Color Part 2: Formats and Systems

There are several color formats and systems available for mixing and specifying colors. Here, we explain three of the most common systems: RGB, CMYK, and Pantone colors.

RGB color

"RGB" refers to the colors of light that mix to create colors. There are three basic colors of light - red, green and blue. When combined, they create an entire rainbow of colors, either by reflecting off, surfaces or by shining onto surfaces.

In design, RGB color is only used in website design and other designs that are only meant to be seen on your screen (software user interfaces, HTML email, PowerPoint presentations, and TV or movie graphics).

If you send a design to be printed, or print a design that has been created in the RGB color space on your home printer, the printout may not match what you see on the screen - RGB colors on the screen tend to be brighter than what is printed on paper. This is because the colors onscreen are created with light, which adds brightness of its own to the colors. When printing on paper, the light is taken out of the equation. The other reason for this is that an RGB color can be "out of gamut" for CMYK printing, meaning that some of the colors cannot be replicated with printing inks.

CMYK color

CMYK color is also known as four-color printing, full-color printing, or process color printing.

CMYK color refers to a certain type of printing process. In CMYK printing, cyan, magenta, yellow, and black (the "K") inks are printed on the paper as tiny dots (referred to as a "screen" or "line screen"). These dots are so tiny that when they combine visually, they create a rainbow of colors.

This process is used in projects where printing the full range of color is required - in projects with full-color photography or when more than three colors overall are used in the design.

For the production of CMYK printing, digital printing is a more economical choice than full-color press printing. However, in digital printing, the types, colors, and thicknesses of paper available are often limited, based on the printing machine's specifications and capabilities.

The accuracy limitations of CMYK printing are that the results between different printing methods - digital printing versus press printing - can vary, sometimes greatly, depending on the printer's range, how it is calibrated, and the particular color you are trying to print. Even the results from different digital printers or presses can vary, so color accuracy may be an issue, particularly if you're printing items at different times or with different printers.

There are also colors that cannot be reproduced using the CMYK process - such as metallics, and very bright colors. To expand the color range, additional colors can be added to the mix to increase the range, for six- or seven-color printing. Alternatively, Pantone colors can be used to increase the range - going to five-color (or more) printing to get the color accuracy you need.

Pantone color

Pantone color is also known as the Pantone Matching System, PMS color, or Spot color.

This color system is based on a set of inks that are mixed to create solid colors, which are then used to print your materials. These colors fall in a prespecified range, found in several swatch books produced by the Pantone company. An analogy for this system is the colored paint chips found at the hardware store - you can preview the colors exactly as they will appear in the final print job. Also, since the colors are mixed before printing, instead of being created visually out of tiny dots on the page, they're much more accurate and consistent from print job to print job, as well as to the colors initially intended in the art, than CMYK color.

Pantone colors can be "screened" - a process in which fewer dots of color are used per inch, which makes the color appear lighter. Thus, more colors appear to be being used in a project, without increasing the printing costs or number of colors.

Pantone colors are often used on logos or stationery packages (business cards, letterhead, and envelopes), to enable those pieces to be printed on a press using one, two or three colors, which is less expensive than four-color printing (see CMYK color, above). Using Pantone colors on your logo also ensures accurate color representation for your logo in all applications - so that your carefully chosen corporate color will always be the same, regardless of the printing firm you choose to print a particular piece of collateral.

Using the right color format throughout your job will save you money and make your marketing materials look their best.

About the Author

Erin Ferree, Founder and Lead Designer of elf design, is a brand identity and graphic design expert. She has been helping small businesses grow with bold, clean and effective logo and marketing material designs for over a decade. elf design offers the comprehensive graphic and web design services of a large agency, with the one- on-one, personalized attention of an independent design specialist. Erin works closely in partnership with her clients to create designs that are visible, credible and memorable ? and that tell their unique business stories in a clear and consistent way. For more information about elf design, please visit:

Logo design at http://www.elf-design.com

---

Dear Friend: Dont Start Your Non-For-Profit Fundraising Letters As A Stranger

Dear Friend:Don't do it.Don't start your fundraising letters with "Dear... Read More

Top 10 Benefits of Hiring a Marketing Writer to Write Your Marketing Materials

1. It costs less to delegate to a professional than... Read More

Trade Show Promotions That Are Memorable

If you have been to expos and trade shows as... Read More

Recipe for Success

Special event and a special recipe- hand it out on... Read More

Insiders Secret to Selling Mailing Lists

If you've got a mailing list of at least a... Read More

Top 10 Marketing Pitfalls

Ten Marketing Pitfalls By Stuart ReidIf you want to make... Read More

Why Your Business Need a Website

Web Presence gives your business a distince edge over your... Read More

Why Smart People Dont Know How to Market

As an educated professional, your success is based on what... Read More

5 Tips on Establishing Yourself As An Expert In Your Community

Wondering how to get new patients into your practice? Wondering... Read More

Todays Definition of Marketing. Has It Changed?

With the continued proliferation of the Internet, the meaning of... Read More

A Jack Of All Trades Is Often The Master of None

You've heard variations of that saying your entire life. Consider:... Read More

The Marketing Plan and the Four P?s

The Marketing Plan section of the business plan demonstrates how... Read More

4 Sales Strategies with Your Trade Show Exhibition Booth

Trade show booths can act as an excellent source for... Read More

Marketing Strategy - Shift the Focus

Most of the service providers I've worked for or with... Read More

Attracting New Business on a Shoestring Budget

In a recent marketing workshop I attended, I discovered that... Read More

Tie-In With Others To Maximize Your Business Leverage

One of the most rewarding, inexpensive, under-used, and effective methods... Read More

Joint Venture: 50 Power Secrets Of Joint Venture Marketing, Exposed

What is a Joint Venture?A joint venture is an agreement... Read More

Alarming Marketing Trend

One key discipline of successful direct marketing has been to... Read More

How to Turn Your Marketing Into a Money-Making Machine - Examples of solid Marketing

As Claude Hopkins presented in his Scientific Advertising many decades... Read More

7 Great Ways to Market Yourself and Your Business to Help Increase Sales

Do you own a business and need ideas on how... Read More

Stretch Your Marketing Reach

One of the most cost effective marketing strategies you can... Read More

How to Use Business Cards to Network and Market Your Business

You've had one thousand of the finest, most eye-catching business... Read More

9 Highly Effective Marketing Tips

Here are 9 low-cost but highly effective marketing tips to... Read More

Grab Your Audience by Focusing on Benefits

Have you ever chosen to pay attention to someone just... Read More

Loyalty Cards Systems ? Beware, Some Should Be Avoided

Recently, I discussed a loyalty card system with a vendor... Read More

Increase Your Sales By Following-Up

The difference between a successful business and one that just... Read More

Beyond Fear And Greed: Emotions That Sell

Fear and Greed. The stock-in-trade of sales. Appeal to them,... Read More

Make Out Marketing

What is the single biggest fear of teenagers, business owners... Read More

Shopping Comes Back To The Community

THE GREAT BRITISH TRADITION OF STREET MARKETS IS UPHELD AT... Read More

Are You Marketing Backwards?

Marketing is like rowing a boat. When you know how... Read More

Marry Your Marketing Plan

Make a vow to keep up your marketing schedule in... Read More

Guide to a Profitable Marketing Mix

You may have heard the term Marketing Mix used in... Read More

Dont Think Like A Package Designer - Think Like A Customer

Some of the most successful package introductions have come from... Read More