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| example of RGB |
RGB
RGB stands for red, green and blue. This is a default set of
coloures used in building up a coloured image. By overlapping them its possible
to achieve a wide range of colour. This is how most monitors and other deeply
devises make up an image, through the layering of thousands of pixels. An image
can also be printed using RGB but this is not hugely common.
CMYK
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| example of CMYK |
Where as RGB is used for screens CMYK is used in printing. It
stands for cyan, magenta, yellow and black. These colours
are layered by digital printers to build up a coloured image. As monitors use RGB
and printers use CMYK there can sometimes be a difference in colour when printing
from a device. This is why RGB is also a printing option.
What’s the difference?
To test the visual deference I decided to print off a colour
swab in both formats. Even before I printed them I noticed a distinct
difference in some colours. The colours in the RGB format seemed way brighter
than their CMYK equivalent. This was much more noticable for some colours than
others. The brighter reds and blues seemed to be the most effected, but there
was not much difference for the lighter colours and the yellows. After I
printed both versions off, the difference was still noticeable in these colours
although, less so than on a monitor before painting. The final results are definitely
noticeable which reinforces the fact that this is something I need to be aware of.
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| RGB |
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| CMYK |
