Section 12 · Output & Production

Color Profile Conversion (RGB to CMYK)

Definition

Converting a file from screen-based RGB color to print-based CMYK, which has a smaller and differently shaped range of reproducible colors.

Why it matters

Converting late — or not at all — causes color shifts that surprise you the first time you see a printed piece beside your screen. Converting deliberately means deciding how out-of-gamut colors are handled rather than leaving it to the printer.

Example

A bright neon green in RGB flattening to a duller green once shifted to CMYK.

Note

Unavoidable disappointment, best pre-empted. Knowing that fluorescent and highly saturated screen colors have no print equivalent — before you build a piece around one — heads off a demoralizing first print.