CMYK vs. RGB: Which should you use for custom-printed packaging?
What’s the difference between CMYK vs. RGB? Read on to learn which is best for printing your brand's custom packaging designs!
By Krystal Lam — 23 February, 2022
Custom noissue Compostable Tape and Kraft Recycled Boxes by @madebyahun.
Had a chance to read about CMYK vs. Pantone printing? Head here to learn more about CMYK vs. Pantone, and keep reading to learn about what makes CMYK vs. RGB printing different on your brand’s packaging!
When it comes to custom-printed retail packaging, you want your brand’s colors to shine as true as they possibly can! Colors are essential to your branding, and when printed onto physical packaging items, they need to look accurate to properly represent your brand’s values and precisely showcase your style. 🌈
While it might seem pretty simple at first glance, the color variations from one to the other can make a major difference, especially when your customers will experience the final result through your packaging. To better understand how the colors on your brand’s custom packaging might turn out, keep reading! We’ve got you covered on how colors look in CMYK vs. RGB, when to use CMYK vs RGB, and which noissue products are available for custom printing in your brand’s boldest, brightest colors.
In this article, we’ll be diving into these essential questions:
- What is CMYK?
- What is RGB?
- What’s the difference between CMYK vs. RGB?
- Can you convert RGB to CMYK?
- And more on noissue’s CMYK printing range!
First, let’s define what CMYK and RGB are (and they’re more than just letters!)
What is CMYK?
CMYK is a color printing space – the system that organizes color when designing and printing – that’s commonly used by commercial and at-home printers. It’s often what you see in your standard inkjet printer, loaded with four colors that make up the acronym CMYK: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black. Note that CMYK Black is represented with the letter “K” to denote it as a “key” color for printing, which is typically black ink.
Where the magic happens is how CMYK is mixed to create other colors. In fact, no mixing actually goes on with CMYK! Instead, tiny dots of CMYK are layered and overlapped when printing to produce photorealistic and multi-color imagery.
What is RGB?
RGB is a color space that’s been around for quite some time. When you see an image that was taken with a vintage film camera, it’s likely that RGB was used to produce its colors! Nowadays, we tend to see RGB displayed in our LCD monitors, TV displays, and other digital screens.
What’s interesting about RGB is that this color space is composed of three colors: Red, Green, and Blue. More colors are created when these three colors are mixed together to result in different hues. Our eyes process RGB colors through light and how intense light can appear. This is why when we look at modern-day screens, we see vivid colors through RGB displays.
What’s the difference between CMYK vs. RGB?
So we know what CMYK and RGB are – but when is it best to use CMYK vs. RGB?`
CMYK is the ideal color space for printing very true depicting images, precise designs, patterns, artwork, and more on physical mediums like custom-printed retail packaging. Designs that are printed in CMYK perform wonderfully when printed onto kraft, cardboard, and paper packaging materials.
RGB, on the other hand, is best used for designing digital displays. Businesses want their digital advertisements, like flyers and social media banners, to be designed in RGB so that they stand out and remain true-to-tone on screens.
Can you convert RGB to CMYK?
Yes, you can! To convert from RGB to CMYK without losing your desired colors, you must first know the numerical values of the colors used in your design. If you’re designing on a program like Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator, you’re able to view your color values by checking your file’s color mode and simply switching the setting from RGB to CMYK. If you are designing on a different program that does not switch color modes, there are online tools that can help you convert your RGB values to CMYK values.
Once you’ve got your RGB colors converted to CMYK, you’re ready to start creating a beautiful design or artwork to go onto your brand’s custom packaging!
noissue’s CMYK printing range
Lucky for you, noissue has plenty of packaging options that are available for CMYK printing! Your brand colors have never looked better on packaging that’s also sustainable by design, so they’ll stay bright and bold from printing to delivery. The best part of using CMYK printing for these products? You can create your custom design with as many colors as you’d like!
💡 Pro tip: Always review the design proof of your custom packaging before printing. Please keep in mind that a design proof is not an official digital mockup of the printed product, but a representation of how your final design lays out on our product templates before going into production. Note that you’ll be viewing your design proof through RGB on your screen, but not to worry! While colors can vary slightly because of this, our Design Team will help match your design’s colors to their most accurate CMYK values for printing.
