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When printing a document in colour it is first split (separated) into four colours; Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and blacK (CMYK) also known as 4 colour process. When these colours are combined in differing concentrations of tiny dots on a printing press, they can reproduce ALL the colours required in the document. Similar to that of a computer monitor or TV screen which uses a combination of Red Green and Blue (RGB) dots to make just about any colour.
Electronic images (tiff, jpegs etc) need to have their colour reference set to complement their final purpose. For example, an image on a website only needs to look good on a computer monitor, therefore it will be set to use an RGB colour space. An image which is to be printed needs to use CMYK to reproduce effectively on paper. RGB images will still print, but they loose their colour intensity and contrast.
If you have an RGB image you would like to use in your artwork before using it you will need to convert it to CMYK using your image editing software - please refer to your software's help facility for guidance. If you do not have any image editing software please contact us.
The PANTONE® MATCHING SYSTEM (PMS) is the definitive international reference for selecting, specifying, matching and controlling ink colors. Colours (and their corresponding reference numbers i.e. PMS 072) are chosen from a pallate book, and the inks are created as a specific single 'spot' colour rather than being made up of a mixture of CMYK dots. PMS colours are normally found on company logos where colour matching and consistency is essential.
PANTONE® colours can be split into CMYK elements for printing four colour work (as printing 5 colours i.e. CMYK plus a PANTONE can add costs). Where possible a PMS reference should be given as a guide.
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