Wow Juna! This is exactly what I needed. I did a YT search for it and you came up. So glad you did too! You are so good at explaining things and I really do appreciate it! Thanks so much!!
Great! Your video here was referenced in a recent Facebook conversation, so it sparked my curiosity. I'm definitely going to experiment with CMYK and see what happens. You've made a very convincing video here. Thanks, Juna!
Great explanation! Thank you! I also use CMYK so that the customer gets the colors that they expect on the shirt. There were some things you taught about hexadecimal that I was not aware. Love your videos!
Thank you so much for this content and examples; it's so clear. I so wish I realized an issue and found you before I started my POD journey. You mentioned Canva and, for now, since I'm a newbie who has zero knowledge of PS or AI, I use the Canva platform. Your are correct, you can only design in Canva with RGB; that is just their system. I selected Printify and they only accept in RGB, though they say to check the design in CMYK, still upload to them in RGB, and the print partners all convert to CMYK. The problem I face is that the elements available in Canva, though so so many and beautiful onscreen, don't seem translate well to CYMK when I check in a converter tool. Or I'm doing something seriously wrong. I do have a headache now and deactivated a number of items in my store due to dull and sometimes totally different colors. OH MY GOD the shock when I checked the CYMK output in an online converter tool. So now I have to redo these. The challenge is that I often design with assets from other artists, and also from the public domain (don't worry, I purchase from the artists). I can understand why POD youtubers who are not artists don't focus on this crucial bit of RGB/CMYK info and use more simple designs and mostly text. Definitely NOT a slam, I myself am not an artist. Yet. Anyway, it is what it is. Thanks in advance for any insight you or any commenters have.
CMYK is a specification that that was designed for printing on a white background such as paper. RGB is a specification for use on digital monitors which have a black background.
Thanks so much for this. I was going insane for ages wondering why KDP wasn't printing the vibrant colours of my book files. Rather disappointing that it can't be done but it makes perfect sense. I was using Canva so now I will upload my designs into Photoshop and convert to CMYK.
@Olwynn Say did this actually work? I also use canva for all of my designs, and wanted to know if you can import the completed design into photoshop/affinity designer and convert all of the colors to CMYK? Thanks in advance for any and all replies!
this was awesome! I just had my first experience with printing something and the color turned out nothing like my screen. I was sitting thinking what could be the issue, then realized that my ink is CMYK so thought maybe the color wasn't being translated correctly because it was in RGB. This video helped me understand exactly what was going on.
Thank you, the diagrams really helped me to understand this, especially your explanation about some of the RGB colours being within the range of CMYK and how that means the PNG will maintain the correct colours.
Thank you, please help me , teepublic , redbubble and merch by Amazon which color your are using on this pod website, final export design color RGB or CMYK
Absolutely superb Juna..I went to art school and this is the simplest best demonstration I've seen. What about PANTONE color system used in printing is that cmyk? Also if u were to design in canva and import to affinity could u just select the image in whole and then change to cmyk to see true colors on image?
Thank you! Cheers! Pantone usually is a spot color and I believe used more for printing so my guess is it's a CMYK color. Sometimes you can change the color of Canva stuff but only if they are SVGs or EPS... Some Canva stuff are "photos" so you can't change it to CMYK in Affinity Designer but you could in Affinity Photo or Photoshop.
Hi Juna, your video is probably the best I've seen in this topic, you have pointed out a clear direction for me to start off my print design work using CMYK. However, I am still a little confused... since CMYK is less vibrant on-screen, if I use a bright CMYK red for example, will the print result be bright red? i.e. what I see CMYK on-screen will turn out to be the same on print? May I suggest if you could kindly make a video to demonstrate the whole process from start to finish (i.e. specify the setting you used when you design your work on screen and compare it to the actual result). I understand it might take up a lot of your time, but I suspect it's going to be a big hit as none of the youtube videos actually show the "how to" video... Thank you for your time!!
Great suggestion for a video.... A "bright" red in CMYK should print the way you see on screen if you calibrated your screen correctly... Honestly, it may be slightly less bright just because it won't have the light of the computer screen but it should be really close.... I could do a print out and make a video... that's a great idea.
Great video Juna, one question, if I adjust my tempkate for CMYK, do I still need to use the CMYK color space in Affinity Designer, or..., can I use the RGB color wheel and it is already within the CMYK more limited color spectrum?
By the way, does that mean we will never be able to get that bright vivid RGB colors on printed shirts? If so, would customers like the dull color when they see it on devices?
