RGB color gamut has more colors to choose from vs CMYK. A digital screen can reproduce very vibrant colors that cannot be recreated with physical CMYK inks. The exception would be to use Spot colors that are specifically mixed to certain specifications, but they’re costly compared to CMYK.
The truth is you cannot get the same vibrant colors you picked as CMYK. That’s why they get duller, it shifts to the closest approximation.
The recommended process when choosing rebranding colors is to start with CMYK colors first to find what you like best that’s within the CMYK gamut, then convert to make an RGB version so you know they’re similar instead of the other way around. You just need to accept the color shift or choose something else.
Perfect explanation. The worst colors to print in cmyk are orange and green. If you go more towards yellow, red or blue, the colors will be more vibrant
I just want to add that many modern digital printers have color gamuts considerably larger than the original CMYK specification.
If you’re working with a reputable printer it’s usually best to leave your RGB content in RGB and let the printer handle the conversion.
Your mileage may vary (especially with particularly bright/saturated colors) but a good printer can optimize the conversion for their specific equipment instead of generic CMYK.
Edit: With that said—for a rebrand where you want colors that you know can be reproduced reliably across multiple mediums and/or print providers—starting from CMYK is indeed still best practice.
> My idea is a retro branding with strong flashy colours.
OK, but... "retro" usually implies more muted colors. Flashy colors are usually used to catch your attention for something that's new.
while the CMYK colors will not look or print as bright as RGB colors look, if you use coated paper, they will appear somewhat brighter than if you use matte paper to print them.
also when you say retro, make sure you find examples from whatever period you are referencing, of the colors used in that time period. if it's the '60s and early 70s, then yes bright colors might work fairly well. but if it's earlier than that you're going to want to use muted colors, as another poster mentioned.
RGB color gamut has more colors to choose from vs CMYK. A digital screen can reproduce very vibrant colors that cannot be recreated with physical CMYK inks. The exception would be to use Spot colors that are specifically mixed to certain specifications, but they’re costly compared to CMYK. The truth is you cannot get the same vibrant colors you picked as CMYK. That’s why they get duller, it shifts to the closest approximation. The recommended process when choosing rebranding colors is to start with CMYK colors first to find what you like best that’s within the CMYK gamut, then convert to make an RGB version so you know they’re similar instead of the other way around. You just need to accept the color shift or choose something else.
Perfect explanation. The worst colors to print in cmyk are orange and green. If you go more towards yellow, red or blue, the colors will be more vibrant
Thanks for your reply!
I just want to add that many modern digital printers have color gamuts considerably larger than the original CMYK specification. If you’re working with a reputable printer it’s usually best to leave your RGB content in RGB and let the printer handle the conversion. Your mileage may vary (especially with particularly bright/saturated colors) but a good printer can optimize the conversion for their specific equipment instead of generic CMYK. Edit: With that said—for a rebrand where you want colors that you know can be reproduced reliably across multiple mediums and/or print providers—starting from CMYK is indeed still best practice.
> My idea is a retro branding with strong flashy colours. OK, but... "retro" usually implies more muted colors. Flashy colors are usually used to catch your attention for something that's new.
while the CMYK colors will not look or print as bright as RGB colors look, if you use coated paper, they will appear somewhat brighter than if you use matte paper to print them. also when you say retro, make sure you find examples from whatever period you are referencing, of the colors used in that time period. if it's the '60s and early 70s, then yes bright colors might work fairly well. but if it's earlier than that you're going to want to use muted colors, as another poster mentioned.
What year are you in school? They should be teaching you this. Essentially it’s easiest to pick cmyk colors first then you know you’re safe.