The Differences Between RGB, CMYK, & Spot Colors

Knowing the difference between these color formats can be very important when uploading digital work online or printing artwork. It's great to know for those with small businesses, working in marketing, digital artists, or even traditional artists.

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RGB (red, green, and blue) are the colors used in combination to create all the colors seen on digital screens like tvs, smart phones, laptops, etc. It's very important to save digital files (photos and graphics) in the RGB color mode before uploading to the internet, or else the colors may appear different.

Examples: logos, banners, social media posts, web comics, etc.

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CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black) are the colors used when printing artwork from home office inkjet printers to commercial print shops. These 4 colors are layered in a way that creates other colors in the final printed image. Be sure to save your files in the cmyk color mode before printing.

Examples: stickers, labels, business cards, flyers, brochures, posters

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Spot colors are also used for printing. The difference between this and CMYK printing is a spot color is mixed before it's printed. Things like the Pantone Matching System (PMS) are used to choose the color you want, and commercial printers will mix and print with it for you. This can be much more expensive, but it can be very important for larger brands to get their logos and such printed this way because it will always be that exact color. Printing in CYMK is not quite as accurate, and the color can differ between printers.

Before printing, be sure the artwork is in the correct spot color swatch. In Adobe Illustrator, spot color swatches can be found under Swatch libraries > Color Books.

Examples: logos, stickers, promo items (sunglasses, pens, bags)