CMYK explained

Visit www.bulpittprint.com for help and advice or call 01264 363600.

Understanding the difference between CMYK and RGB is crucial to understanding how to reproduce the colour of your artwork. Colours that display brilliantly on your monitor can sometimes look different when printed.

This is because computer monitors use the RGB colour model to display colour.

By mixing red (R), green (G), and blue (B) we can reproduce a large part of our visible colour spectrum on screen.

RGB is known as an additive colour model, because when the three colours overlap they produce white.

Printers however use the CMYK colour model to recreate what we see on our screen.

The major difference between monitor display and print is the direction of the light. Your computer illuminates the screen by displaying a light from inside the monitor and projecting it outward so the colors are actually being lit from behind. With print -- the light shines down and the paper absorbs and reflects the colours.

CMYK is a "subtractive" model and combines cyan (C), magenta (M) and yellow (Y) to make black (K). Although it actually creates a very dark brown and we add a little black to get to a true black colour.

Here at Bulpitt Print we work with you on your print projects to ensure you always get the most accurate reproduction of your artwork. Please feel free to call us on 01264 36 36 00 with any queries on your latest print project.