when necessary.

In addition, your artwork and colours will view differently from screen to screen. This comes down to screen type, computer type, application version, calibration settings, colour profiles, which all have an impact on the display colour. If you want to confirm a colour, it's best to view a CMYK or PMS colour swatch book, to see how your colour will print.

If you’ve experienced issues in the past and need support, simply get in touch with the Mutual team, who’ll be happy to walk you through how to get it right every time.