CMYK vs Pantone vs RGB - What's the difference? Why does it matter? When to use each?

Austin from Print Peppermint gives an overview of the key differences between the RGB, CMYK, and PMS Pantone color spaces.

In order to help our designers and clients we created this 4-Color Process Reference book which displays a list of optimized CMYK color values and when printed acts as a handy tool in referencing on-screen color in real life.

You can download a Free PDF file here:

You can print this out at home on your digital printer which, although not perfect, should still act as a good guide for choosing CMYK values inside photoshop or whatever design software you are using.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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0:00 - Intro
0:15 - What is RGB color?
0:26 - What is CMYK color?
0:44 - What are PMS Pantone Colors?
0:59 - How does RGB work? / How do screens work? / Additive Color Model
1:30 - How does CMYK work? What is 4-color process printing?
1:51 - What is halftone and how does it work?
2:12 - Subtractive Color Model
2:24 - Why was 4-color CMYK process invented?
2:37 - When should you use CMYK color?
2:48 - Why are my printed colors different than my computer screen?
2:58 - 4-Color Process Reference Guide Book (FREE DOWNLOAD)
3:21 - (Cont) Pantone Spot Colors: Neon / Fluorescent / Pastel / Metallic /
3:40 - PMS Color Palettes in Photoshop, Illustrator, or Affinity Design Software
3:53 - When to use PMS color? Why use PMS colors? Benefits
4:10 - How many PMS colors can be recreated in CMYK?
4:18 - What is Pantone Extended Gamut?
4:32 - Outro - Please Like & Subscribe :)
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[tubebuz]

Great explanation to a topic that seems to confuse a lot of people - even some who has been in the business for a while.

[VolumetricTerrain-hzci]

Thank you for the informative video!
Good job! 🙂

I have experimented with primary colors,
on MS Paint,
and discovered a color model that is both additive and subtractive.

The color model can be used for both screen and printer, in other words.

The following colors are: Red, Yellow, Cyan, and Blue (abbreviated as RYCB).

[ViviNorthbell]

well, you forgot to mention, that even if we download the pdf file and print it on a home printer it won't really represent the colors right. The outcome very much varies depending on the matierial printed on. There is a huge amount of different paper in all kinds of thickness, coated etc.

[talnewfield]

Awesome video. I'm just starting out in the world of graphic design and this video was super helpful!

[LudovicaQuaranta]

Thank you very much for the booklet to download, I have the color bridge palette but is good to narrow down the best options to choose.

[FlutterCreativeStudioandSounds]

Great info, very well explained! Good refresher of the basics!

[punitgupta]

Amazing explanation. Really helpful to understand the whole colouring system. Thanks for this one 🎉

[feyzaarslan]

thank you!! this really helped me with my graphic design class project!

[gomatidas]

Awesome explanation, thanks for showing colour pallets.

[jont]

Awesome video! Really helps with the nuance of CMYK

[ferretyluv]

What about Avery? They have their own color system. What’s the difference between Avery and Pantone?

[DaneA-xm]

great video - very informative - thank you for the booklet it is very useful and of high quality. Thanks for explaining cmyk in detail.

[squinonex]

Thanks for the video! This was super helpful :)

[MOHAMEDHASSAN-fkjv]

👍. Thanks for the CMYK colour code file.

[g_o_d_esigns]

Thank you for the free tool! And especially the lesson! Cheers!

[elloh]

I wouldn't spec a pantone color if the client isn't paying for spot color in the job (assuming print method supports it at all). Just because a designer spec's a pantone doesn't mean they're going to get a faithful reproduction of it at print time, especially in the case of a digitally printed product.

CMYK and converting / choosing it over RGB: the designer should be asking the print provider what they want in production files. Most modern RIPs will handle the conversion from RGB spaces to process color output just fine, and they'll do a better job of it than creative desktop software will.

Similarly for pantone colors, they'll convert to the closest in gamut color without issue. It just may not be as bright and nice as the designer and client expect.

[BarKeegan]

Just wondering with Pantone leaving Adobe, could someone make a new Spot colour in one of their design packages for use on a single lithographic plate, and just tell a printer which Pantone you want printed on that plate without having the available Pantone swatches digitally?

[lasarith]

RGB 16.7 million colours
CMYK 16, 000 colours,
Pantone 1200-1600 ish.