• Monitors display color with light, while presses print with ink.
• Computer monitors use red, green and blue (RGB) light to display color.
• Commercial printing presses print with cyan, magenta, yellow and black (CMYK) ink, called process printing, instead of RGB light, and therefore produce a different range of color.
• To print on a four-color press, all RGB files must be converted into CMYK color.
• Certain RGB colors that you can see on your monitor or camera (in particular, bright vibrant colors) simply cannot be replicated with standard CMYK inks. These unachievable RGB colors are said to be “out of the CMYK color gamut.” When selecting colors for your print project, we recommend using CMYK color builds to avoid potential RGB conversion issues.
The combination of RGB light creates white, while the combination of CMYK inks creates black. Therefore, it is physically impossible for the printing press to exactly reproduce colors as we see them on our monitors.
Many programs have the capability to convert the layout/images from the RGB color space to the CMYK color space. We request that you convert your colors from RGB to CMYK if your tools allow you to. By doing it yourself, you have maximum control over the results. You may notice a shift in color when converting from RGB to CMYK. If you do not like the appearance in CMYK, we recommend that you make adjustments while working in CMYK.
The Pantone Matching System (PMS) is a color reproduction standard in which colors all across the spectrum are each identified by a unique, independent number (much like a swatch book of paint colors). The use of PMS allows us to precisely match colors and maintain color consistency throughout the printing process.
Bleed is the term for printing that goes right to the edge of the paper. If the final size is 8.5” x 11” then draw guides on the layout that are .125” from the edge all the way around. Make sure that any photographs or backgrounds that you want to bleed go clear out to the guides. Then after we have printed your piece we will trim off that extra .125” all the way around and you have color all the way to the edges of your piece.
• Exclusive use of soy based inks
• Exclusive use of recycled or environmentally friendly papers (unless otherwise requested by our clients)
• Recycling Program – both paper products and aluminum
• Chemical free plating system
• No acetone or alcohol based chemicals in press room
• Energy saving measurements
