RGB vs CMYK Colour and Why Your Prints Look Different

You design your business card in Canva, the colours look perfect on screen. The printed cards arrive and the green is duller, the blue is darker, the red is muddier. The printer didn't make a mistake — your file was in the wrong colour space. Here's what's actually happening.

What RGB is

RGB stands for Red-Green-Blue — the three additive colours used by every screen (phone, laptop, TV). RGB starts from black darkness and ADDS light to produce colours. Pure RGB white is the brightest possible — all three channels at maximum.

What CMYK is

CMYK stands for Cyan-Magenta-Yellow-Key (black) — the four inks used in printing. CMYK starts from white paper and SUBTRACTS light by absorbing it. Pure CMYK black is the darkest possible — all four inks at maximum.

Why they can't match exactly

Screens emit light; paper reflects it. The range of colours a screen can show ("gamut") is larger than the range of colours that ink on paper can produce. Specifically:

• Bright greens, oranges, and electric blues on screen can't be reproduced in CMYK
• Very dark blacks lose depth when printed
• Highly saturated reds tend to look slightly browner when printed

The simple fix

Before sending a file to print:

• In Photoshop: Image → Mode → CMYK Color. The screen will preview how the file will print.
• In Illustrator: File → Document Color Mode → CMYK Color.
• In Canva: Use Canva Pro and select "PDF Print" export — Canva converts to CMYK automatically.
• In Google Docs / Word: They only output RGB. For print, export to PDF and trust the printer to convert (most do this automatically).

What "in CMYK" looks like

When you convert RGB to CMYK, you'll typically see:

• Bright greens become slightly muted
• Vivid blues become slightly purpler
• Pure RGB red becomes more like a brick-red

This is closer to what the print will actually look like. Adjust the design at this stage if any colour now looks wrong.

For phone-shot photos

Don't manually convert phone photos to CMYK — print shops do this conversion as part of their workflow with better calibration than you have access to. Just send the original JPG; the printer's RIP software handles the colour space transition.

The honest reality

Even with proper CMYK conversion, the print won't exactly match your screen — but it'll be much closer than an uncorrected RGB file. If exact colour matching matters (brand logo accuracy, corporate identity), ask for a colour proof: a single test print before the full run. We provide this on request for any large order.