A screen makes colour from light in RGB, a printer builds it from four process inks in CMYK, and a Pantone reference names one premixed ink that offset can run exactly and digital simulates. What a colour finally looks like also depends on the stock, the process and the material it lands on. The reliable route is to build in CMYK, name the Pantone reference for any brand colour that must match, and proof on the actual stock.
What are RGB, CMYK and Pantone in a print file?
They are three ways of describing the same colour, and only two of them belong in a print file. RGB is how a screen or camera records colour. CMYK is how a printed sheet builds it from four process inks. A Pantone reference names a single premixed ink, so a brand colour can be matched rather than rebuilt each time it is printed.
| Colour model | What it describes | Where it belongs |
|---|---|---|
| RGB | Colour made from light on a screen or in a camera file | Screens. In a print file it is converted, and EZ Print’s artwork notes say “you do not get to choose how” |
| CMYK | Colour built from cyan, magenta, yellow and black process inks | Every printed file: “Build in CMYK” |
| Pantone (spot colour) | One named, premixed ink | Brand colours that must match. Offset runs the actual Pantone ink; digital simulates it in process inks |
The site’s artwork notes are specific about where RGB conversion shows: “bright blues and oranges are where you notice.” A file exported from Canva is a common source, because, as the name card page puts it, “Canva exports at a fixed bleed and often in RGB”, so the colour build is checked before the file goes near a press. Why some screen colours fall outside CMYK at all, and how to repair a file that arrives in RGB, is covered in the CMYK preflight and bleed repair guide.
Why does the same file print differently on different stocks?
The ink is the same; the sheet underneath it is not. A coated stock keeps ink on its surface, so colour stays strong. An uncoated sheet absorbs ink into the fibre, so colour drops and softens. A brown kraft board has no white in it at all, so four-colour ink mixes with brown. The stock is part of the colour decision, not a separate choice.
| Stock | What happens to colour | What the site data advises |
|---|---|---|
| Gloss art card | “Chroma reads about a tenth stronger than on matt. Images gain snap.” | Image-led work: product cards, F&B, property listings |
| Matt art card | “Solids sit flat and even.” | Large blacks need a support build rather than K100 on its own |
| Uncoated woodfree | Ink dries into the fibre, and colour drops in chroma | “Build for it, or ask for compensation on press.” |
| Cotton | Absorbent; “the sheet drinks the ink and the image dulls” | Avoid CMYK photographs; keep rules at 0.5 pt or heavier |
| Kraft board | “CMYK goes muddy on brown.” | “Use one or two spot colours, white ink, or foil.” |
One way this goes wrong is a proof approved on one sheet and a job run on another. EZ Print’s notes on kraft and uncoated stock describe exactly that mistake: approving a proof on a coated sheet and then printing uncoated, after which “everything lands duller and warmer than the thing that was signed off, and on kraft it lands browner as well.” Proof on the sheet the job will actually run on.
White ink on brown and clear materials
On kraft board, white ink is a separate pass, laid down before the colour. Clear film needs the same idea: a clear sticker has a white underbase printed behind any colour that must stay opaque, supplied as a vector layer named WHITE, and on tissue pack wrapper film everything except deliberate transparency sits on a white underbase.
When should a brand colour be a Pantone reference rather than CMYK?
Name a Pantone reference whenever the same colour has to match across items, across runs or across a large flat area. EZ Print’s service pages say this in many forms: a brand colour across a whole campaign, a house colour across twelve calendar leaves, a brand colour that has to match between print runs of packaging, and sponsor logos that must match their own guidelines on a backdrop.
What happens to that reference depends on how the job is printed:
- Offset: “Offset runs the actual Pantone ink.” It is the only way to match a brand colour exactly.
- Digital: “Digital simulates it in process inks”, and the site’s digital printing page says the simulation is usually close. If the colour is critical, say so with the specification.
- Silkscreen on apparel and gifts: named Pantone references are used for screens; CMYK is used for printed faces and transfers.
- Embroidery: “Thread comes in a fixed palette. A Pantone reference is matched to the nearest thread, not reproduced exactly.”
- Letterpress: Pantone references are used “for letterpress inks, which are mixed rather than built.”
Which process a job runs on is mostly a quantity question, which the offset versus digital printing guide explains. For artwork, the practical rule is the same either way: name spot colours exactly where they are to be matched, and expect them to be converted to process on a digital press.
When fewer colours are the better choice
Some items are designed in spot colours from the start. Letterheads use “Spot colours for a one or two colour identity; CMYK only where a photograph is involved.” NCR forms use one or two spot colours, because four-colour printing on a 50 gsm ply shows through to the copy below.
How should black be built for paper, fabric and large format?
