RGB vs CMYK | Why It Matters For T-Shirt Designs and Custom Printed Transfers

Рет қаралды 9,878

2 жыл бұрын

We get asked all the time "What's the difference between RGB and CMYK?"
In the creative industry you'll come across these two color models quite often- especially when designing for anything printed. To avoid unwanted color shifts and get a more accurate idea of how your finished product will turn out, its important to understand the differences between CMYK vs RGB and when to use which one.
Of course when we're talking about screen printing t-shirts, we have to bring up spot colors. With screen printing, each color in your design is matched with a corresponding ink color and then pushed through a screen.
Join Dave from Transfer Express as we cover the differences between all of these color modes and how they make an impact on your designs! We'll even cover how to change your color model in Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop and Corel DRAW.
Questions? Leave 'em in the comment section below!
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Пікірлер: 41

@lairekarice3556 2 жыл бұрын

Love the breakdown. Looked at other videos pertaininging to this topic and i was confused as ever thanks

@lorrainemia 2 жыл бұрын

This has got to be the BEST breakdown of RGB vs CMYK! Thank you.

@transferexpress 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks Lorraine, You're welcome, we're always happy to help out!

@transferexpress 2 жыл бұрын

Pick up your own color selector swatch book (mentioned in this video) with 70+ ink colors here: www.transferexpress.com/marketing-tools/color-selector

@herb-9380 Жыл бұрын

love the energies

@transferexpress Жыл бұрын

Thanks Herb! We get excited about design and print, glad we could help out!

@SimplybeingR 6 ай бұрын

Thanks so much! I have been searching for a video like this for my sublimation prints that I do myself. When i print my images CMYK is how to get the color I see on my screen.

@transferexpress 5 ай бұрын

Awesome, We're so happy we could help out!

@chinaidior Жыл бұрын

I literally made EVERYTHING under RGB 😭 I didn't find out about it not being able to print until later

@transferexpress Жыл бұрын

Don't worry! The RGB vs CMYK converters in photoshop or other programs work really well, you can easily switch over your designs with very little color shifting.

@neilgyverabangan6989 2 жыл бұрын

Hello, do you think it'd be wiser to work on a cmyk profile when working on your design so that when it gets printed, it is the same color as what you see on the screen..?

@transferexpress 2 жыл бұрын

For sure! When designing anything for printing (with a few exceptions- like spot color graphics) CMYK is the way to go. With the color gamut of RGB being larger, CMYK colors will never be spot-on when viewing on a screen.

@neilgyverabangan6989 2 жыл бұрын

@@transferexpress Thnx, brooo🙏.. Cheers! 🍻

@ZetWuO Жыл бұрын

Hello, what color profile to use for graphics that will be DTF printed. CMYK or RGB, I will add that the graphics I make in Photoshop on the T-shirts are too dark

@transferexpress Жыл бұрын

It all depends on what specific file prep software your printer is using. We use CMYK as we found it to be the most accurate when printing our Direct To Film, or full color, digitally printed transfers. Have you tried our UltraColor Max? The colors really pop! You can get a free sample here: www.transferexpress.com/heat-applied-transfers/ultracolor-max

@abundantlife4758 2 жыл бұрын

I have my files in CMYK ready for digital printing. However, the colours are now dreadfully muted and not bright like I wanted. I’m told they have to be in CMYK to print. Is there a way around this to make brighter colours

@transferexpress 2 жыл бұрын

Hey Abundant Life! On screen CMYK colors will appear muted compared to the RGB equivalent on screen, however, when printed they should be vibrant (not as vibrant as colors in light coming from a monitor) but they should look good in ink. If you're concerned about printed color I always like to use a pantone bridge book, so you can have the CMYK builds of how 2,139 colors will look actually printed on coated and uncoated stocks. (www.pantone.com/color-bridge-guide-set-coated-uncoated) It's worth it to keep in mind any digital full color transfers for apparel printing will be close but not exact to those values as the finish differs from product to product.

@nataliewhite7170 10 ай бұрын

I use Canva and when it's time to download the image to print (sublimation) I have the option to print in CMYK. Do you suggest I select that for sublimation as well? I'm not sure if I can select to see the artwork in CMYK while designing or not...

