Colors have a big impact on people’s moods, and this is why brands are always looking for ways to use different colors to get more sales. RGB vs CMYK printing is an old age debate that people still have each time it comes to printing. Let’s have a look at which model you should favor for printing on your boxes and what the specifications of each model are.
What is RGB?
RGB is a color model that uses the primary colors when printing. Each letter represents a primary color. The RGB model is usually used for digital designs, such as the colors you see on the window or your phone’s screen.
It is important to convert RGB to CMYK before printing the packaging boxes to get more accurate results. The digital screen is made up of thousands of tiny squares called pixels. And each pixel has these three colors in it. Together, these colors display the designs and other colors for viewers. Let’s have a look at each color that makes the RGB model:
- R stands for Red
- G stands for Green
- B stands for Blue
When to Use RGB?
The important question that comes next is when to use RGB, and how it can help in branding. When you start a business, you need to promote your business. Custom packaging is one of the ways to promote it, but that’s not the only way. Brands promote their products and business through digital marketing, and the RGB model is used there.
Long before you think about custom packaging, you have to think about the brand’s logo. And this is where you have to use the RGB model. The following are the times when you have to use this model to promote your brand:
- Website design
- Logo design
- Social media posts
- Digital advertisements
Advantages of RGB
People have been using the RGB color model for a very long time. This color model produces versatile colors with different saturations of each color. You can get any shade or color for your brand’s digital marketing with the RGB model. The RGB color model also produces vibrant shades that help designers in coming up with highly attractive designs.
Limitations of RGB
While this light color model has advantages, it also has some limitations. The biggest challenge is to get high-end colors on the packaging boxes with the RGB model. This is why it is imperative to convert the colors to the CMYK model when printing the designs on packaging boxes. Your brand’s logo is made in the RGB model, and when the logo is to be printed on the box, you have to convert the colors to the CMYK model.
What is CMYK?
CMYK is the color model that offers secondary colors. Each letter represents a different color. This color model is used for printing on boxes to get high-quality packaging boxes. The major difference between RGB and CMYK is the colors that each model uses. Most brands use the CMYK model to print on their custom rigid boxes to give a more enhanced and luxurious look. Let’s have a look at the colors that make up the CMYK world:
- C stands for Cyan
- M stands for Magenta
- Y stands for Yellow
- K stands for Black or Key
When to Use CMYK?
The packaging boxes you see in the stores are mostly made with the help of the CMYK model. CMYK is used when you have to print packaging boxes to boost your product’s visibility. You can get high-end prints with the CMYK model.
Whether you are packing products in boxes or choosing flexible packaging material such as Mylar bags, you have to use the CMYK model for the designs and colors. Let’s have a look at when you should be using the CMYK model:
- Business Cards
- Packaging Boxes
- Invitation Cards
- Flyers
- Restaurant Menus
- Printed T-shirts
Advantages of CMYK in Printing
The biggest advantage that the CMYK model brings to the table is the consistency in printing. This means that no matter how many prints you need to have, each time the final product will have the same consistency as the first one.
Limitations of CMYK
There are certain limitations to the CMYK model that your brand must know before you print your packaging boxes. The CMYK model cannot provide a wide range of colors, and it fails to give certain shades of grey. If you are looking for bright neon colors, the CMYK model might not be able to give you the exact colors you are looking for.
Conversion of RGB to CMYK
Let’s have a look at how we convert the RGB values to CMYK for printing. Before we begin with the conversion, you should know that the RGB values are used within the range of 0 to 255. It’s fascinating to note that none of the colors are the same in these two models, yet they can be converted with a simple formula. At first, the values are divided by 255. These are presented as R’, G’, and B’.
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- The Black or Key color is calculated from the Red, Green, and Blue colors in the following manner:
- K = 1-max (R', G', B')
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- The Cyan color is calculated from Red and Black colors:
- C = (1-R'-K) / (1-K)
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- The magenta color is calculated from the Green and Black colors:
- M = (1-G'-K) / (1-K)
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- The yellow color is calculated from the Blue and Black colors:
- Y = (1-B'-K) / (1-K)
Conversion of CMYK to RGB
If you have CMYK values, you can use those to convert to the RGB model in the following manner:
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- The Red is calculated from Cyan and Black or Key colors:
- R = 255 × (1-C) × (1-K)
- The Green is calculated from Magenta and Black colors:
- The Red is calculated from Cyan and Black or Key colors:
- G = 255 × (1-M) × (1-K)
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- The Blue is calculated from the Yellow and Black colors:
- B = 255 × (1-Y) × (1-K)
Get High-End Prints for Your Custom Packaging!
CMYK and RGB printing are both fruitful for different purposes and can help any business in promoting their services and products in their unique ways. Now that you are familiar with the color models, it is time to get to printing your custom packaging boxes. You can get different materials, shapes, sizes, and even styles for the boxes to stand apart from the competition in the market. Worried about the design and colors? Contact us today and get a free quote for your custom packaging needs!