Black is where the material changes the answer most. On coated paper, large black areas use a rich black build of C60 M40 Y40 K100, and small text stays K100 only, because “Four-colour black on 7 pt type fringes if registration moves half a millimetre.” On fabric, banners and large boards, the site calls for a four-colour black, because K100 alone reads as grey.
| Material | Large black areas | Where the site says it |
|---|---|---|
| Coated paper and card | C60 M40 Y40 K100 for large solids; small text K100 only | Name cards, flyers, brochures, posters, postcards |
| Exhibition and backdrop fabric | A four-colour black. “K100 on fabric reads as charcoal” under hall or stage lighting | Exhibition stands, backdrops |
| Banners | A four-colour black on banner material. K100 alone reads as dark grey at three metres | Banners |
| Pull-up banners | A four-colour black. K100 alone reads as grey at four metres under exhibition lighting | Pull-up banners |
| Standees and signage panels | A four-colour black. K100 alone reads as grey at standee scale, and as dark grey on a large panel | Standees, signage |
| Thin film | “Avoid heavy four-colour blacks. On thin film they show through to the reverse.” | Tissue packs |
| One-colour text sections | Supplied as greyscale, not as CMYK black; text K100, 8 pt minimum on text stock | Booklets |
Large gradients behave in a similar way. The site’s poster notes say to build large gradients in CMYK rather than converting from RGB, or they band across a metre.
How do you check colour before a full run?
Check it on the material the job will run on, at the size it will be seen. A digital proof on the actual stock is possible before a long offset run, and the site’s digital printing page describes it as the reliable check: “It answers the colour question before the plates are made.” Every file is also checked against its specification before production.
Before approving colour, confirm:
- The file is CMYK throughout, with any RGB images converted deliberately rather than left to the print workflow.
- Every brand colour that must match is named as a Pantone reference, spelt exactly.
- The proof stock is the job stock. A coated proof does not predict an uncoated or kraft result.
- Black is built for the material: rich black on coated paper, four-colour black on fabric and banners, K100 for small text.
- Skin tones on large figures are proofed first. The standee page says skin tones on a life-size figure are worth proofing before a run of several.
- White ink is specified with the job. On kraft it is a separate pass before the colour; on clear film it is supplied as its own WHITE vector layer.
The general artwork checklist (finished size, bleed, image resolution and fonts) is in preparing press-ready artwork files.
Worked example: one brand colour across a brochure, a banner and a backdrop
Hypothetical planning example. Actual production timing, paper availability, and logistics are confirmed individually upon artwork and specification review. A company’s identity uses one corporate blue and a solid black panel. The blue has to look the same on a folded brochure, a set of pull-up banners and a fabric stage backdrop for one event, so each file has to tell the press what to do with both colours.
Colour specification by item
- Brochure: built in CMYK, with the corporate blue named as a Pantone reference. If the run goes on offset, the actual Pantone ink can be run; if it goes on digital, it is simulated in process inks. The black panel is C60 M40 Y40 K100; body text is K100 only.
- Pull-up banners: CMYK, with the same Pantone reference named so the set of banners matches each other. The black panel is a four-colour black, because K100 alone reads as grey at four metres under exhibition lighting.
- Fabric backdrop: CMYK with Pantone references for the logos that must match. The black is a four-colour black, because K100 on fabric reads as charcoal under stage lighting.
- Images: any RGB photography is converted to CMYK before export, and large gradients are built in CMYK.
Checks before the run
- A digital proof of the brochure on the actual stock, before a long offset run.
- The Pantone reference spelt identically in all three files.
- Artwork checked against the specification before production; standard turnaround is 7–14 working days, with island-wide courier delivery.
Frequently asked questions
Why do printed colours look different from my screen?
A screen makes colour from light in RGB, while a printed sheet builds it from CMYK inks on paper. RGB has to be converted for print, and bright blues and oranges are where the change is most noticeable. The stock also changes the result: gloss reads stronger than matt, uncoated loses chroma, and kraft turns colour muddy.
Can a digital press match a Pantone colour exactly?
A digital press simulates a Pantone colour in process inks, and the simulation is usually close. Offset can run the actual Pantone ink, which is the only way to match a brand colour exactly. If the colour is critical, say so with the specification and ask for a digital proof on the actual stock.
Should I send my print file in RGB or CMYK?
Send it in CMYK. An RGB file still converts, but the conversion is not yours to choose, and bright blues and oranges are where the change shows. Name any brand colour that must match as a Pantone reference, spelt exactly.
What black should I use for large backgrounds?
On coated paper and card, use a rich black of C60 M40 Y40 K100 for large solids and keep small text in K100 only. On fabric, banners and large boards, use a four-colour black, because K100 on its own reads as grey or charcoal at a distance.
Why does my colour look duller on uncoated or kraft paper?
Uncoated paper absorbs ink into the fibre, so chroma drops and colours soften. Kraft board is brown all the way through, so four-colour ink goes muddy on it. Build the artwork for the sheet, use spot colours, white ink or foil on kraft, and proof on the stock the job will run on.
Where can you print colour-critical work with EZ Print?
EZ Print prints brochures, banners, backdrops, packaging and the rest of a brand’s print in Singapore, and has done since 2017. Every job is quoted from its specification, which is where a Pantone reference, the stock and the process belong. Artwork is checked before production, and standard turnaround is 7–14 working days, with express quoted per job.
Start with brochures or the digital printing page for how each process handles a spot colour, then send the file, the Pantone references and the stock through the quote request page. Delivery is by island-wide courier.
Same-day and urgent printing available. Subject to artwork approval, payment, print type and production availability. Timing confirmed per job.