In a world already full of acronyms and codes, who would have thought that something as simple as color could join in the confusion? Knowing the different color models and how they are used is not only helpful in getting the visual results you want it is critical to staying on budget.

Of the many color models available, there are really only three in which you need any fluency: CMYK, PMS and RGB.

CMYK Color

This acronym stands for cyan, magenta, yellow and black. CMYK is also known as process color, full color, 4 color, and 4c. The colors are versions of the primary colors, blue, red, yellow and black. They create full color images like you would see in a magazine. Choose CMYK when you need life-like, realistic color, more than two colors, have a large press run, or are printing only on your office printer.

What you need to know:

• If you are printing your project on a desktop color printer, look at the ink cartridge. If yours is CMYK, save your files and photos in that format for best output.
• Full color commercial printing is typically more expensive than one or two color. Typically, a press run of 1000 or more is needed to make this format economical.

The Pantone Matching System