Offset printing uses a CMYK colour format (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black). The colours on your screen are RGB colours (Red, Green, Blue).
Some RGB colours that appear on your screen can not be printed in CMYK. You must be careful when selecting colours on your printing, as some colours will print “dull” when compared to your computer screen.
In the diagram below, the colours on top are RGB colours as you seen on your computer screen. When printed in CMYK, they would appear as the colours on the bottom, slightly duller.
Programs such as Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator can convert all colours to CMYK. Programs such as Microsoft Word can not, so you must manually select colours which are not at risk.
Colour Variations
Our printing products may have colour variations from what you have seen on screen, to what the final product looks like. Colour variations may also exist between the front and back of the card, and previous orders can also be expected. This is the nature of CMYK offset printing and bulk-run printing. Different finishes, laminates and stock variations over time will also create variations in colour.
For the most precise colour matching service, we recommend puchasing a Pantone colour for your printing.