Site Statistics

  • Members: 74,698
  • Logos: 41,863
  • Sales: $917,422

Why just CMYK?

BluePi Wed, 09/05/2012 - 05:03

I've been wondering this for a while. I realize CMYK is best for print (obviously) but I've got a bunch of logos I haven't uploaded here because they just don't work as well on CMYK. I'm sure some portion of purchased logos just go on websites anyways. So why not give the designer a choice whether he wants to upload CMYK or RGB?

Maybe I'm missing something idk, feel free to enlighten me.

12 Comments

D-sign-Z's picture

In my opinion a logo purchased by a client should look good printed on paper / cards and workwear stuff.
so RGB wouldnt accepted by a printer / printing company and the client wont get his products branded.

AKMulligan's picture

Also, most clients aren't savvy enough to know the difference, so they could potentially buy an RGB logo not knowing that it won't work for print.

babawich's picture

It should always be CMYK. And if the logo is a good design it should work with almost any color. A good suggestion is to start designing a logo in just black and white. If it doesn't work that way then it probably needs to be tweaked further.

admin's picture

We could allow RGB and note somewhere that it's RGB only, but it would take a really long time explaining every client what this means. It's safer to use colors that will work on both on screen and in print.

Spintherism's picture

I've heard all of these:
http://clientsfromhell.net/post/765402218/i-dont-want-to-print-my-brochure-in-cmyk-because
http://clientsfromhell.net/post/31072249508/can-we-change-the-color-of-the-text-from-white-to
http://clientsfromhell.net/post/2587102886/no-two-pages-should-have-the-same-color-theme
http://clientsfromhell.net/post/254545298/can-you-fax-it-to-me-in-color-please
http://clientsfromhell.net/post/258706226/can-you-adjust-the-color-so-it-is-less-black-but

Phunkmonster's picture

:)

I've not had any of them, but I do constantly have to explain to clients why proofs aren't always the colour they expect them to be. You just know that explaining why the colour looks odd or as unexpected is simply lost on most people. That is to say:

- not all monitors have the same gamma setting
- not all printers print the same way
- not all paper takes ink and represents colour the same way, even on the same printer
- the artwork is setup in CMYK but is often saved down as a web quality PDF for easier emailing (this can change colour again) so the client can sign it off

...the list goes on. I once had one client insist to me that the proof she had received wasn't using the correct Pantone colour just because it didn't look the swatch in her hand! I had to insist, to deaf ears I might add, that if she actually opened the pdf in Illustrator she would see that it was indeed the correct colour.

I had one client sign off a job via email with one request, please take the logo off the bottom of the sign. The logo in question was part of the proof sheet, and she was seeing the whole proof as the whole sign she was going to get!

AKMulligan's picture

I did a package design recently that included a model shot. Because the project was a rush and being printed in China, the client decided he didn't have time to get a color proof before printing. He actually had the printer take a picture of a mockup and skype it!

Even though I had a trail of emails telling him that this was a bad idea, I had anxiety attacks until the boxes were delivered. They were a little red, but overall not bad. The client still doesn't understand the bullet he dodged.

AKMulligan's picture

Love those! I had a boss once who told me, "I don't pay for white space."

LogoMount's picture

Not right question. Why not let designer choose CMYK or Pantone?;)

Phunkmonster's picture

Well Pantone does make for good colour matching system with clients when out on site etc, it's very consistent. It also helps to guarantee accurate colour throughout no matter which printer service you use. You can also do better colour substitution with Pantone colours when calibrating for printing on different substrates and materials.

CMYK is a good alternative for clients who perhaps don't know or don't bother too much about colour accuracy. Obviously using CMYK does mean that the colour as seen on screen may not match that when printed. But it's a far better alternative to RGB as the colour will be very different again.

Colour = the bane of many designers life ;)