Skip to main content
GlossaryPrinting your card

CMYK vs RGB: Which to Use for Printing

RGB mixes red, green and blue light and is the colour model of screens. CMYK mixes cyan, magenta, yellow and black ink and is the model most commercial printing uses. A file made in RGB must be converted to CMYK to print on a standard press, and some vivid screen colours cannot be reproduced.

Two Ways of Making Colour

A screen makes colour by adding light: red, green and blue together give white. Ink on paper works the opposite way, subtracting light: cyan, magenta and yellow together absorb most of it, and a separate black ink is added because the three together make a muddy dark brown rather than true black. The K in CMYK stands for key, the black plate.

Why Colours Change in Print

The range of colours a screen can show is larger than what four inks can reproduce, particularly for bright blues, greens and oranges. When an RGB colour falls outside what the press can print, conversion maps it to the nearest printable one, and the result is visibly duller. This is expected, and it is not a fault in the file.

Who Should Convert

A proper conversion uses an ICC profile that describes a specific press and paper. A printer has that information, and a designer working without it can only guess. Many small print shops accept RGB files and convert them as a standard step. If colour accuracy matters, for example a brand colour that must match, ask the printer for a printed proof before the full run.

Black Text

Small black text is best printed with the black ink alone, which stays sharp. Text built from all four inks can show coloured fringes if the plates sit slightly out of register. A printer converting from RGB usually handles this, but it is one reason to confirm what they do with pure black.

Frequently asked questions

Should I use CMYK or RGB for a business card?

Use CMYK if your printer asks for it. Many accept RGB and convert it themselves. Check what they require before you finish the design.

Why does my printed card look duller than my screen?

Screens show brighter colours than four inks can reproduce, especially vivid blues and greens. Converting from RGB to CMYK brings those colours back inside what can be printed.

What does the K in CMYK stand for?

Key, meaning the black plate, which the other colour plates are aligned against.

Keep reading

Related terms

Print-Ready PDFA print-ready PDF is a file prepared so a printer can use it without changes: the right finished size, bleed on every side, text and images that will print cleanly, and page boxes that record where the cut falls. It is a PDF built for a press rather than for viewing on screen.300 DPI300 DPI means 300 dots, or pixels, for every inch of printed length, the usual minimum resolution for photographs and raster images in print. At that density a 91.6 by 60 mm business card with bleed needs an image of about 1082 by 709 pixels, and a lower resolution prints visibly soft.BleedBleed is the extra artwork that runs past the edge where a printed card will be cut, so that a blade landing slightly off the line still finds ink and not bare paper. It is usually 3 mm on every side, which makes a card with an 85.6 by 54 mm finished size a 91.6 by 60 mm file.Paper Business CardA paper business card is a small printed card carrying a person’s contact details. It needs no battery, no signal and no explanation, and it is fixed at the moment it is printed: every detail on it is correct only until something changes.

Put this into practice with your own card

Put your details on one card page, share it by link or QR code, and change them whenever they change. The printed code keeps working. No credit card required to start.

Start Free TrialView Pricing