Computer monitor screens emit color in RGB colour space (red, green, blue) light. Although all colors of the visible colour spectrum can be produced by mixing red, green and blue, computer monitors are capable of showing only a limited colour gamut. Colour gamut is the visible spectrum.

Where monitors emit light, printed paper absorbs or reflects specific wavelengths of light. Cyan, magenta, yellow inks act as filters, subtracting varying degrees of red, green and blue from white light to produce a selective gamut of spectral colour. Like monitors, printing inks also produce a color gamut that is only a subset of the visible spectrum, although the range is not the same for both. Consequently, the same art displayed on a computer monitor may not match to that printed in a publication. Also, because printing processes such as offset lithography use CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, black) inks, digital art must be converted to CMYK color for print. Many printers now prefer digital art files be supplied in the RGB color space with ICC profiles attached. Images can then be converted to the CMYK color space by the printer using color management methods that honor profiles if present; this helps preserve the best possible detail and vibrancy.

Some printers may prefer your files be delivered in RGB with ICC profiles attached, as this allows the printer to use color management methods when converting to CMYK. Other printers may prefer your files in the CMYK (Cyan/Magenta/Yellow/Black) mode, as this is the mode required for the printing process. If an RGB (Red/Green/Blue) file is submitted, it must be converted to CMYK for print. When the conversion takes place, color shifts can occur and CanvasDezign will do our best to reproduce as close of a match to your printed output as possible.

Most desktop scanners, digital cameras, and video capture systems save files as RGB and the conversion of RGB files to CMYK can be done in many ways. RGB converts to only CMY directly. However, when printing, we must add black ink and in doing so must cut back on some color. The Undercolor Removal (UCR) setup will help control this ratio so that a maximum ink density for the four colors will be 280-300% when printing on a coated paper printing stock.

Digital art that is comprised of spot colors (e.g., special colors: any colors that are not CMYK process colors), generally require conversion to the CMYK color space to enable file use. Because color gamut’s for spot color libraries, such as those associated with the PANTONE MATCHING SYSTEM, usually extend beyond the ranges of the CMYK color gamut, some spot colors may not be represented effectively using CMYK process inks.

CanvasDezign prefer all files to be sent in RGB format and we will do the RGB to CMYK conversion on our printer.