Should your design be in CMYK or RGB color?
Another Illustrator for Beginners lesson today! Today’s lesson is a simple and straightforward one, but also one that is really necessary to know: should your design be in CMYK or RGB color? To find that out, let’s dive into the differences in both. Don’t worry, I’ll make this simple to understand!
RGB
Let’s start with RGB. RGB stands for Red, Green, Blue. These are colors of light. These colors are light colors because they are viewed on screens. Those little pixels are illuminating your screen and mixing red, green, and blue light colors together to create color!
The black text you are reading right now is literally no light (or very minimal – it kind of depends on the type of screen you have) being shown through that particular pixel(s). The white color you see is the illumination of all the red, green, and blue together. RGB is an additive color system.
RGB should be used when designing anything made for viewing on screens, web, TVs, social media, apps, tablets, smartphones, etc.
CMYK
CMYK stands for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black. These are ink and dye colors. CMYK colors are mixed together to form colors. Just like you teach your kids how colors are made by mixing red and yellow paints to make orange; this is the same concept. The more of each color you add, the darker the color is. It is called subtractive color system which works opposite from the RGB model.
CMYK should be used when designing anything that will go to print. This includes flyers, business cards, invitations, stickers, etc.
Why it’s important
RGB colors have more color options than CMYK. However some colors cannot be duplicated from RGB to CMYK – these colors are known as ‘out of gamut’ colors.
Sending an RGB file to print may result in a bad color print – because the printers don’t recognize the different color system. Commercial printers won’t recognize RGB at all. Other printers will automatically convert the RBG to CMYK, but that’s when you run into the colors looking different. They’ll choose the closest color, but like I said earlier, RGB has many more color options and depth than what CMYK provides in print.
Basically, your design should be in CMYK if it’s being printed. Or if it’s meant for screens or web, then it should be RGB. As a general rule, you should always design in RGB color unless your design is intended for print.
Simple, right? But SO crucial to understand – especially if you’re just getting started in design or Illustrator. Now you know if you should design in CMYK or RBG.
If you have even the slightest inclination that your design will be printed, then go ahead and make it in CMYK to be safe. It’s much easier to design in the correct color mode than try to convert it after it’s been made. Happy Designing!
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