There are some bright colors you can use in CMYK... not all bright colors are out of gamut... just certain ones....CMYK still has white, yellow, magenta and others..
If you are screen printing onto T-Shirts, wouldn't it be most accurate to be working in Index Color since it will allow you to map your inks to the RGB values on your monitor--thus ensuring the most accurate sRGB color values and gamut limits caused by your ink. Plus it helps with spot color printing or stochastic modelling.
It would be interesting to see the two printed versions to compare 😀 Btw what color profile do you use? mine is "Japan Web Coated Ad" by default, but I heard that it isn't recommended because these POD sites work in the USA, so it's recommended to use another one, but no one specifies which of the entire list
So I'm pretty basic... I leave it on the default which is sRGB IEC61955-2.1.... I know that says RGB and I said to design in CMYK but the output for the PNG is still RGB so I feel as long as I'm using CMYK colors when I design if it converts to RGB when saving it should be fine.... I would change it if I were saving it to a TIFF or JPG that was going straight to a press like a magazine or something.
Now a days printers can take an rbg file (with all that extra information) and convert all that information into cmyk and get a brighter, much better print. I'm a large format digital print specialist and I work with HP Latex family printers. You can litterary get a bright colorful logo just like you see it on the screen on fabric and many other substrates. believe me.
Hey, Juna! Thanks for this. I'm thinking something we can do if we design in Canva / Kittl / etc. in RGB to plug it into an actual graphics program and convert the color mode to CMYK so we can see what it's going to look like. Thanks again!
So the CMYK thing is only for previewing, but I should switch back to RGB mode then save? Sorry I'm a little confused. I mean, If PNGs are only RGBs, can I save directly from CMYK mode as PNG (and it will automatically be RGB)?
Yes.... you are right creating in CMYK will get you the right color but when you save it to a PNG it will automatically change to RGB.... that's fine though because your design will be saved as RGB colors that match the CMYK color instead of RGB colors that outside of the CMYK gamut.... hope that make sense.
Thank you for the video. Could you tell me what should be CMYK setting to have a good BLACK colour? Is it enough to set B=100? Or maybe it would be not too dark? Is the T-shirt cheaper when there is one color in a project? Regards.
When it's print on demand you can have as many colors as you want... the number of colors do not affect the price....there is probably a really good scientific answer about what black to use but I like using full black with all CMYK colors at 100. I don't know if that's the best or not but that's what I do.
Hello, How do you handle this when you make print on demand designs in Kittl? In Canva and Im guessing Kittl, youre designing colour blind, once exported as cmyk the colours can be muddy and no longer complimentary. Trying to figure out how to design in kittl for print. Seems lots of people dont care and you will end up buying designs that print in different tones of colour. Thanks so much, This info barely gets discussed, these fast design programs dont have the cmyk options and its pretty key basic info. All I can think to do is design in Kittl/Canva and then use another program that allows me to view it in cmyk and change each colour with the paint bucket. Thanks again
Do print companies request RGB files so they can make the adjustments to match "True RGB" colors on their own? Maybe they have techniques to do that. There's Poster prints, T-shirt prints out there that have successfully done this for decades right?
I've heard that there are some printers that can match RGB colors that don't use CMYK printing but a lot of the POD companies still use CMYK printing so it's better to be safe.
But wait.. We've all seen Tshirts with neon green colors.. neon pink colors.. If printing companies are limited to CMYK, what is the explanation behind those RGB ranged shirts we see irl?
Thank you for explaining this so well! I've been searching forever on how I am supposed to get my RGB images to look how I want once the printers change it to CMYK. I use Canva and I still have issues with trying to use their converter tool, because you can only change to CMYK one color at a time inside of "brand colors" which is confusing to me. How do some shirts you see in stores have those bright neon colors?
No I have not, though I do understand the color wheel of printers. I was not aware of the RGB standard being so large in the color wheel. As I say to my kids, Now you know!!! JI Joe!!!!, thank you for the breakdown of the color wheel. Very informative.
This is a great video Juna! You are the best! Designing in Affinity Designer makes sense to me now. The photo conversions still get me, and I haven't gotten to use Affinity Photo yet but I have it. It looks like you can chose cmyk color format when you create a new file. If you then dropped a photo in, from a digital camera, will you then see the photo in cmyk colors? Or, is it better to create in the rgb format and convert it within the same program? Thank you!
