12/10/2026
BEHIND THE PEEL | Why doesn't my printed colour look like it did on screen? 🍊
It could be down to three little letters...
RGB.
RGB (Red, Green and Blue) is designed for screens. Because screens use light to create colour, they can display some wonderfully bright and vibrant shades.
Professional printing commonly uses CMYK – Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black – where colours are created using ink instead.
The problem?
Not every RGB colour can be reproduced exactly using CMYK.
So that wonderfully vibrant colour you chose on your monitor may look quite different once it's printed.
Preparing artwork for print isn't simply a case of pressing "Save as PDF". Colour settings, profiles and the intended printing process all need to be considered.
That's why Tangerine Creative always think about the finished product, not just what's on the screen.
After all, the whole point is making it tangible. 🍊