"The CMYK colour model is based on printing and ink absorbing into paper. To gain the greatest number of printable colours, from the fewest number of inks, CMYK colour printing is used. By using varying amounts of Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black, a great number of colours can be printed. Most full colour printed materials, magazines, posters, packaging, are printed using just the 4 CMYK inks. Here the level of ink is measured from 0% to 100%. As an example, orange would be represented by 0% Cyan 50% Magenta 100% Yellow and 0% Black.

Whereas most 'on screen' colour is based on the RGB model, most full colour printing is based on the CMYK model. One of the main principles to understand is that some colours can only be represented by RGB, and cannot be replicated by the CMYK process. Images may look bright, with full saturation on screen, however the colour may be out of the range of the CMYK process. This is why images may look far different when on screen to when printed."
Source(s):
http://www.vom.com/svcg/andy5.htm

Asker's Rating:

Permalink | Report