Very informative. Thanks for showing this in Affinity Designer. How do you apply this to your workflow when you're creating designs in Canva (exporting), etc. Also, do you export to RGB or CMYK on your mocks? From the sound of it, you work in CMYK in AD, export as .png and already know what your print color output will be prior.
Good question! I export my mockups in RGB too. I create everything in CMYK when I can but Canva doesn't let you so I just try to be careful on the colors I choose.
@@DetourShirts Thank you Juna, and thanks for responding. I think I have this down now... So, your mocks still reflect the CMYK design output colors properly either way because as you so kindly articulated, you're working with CMYK colors to begin with (which is smart and such an important nugget ). So... While working in Canva, I assume the proper play then is taking the Canva RGB Hex color code, converting it to the matching CMYK Hex Color (someone needs to create a video like this for Canva), exporting the file as a regular .PNG to preserve the transparency. And, even though technically Canva converts the .PNG back to RGB (unless we print as a .PDF and choose CMYK), our eyes will see the .PNG file exactly as it should and will print on the apparel because we have been working with the proper CMYK hex color to begin with. 😃
Thank you very much: this explains the problem I had with a book cover that should have been bright blue, but it faded into the color of the 3rd square in your video. ... Is there any way to fix this? ... I started with a photo of a bright blue sky (with a few clouds) -- but in the finished product, the sky does not look like the photo.
When in photoshop you can change the mode to CMYK and see what it looks like.... if you screen is calibrated correctly you should see what it would look like.... it should also show if a color is out of gamut (and too bright).
Thanks 🙏 so much you saved my life i was just going crazy why are my book cover for kdp looks dull on the platform . But my question here is why do some best sellers book has got like very vibrant colors in their cover why can I get the sane result what are they using ?? For designing 😅😅😅 still wondering crazy though 😊😅
Glad I could help! 2 things...Some CMYK colors are bright so they may be using that or what you are seeing on screen doesn't actually match what is printed.
Yeah actually i re designed some the cover i was talking about using cmyk colors and it turned out beautifully i was really happy with the result . The i went back to check the covers of people i was talking about earlier and found out that they were using cmyk colors those bright ones and just thought of the same . Really appreciate your efforts thank you
But what I don't understand, and this is why I keep making my products myself instead of looking for manufacture, it is that if I print my designs (RGB I can get so much beautiful purples and pinks, if I do that work in CMYK the colors are so off, I don't like them at all. (I mean when I print them) So my question is: Why I can get those beautiful colors just with my home printer but I have to down to CMYK for a professional print? Because I don't get it, and it is driving me crazy haha....
Your home print should be printing CMYK too so it should turn out similar unless you have a better printer at home.... It could also be the medium.... printing on glossy nice paper is different than printing on a tshirt.
I understand you choose CMYK to make sure the print products have the same colors you see on the computer screen. If you do everything from scratch, of course, you can set everything on CMYK. But, if you use other party's art work you purchase in your design, for instance, when you use the graphic alphabets from Canva, then what could you do to make sure that the colors on Canva art works will also show up like that on the print products?
Hi I have been watching your videos. I like the way you give us the details. I am doing I art through Leonardo and Midjourney already saved. How do I convert digital photos from so to RGB OR CMYK? Please email me asap. Is there a video on this
I don't have a video on this but you can do it with Photopea and save it as CMYK. When you are in Photopea go to the top menu bar and select Image then Mode and then pick CMYK
I have a couple questions regarding colors and file formats: 1. If a design is created in Canva using RGB colors, can that file be opened in Photoshop or another editing program and then be changed to CMYK for printing purposes? 2. I was unaware that a PNG file only saves in CMYK color (good to know). If I were to create a design that does not need a transparent background isn’t it best to save the design as a JPG file (smaller file size)? In that case, one would just need to make sure the design is transferred over to CMYK before saving the JPG file for printing. Am I correct? Thank you for your awesome videos.
I'll try to answer the best I can. 1. Yes you can edit colors in Photoshop and change it to CMYK 2. Actually PNG saves your file as RGB not CMYK but if you design in CMYK, you should be fine. Some POD sites do take JPG but some don't... Amazon for example only takes PNG
@@DetourShirts Thank you kindly for your quick response. So, after creating a design using CMYK for print and saving the file as a PNG, the file has then been saved with the muted CMYK colors in an RGB color assigned format? I think I've got it... You've been a great help!
