What are color modes?

Screens make color with RGB light and presses make it with CMYK ink. Here's why colors shift between them, and how to convert with the right ICC profile.

Know RGB from CMYK

RGB (red, green, blue) mixes light. The more light you add, the brighter the color, up to white. Screens, cameras, and most design tools work in RGB.

CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, black) mixes ink on paper. Each ink absorbs some light, so more ink makes a darker color. Black (K) is added because cyan, magenta, and yellow alone make a muddy dark color, not a clean black.

Expect bright colors to shift

CMYK ink can't reproduce many of the brightest colors a screen can show. Vivid RGB greens, blues, and purples usually come out duller once they're converted.

Paper matters too. Uncoated paper soaks up more ink than coated paper, so the same file prints softer and less saturated.

Convert once, at export, and check the result before you print. To preview a single color, try the HEX to CMYK converter.

Convert with the right ICC profile

An ICC profile describes how one printing condition, a specific press, ink, and paper, reproduces color. Color management software uses it to turn RGB values into the CMYK ink amounts for that condition.

Use the profile your printer asks for. If they don't name one, use the common standard for your region and paper:

Some digital printers prefer RGB files and convert them on their own equipment. Ask before you convert.

Designing in Figma? Figma works in RGB only, so the conversion happens when you export. See Color Conversion.