Section 11 · 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 students the first time they see a printed piece beside their 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.

Teaching note

Unavoidable disappointment, best pre-empted. Warning students that fluorescent and highly saturated screen colors have no print equivalent, before they build a piece around one, prevents a demoralizing first print.