About Color

CMYK/RGB

CMYK and RGB are two possible color modes for graphics files.

Save your graphics in CMYK mode. CMYK refers to Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black, the ink colors used in Process Color printing. When CMYK inks are added together in various percentages using dot patterns and screen angles, they create the wide range of colors available in printed materials. All printing done at SavoirPrint is produced in Process Colors.

RGB refers to Red, Green and Blue, the primary colors used in the phosphors of computer screens, as well as in color scanners, televisions and digital photography. Due to the widespread use of RGB, many graphics applications default to RGB, but printing requires CMYK.

The RGB color space has a greater color range (gamut) than CMYK. When converting from RGB to CMYK, certain colors will be "squeezed" to fit them into the color gamut that is possible in printing. As a result, brighter colors (oranges, bright greens, blues and purples) can be compromised when printed in Process Color.

Spot Colors

Spot Colors, also called solid colors or Pantone colors, are premixed inks that are not attainable by combining CMYK inks. They are inks mixed from about a dozen base pigments. Some printers specialize in Spot Color priinting. We use Process Colors (CMYK). If you submit jobs using Spot Colors, we will automatically convert those to standard Process Color equivalents.

A printed swatch book, such as a Pantone Process Color swatch book is an excellent way to predict color, and is highly recommended. Pantone also has available a "Solid to Process" guide that shows how Pantone Spot Colors will convert to Process Colors when the normal equivalents are used.