BETWEEN RGB AND CMYK

The RGB Color Model

Based on the Young-Helmholtz theory of trichromatic color vision (which was developed by British polymath Thomas Young and German physicist Hermann von Helmholtz in the mid-nineteenth century), RGB is a color model that works with the use of the red, green and blue primary colors of light.

It is a type of additive color model, which means that colors generated with it are done by adding individual red, green and blue levels to a base that results to a specific color hue.

In this model, white is produced by setting red, green and blue levels at maximum, which sets white’s RGB identifier at RGB 255, 255, 255. Black, the opposite of white, is produced by setting red, green and blue levels at their lowest, which sets black’s identifier as RGB 0,0,0.

Depending on how each of the colors are set, a wide spectrum of colors can be mixed by the RGB color model, and because of the additive mode that it runs by, it is the color model that’s ideal for photographs and digital images/designs meant to be displayed on an electronic display.

This makes RGB the ideal color model for digital outputs and should be your go-to mode if you’re working on works to be shown on digital platforms in file formats like JPG, PNG or GIF.

The CMYK Color Model

The CMYK color model is different from RGB in the sense that it runs by a subtractive mode that typically works with printing machines in yielding specific color outputs. It is based on the CMY color model that’s used in color printing processes, and it stands for cyan, magenta, yellow and key – key being a term that stands for black.

As a subtractive color mode, it runs by the principle in color mixing wherein the process of mixing colors entails setting limits to the color spectrum that is reflected by the individual colors – IE, the subtraction of colors from each other to yield a specific hue.

In mixing colors with ink, a printer can produce white with the CMYK 0%, 0%, 0%, 0% value, while a mix of all colors would produce black.

Because of its subtractive aspect, CMYK is that color model that’s ideal for print-oriented outputs like business cards, posters, stickers, brochures and the like. Prior to printing them, file formats like PDF, EPS and AI (vector graphics) work well in churning print outputs based on the CMYK color mode.

Above is a comparison on how the RGB and CMYK color models process colors at a halftone setting. Generally, the RGB mode tends to be more vibrant than the CMYK mode, but CMYK works best with print-oriented outputs since it entails the mixing of actual ink in producing specific colors and hues.