@transferexpress 10 ай бұрын

It depends on a few things, but typically the printers used for sublimation (desktop printers) are designed to read RGB information. Depending on your specific model, you may notice less color shifting using CMYK or RGB. Run a test example in RGB and then in CMYK to see which one you feel represents the artwork the best!

@muckefuck1055 Жыл бұрын

It all makes sense what you say. Redbubble also wants you to upload in CMYK. But doesn't it also have something to do with what kind of printing technique you use which color space you use? Because I wonder why Amazon requires RBG? Is it because of the printing technology? Amazon uses direct printing for shirts.

@transferexpress Жыл бұрын

Yup, it really depends on the file prep software they're using for digital printing. It's rare, but some color RIP software work well with RGB files with their own color conversions- They all end up printing with CMYK inks, but every shop handles their own color fidelity differently. Digital direct-to-garment printing and some large format printing (like banners) are probably the most common to use a RBG color space.

@stephenjones2518 2 жыл бұрын

How do I get the color selector?

@transferexpress 2 жыл бұрын

They are available at www.transferexpress.com/marketing-tools/color-selector

@mvvw01 Жыл бұрын

I’m stuck having to use my iPad for designs since my laptop is broken. Photoshop ipad only uses RGB and I’m not sure about procreate. Is there anyway around this for some of my more vibrant designs

@transferexpress Жыл бұрын

It is true the Photoshop app for iPad is set in RGB, I know it's a feature adobe is looking to add in the future. However, you can change the color modes in procreate. Just tap Actions > Canvas > Canvas Information > Color profile

@F3PIZZA 9 ай бұрын

Alright…I’m lost… I’ve designed logos in Curve (formerly Vectornator) and I want purple. It seems impossible to get purple when “CYMK preview” is enabled (in the canvas settings). I’m trying to print at home onto paper first before I would submit anything. There may be something fundamental I’m missing 😅

@transferexpress 9 ай бұрын

That's a tough one, most likely the specific color of purple you're looking to create is out of gamut when converted to CMYK. We're not as well versed in Linearity Curve and it's color space conversions as other vector programs like Illustrator, Affinity or Corel. Is it shifting more blue, if so try adjusting to be more on the magenta (or red side)? Can you try editing the color with CMYK preview turned on for more accurate color representation?

@ALBOllNAAR Жыл бұрын

why is some of the web sites that is POD want us to upload our work on RGB instead of CMYK if they gonna print it? im confused 😵‍💫

@transferexpress Жыл бұрын

I all depends on how they're prepping the files and the conversion software they're using. The majority of digital printing is in CMYK, but some print shops use RGB when prepping artwork for Direct to Garment printing and Large Format stuff like banners.

@howardwangleonwang88 Жыл бұрын

I did all my design in RGB in procreate and when i send the factory to print they gave me CMYK and now all the colors r dull.. wish I knew this before I start designing because all my art is for printing for my clothing brand 😭😭😭

@transferexpress Жыл бұрын

Yeah, it depends on the specific printing method and what software the print company is using, typically for full color artwork they will convert it over which can lead to that color shift. In Procreate, you can change color modes by tapping Actions > Canvas > Canvas information > Color profile

@chinaidior Жыл бұрын

Exactly 😭😭

@chinaidior Жыл бұрын

Were you able to fix it or did you have to start over

@HalaMadrid026 2 жыл бұрын

CMYK for printing

@transferexpress 2 жыл бұрын

Bingo, Always CMYK for printing!

@KP2litt 2 жыл бұрын

@@transferexpress so cmyk for screen printing and dtg on t shirts??

@ashleynongkynrih6299 4 ай бұрын

Ok im confused. The graphics should be in CMYK or the Gang sheet file? Plz help

@transferexpress 4 ай бұрын

We'd love to help! Graphics should be in CMYK. Any files for gang sheets are just groupings of artwork in one file, which should all be in the same color mode. Let us know if we can help out more!

@ashleynongkynrih6299 4 ай бұрын

@@transferexpress thank you

@ashleynongkynrih6299 4 ай бұрын

@@transferexpress what bout saving the CMYK file as PNG. Is it possible?

@transferexpress 4 ай бұрын

Since PNG is a raster image mode that is made for web/computers, it cannot save as CMYK. A Tiff file is capable of being CMYK.