RGB vs CMYK: Color Modes Explained

Your screen glows; paper absorbs light. That single physical difference is why RGB and CMYK exist — and why colors change when you go from web to print.

The two models

• RGB (Red, Green, Blue) is additive: it mixes light. The screen starts black and adds color to reach white. Monitors, phones, TVs — everything digital.
• CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Key/black) is subtractive: ink absorbs (removes) light. Printers start white and subtract toward black. Anything on paper, vinyl, packaging.

Why colors "shift"

RGB has a wider gamut (range of colors) than CMYK. Saturated neon blues, electric greens and some purples simply cannot be printed — a printer silently maps them to whatever it can produce, which is why your vivid web design looks dull on a business card. The logo wasn't "broken"; the color didn't exist in CMYK.

What that means for your workflow

Designing for a phone app, website, email or social post? Work in RGB. Export JPG, PNG or WebP — our Convert Image switches formats without changing the RGB color space.

Printing flyers, cards, packaging or a poster? Get a CMYK-ready file from the designer or print shop (they usually provide an ICC profile). Don't just "convert" a JPG yourself — trust the print provider's specifications over any guess.

The 60-second checklist

• [ ] Web/screen asset → RGB, export PNG/JPG/WebP
• [ ] Print → ask the printer for their profile and CMYK requirements
• [ ] Check overly-bright greens and blues before printing — they're the classic offenders
• [ ] Keep your original master file; always go back to it instead of re-editing a printed JPG

Quick practical check

If you hold a print next to the screen and the color looks "washed out", that's normal gamut compression, not a mistake — most print-shop proofs will confirm the final result before you pay for a full run.

Still working on the web side? Convert between JPG, PNG and WebP in seconds with our free converter — everything runs locally in your browser.

**Convert an image →**