Why Your Brand Colours Look Different On Screen and In Print
Ever noticed that your logo looks bright and vibrant on your screen, but slightly dull or the wrong colour when printed? That’s not a design mistake, it’s all about colour modes. Understanding the difference between RGB and CMYK ensures your brand colours always appear consistent, no matter where they show up.
RGB: For Digital and Screens
RGB stands for Red, Green, and Blue; the three colours of light that screens use to create every image you see. This is known as an additive colour model, and starts as black then changes depending on the colours that are turned on.
This colour mode is perfect for:
- Websites and online stores
- Social media graphics and digital ads
- Emails and presentations
- Anything viewed on a phone, tablet, or computer
CMYK: For Print and Physical Materials
CMYK stands for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Key/Black; four inks used in traditional printing. This is known as a subtractive colour model, It starts with white(or nothing but paper) and inks/pigments are added to block out colour and eventually to a muddy black.
This colour mode is ideal for:
- Business cards, brochures, and flyers
- Packaging and labels
- Posters, signage, and stationery
Why does it matter?
Using the wrong colour mode can throw your brand visuals off balance. Printing an RGB file may cause colours to look dull or inaccurate, and at the same time, uploading a CMYK file online can make images appear flat or muted.
As the colour models are different at showing colours it gives restriction on what colours are possible. This is known as the Colour Gamut. If you look at both the RGB and CMYK Gamuts you can see that the area of colour that can be produced is different. RGB can product really vibrant Greens, Blues and Reds, where as CMYK is very limited in the range of Greens and Blues that it can produce.
RGB Colour Gamut, notice how vibrant the colours are
CMYK Colour Gamut, notice that there is limited greens and blues
So what do you do?
The rule of thumb in the design world, is use CMYK for your logo design and any printing materials. RGB is fine for digital use. Developing your logo in CMYK will look duller but you are going to get a more consistent colour across both colour models. But what if you are stuck on a colour that's not in CMYK? There are other options however depending on how it is implemented it can be expensive.
- Have a colour style guide for both colour models so all your branding touch points are consistent as they can be. This isn't as simple as just converting your RGB colour to CMYK, it's recommended that this is done by a professional designer to get as accurate as possible and ensure that the colours give good clarity when printed.
- Using a spot colour, This is a special pigment that you can have printed called Pantone. They also have a CMYK to Pantone matching printed book to help you decide. If you are using both CMYK and a Pantone colour this can become expensive.
Here at The Lab we work with you to make sure that your logo is print and digital ready and that its as consistent as it can be between the two models.
If you are curious about your logo, get in touch with us
