Digital Summer Camp 06: CMYK and RGB

​What is RGB and why does it matter? Why is there a big blank spot on your site where you uploaded that TIF image? In this episode, we’ll do a deep dive into color spaces and look at how our image formats are influenced by our eyeballs, LED displays and even the sun itself. I’ll also provide some easy examples of what to use where and tips for getting the best results. 

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A post shared by Ame Stanko (@pixellava) on Aug 14, 2018 at 9:30pm PDT

CMYK stands for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black – the colors created by light from the sun reflecting off a printed item like a brochure and into your eyes. All of the zillions of colors you see when you look at a magazine or business card are made with just those four colors. So what does RGB stand for?

RGB stands for Red, Green Blue – the colors created by light shining through pixels on an electronic display and into your eyes. All of the zillions of colors you see when you look at a computer or TV are created by just those three colors. 
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What to use where?

• Use RGB for anything online: website images, PowerPoint presentations, social media images, etc.

• Use CMYK for anything you want printed, especially at a print shop: business cards, postcards, brochures, etc.
• Tricky situations: use RGB when in doubt, most home and office printers will print RGB out nicely so use it for digital items that the end user might also print like press releases, eBooks and pdf brochures.

Common pitfalls to avoid:
A TIF will not display on the web, so be sure not to use those images. Stick with PNGs, JPGs and GIFs for your website and social media.
A GIF will not usually look good in print as it has been compressed for fast online loading. Stick with TIFs and JPGs for print use and always try to use an image that's 300 dpi.

That's it for this week’s Digital Summer Camp, only two more episodes in our 2018 series. To get a FREE, frosty new one delivered straight to your In Box next week, join my mailing list.