If you receive your design proof and catch any errors, want to adjust colors via CMYK, or need to resize your logo, don’t fret – you’ll have a chance to correct your design with the noissue Design Team! Our team will help ensure that your design proof represents your design perfectly and receive your approval before heading into production.
The following products are fully customizable to your branding, so you can go all-in on making a major statement through CMYK color combinations for your logo, pattern, and art.
Custom Recycled Boxes
Treat your customers in technicolor! Hay Design Co. customizes its recycled boxes in not one, not two, but three different colors – including pops of white for a clean and chic design.
For noissue Custom Recycled Boxes, you can choose between three different bases to print your design in CMYK colors: White Matte/Uncoated, Premium White Glossy/Coated, and Kraft. Heads up, white ink printing is currently unavailable for the Kraft base, but the same white-on-kraft effect can still be printed! Just reach out to our wonderful Design Team for help if you’d like to explore this option.
Custom Compostable Stickers
Catch your customer’s eye with a sticker of your logo or slogan! Goodordering greets with a sweet noissue Sticker to represent its brand and for customers to place onto a water bottle, planner, or laptop after unboxing their goodies.
noissue Stickers are printed in CMYK with soy-based inks onto acid-free paper, so your brand colors will show strongly without harming the environment. Talk about a sustainable statement that really sticks!
Custom Compostable Packing Tape and Washi Tape
Create your branded tape and turn packages from “meh” to “yeah!” Custom packing tape does the trick by injecting extra color onto boxes or mailers.
noissue’s water-activated packaging Tape is printed in CMYK with compostable inks and paper, making it the perfect solution for an effortless and stylish unboxing experience. noissue Tape comes in two different bases to customize with your brand’s CMYK colors: White and Kraft.
To add dimension onto letters and stationary as a lovely little touch, wow your customers with custom washi tape! Equally as earth-friendly, noissue Washi Tape sports your design in CMYK onto white rice paper with non-toxic inks. Pas Mon Style, for instance, knows how to kick their packaging up a notch with custom Washi Tape!
Custom Recycled Hang Tags
Hang tags that sport your brand’s best hues? Those are worth a high score in our creativity books! Custom Hang Tags are a great way to personalize your products by being directly attached to them and adding a nice detail to the unboxing experience. Include product care information or proudly display your brand logo as Supernova Bags does with Fuschia-hued hang tags!
CMYK colors are printed with soy-based inks on post-consumer recycled fibers, so you can rely on your noissue Custom Hang Tags to rally an earth-friendlier unpacking experience. Plus, double-sided printing is available for our hang tags!
Custom Recycled Cards
Amp up the excitement when customers receive their orders while giving them a great first impression through a custom greeting or thank you card! Bettr Coffee brightens things up with a canary-yellow noissue Card, featuring their social media handles for customers to follow their company journey beyond the unboxing.
Get personal with customers with a colorful card that has your brand story, care instructions, or sustainability information for customers to properly dispose of their packaging. Since noissue Custom Cards are printed in CMYK colors with eco-friendly inks, they’re 100% reusable, compostable, recyclable, and guilt-free!
Custom Reusable Coasters
The newest member of our noissue Foodsafe family, Custom Coasters are your brand’s BFF for elevating hospitality experiences and takeout orders! CMYK color printing is available for these reusable custom coasters, making them a solid solution for repping your brand at events or to zhoosh up restaurant tables and outdoor dining.
Add your menu’s QR code to one side and your company logo on the other for a foodsafe, branded bonus! Did we mention that there are plenty of pre-made coaster templates that you can customize to your branding? Just use our easy design editor to personalize your noissue Coaster’s artwork, text, QR code, and more!
🎁 Wrapping it up
We hope this helped solve some of your curiosities about CMYK vs. RGB! While the above noissue products are printed in CMYK, we also provide Pantone color printing for select products, like our Tissue and Totes. Make your custom-printed retail packaging shine brighter in CMYK colors! Now, let your brand’s colors fly high and create an unbeatable unboxing experience!
