RGB vs CMYK

Have a logo to send us? 

Read this article so you understand the matching colour implications from the artwork you send.

Whilst we are always happy to help customers prepare artwork for print, we often come up against the issue of colour. And it is complicated for even seasoned designers.

Computers/screens see colour in terms of light and they create shapes and shades using pixels. Colour is either red, green or blue and shade or tone are created by adding black pixels. Pixels are those blocky shapes remembered by those old enough to remember pre-plasma tv's! Every picture on a screen is made up of a series of tiny squares.

Print however is made by the use of inks in true pigments. Cyan, magenta and yellow. The K stands for Key and this is usually black (but can be white). If you own a printer, you will be used to changing cartridges on a regular basis.

But did you know that CMYK and RGB colours are actually different? So the colour you see on screen will print differently even if you use an auto convert on the colour values? Add in the complications of screen resolution and brightness, coupled with a printers ink density and the light reflection of the material being printed and it really is hard to create an exact match right across all uses.

Our FabriStick® product is a woven polyester and being a fabric, it tends to absorb the light as well as the ink.  This means colours can come out less intense. 

A few of our products are still made from vinyl.  This is purchased in rolls, which are pre-coloured all the way through, to avoid fade.  The result is a limited colour choice. We can always print an exact colour code onto vinyl, but then the ink is only on the surface and less dense.

If your project is very colour sensitive, why not ask us for a pre-order swatch?