Hi, thanks, if anyone can advise please. I published a kids book, bright green, CMYK download, it looks crap on screen at Amazon, came out that dull green. So should I just pick a not so bright green? And woll the printed book look the same dull? Sorry, I'm not tech savvy, just an ol lady, appreciate any help.
@@DetourShirts thanks for replying, I don't use an illustrator software like adobe to design, just a simple program called bookbolt for low content publishing that I don't think we have a choice in what kind of colours we use to create it, we have a colour picker, but I don't know what it uses at the back end. I think I'll change the cover to RGB, order the books and see how it looks, as least it will look good on screen on Amazon Thanks
You were talking about print files and you didn't print anything 😅. Next video would be cool to see how to adapt RGB files to Cmyk if you wanna print your pictures. Tnx
hye thanks for sharing some great tips, im not have much patient to read all the comments but, i want to ask, like you mention in the video, if you design in RGB u will get the CMYK after printing,, but how to design in cmyk and get the finishing product with rgb colour? i have problems with everytime i print out some stickers and the colour is different than design,,, Thank You,
So most RGB color are also CMYK colors you just have to watch out for the ones outside of the CMYK spectrum (which are usually the bright one).... Design in CMYK and then just save as a PNG. A PNG is RGB so it will just change it to RGB and you will be fine.
Such a useful video! How would you tell if something like an element you import from somewhere like Creative Fabrica has been designed in CMYK or RGB? If it's something like a PNG where you can't select the individual colours to update them as you did in the video (i.e. the RGB colour still showed until you clicked on one of the numbers in the slider) is there a danger that even if you export in CMYK the final design might not print as you're expecting? Hope that makes sense!
There is no real good way sorry... if you download it as a PDF you could check... but a png would be tough... One way you could check is to bring it into Photoshop or something similar and see if the color are out of gamut.
I created a CMYK file but when I go to File > Save as > there is no option for PNG type. I can only export it as a PNG which converts it to sRGB. But then I lose the 300 resolution for dpi and the exported file is 96 dpi. Can you help Juna?
Great video! What about photo printing case,not design stuff in Photoshop? I shoot photos in sRGB and edit in photoshop then export in sRGB format which is good for Social Medea posting. However, when I print the same file with my Epson SC-900 printer, i get dull colors on photo parer. Perhaps the reason why is that you explained. So, how should I do to make the best result both for social media posting and photo printing? Thanks in advance!
Hello! thank you for this educational video :) I have been making some AI art and wanting to use them as downloadable prints, the colors are really bright so now I am a little worried lol but some are not bright colors. I have photoshop , my question is, can I convert these images to CMYK in photoshop? i have templates i made in PS for aspect ratio, i make the art, drop it into my template. someone said you can not convert to CMYK ? if i can convert after the image is made please let me know. also, i am saving the prints in JPEG .Thank you!
Thank you so much. I never new the way the rrggbb colour codes worked before seeing this video, you explained it very clearly. One question. I don't do digital designs, I photograph my oil paintings and then open them in photoshop and just tweak the colours and contrast etc... if I convert the image to CMYK it doesn't appear to make any difference to the colours tones. Do you think it is necessary for me to convert to CMYK? Thanks again!
It really depends on what you want to do with it... If you just want a digital file then RGB is fine... If you want to print it then I would convert it to CMYK so that you can see what it would look like printed.
@@DetourShirts Thanks for your reply... I should have mentioned it is for uploading to redbubble (so yes, for printing) when I convert to CMYK it looks the same as RGB so I guess I don't need to convert?
@@drakeart1 In Photoshop, there are preview command that let you prewiew your image in CMYK mode (I think it's command+Y). I guess other applications have similar option. In illustrator I always work in CMYK mode as I deal with prints most of the times.
@@smitnkp Thanks.... I can easily change the image to CMYK and then quickly undo if necessary. perhaps with vector designs and the like you get a big change in colour (not sure) with my images there is no change in appearance
If possible, could you please make a video on how to easily make curved text? Like the text on the poster behind you that says "we have to go back". I'm referring to the "go back" bottom part while the top stays flat. Is there a way to do this in affinity designer without having to convert the text to curves and then manually trying to curve it?
😭😭😭 Canva use RGB colors, right? And when we export in PNG format with transparency, this will be a RGB file. So, how can we ensure that we stay in the CMYK color zone if we use Canva?
One way to make sure is to use safe HEX colors when creating your design.... it's okay to use RGB colors as long as they are in the safe CMYK range of colors.....not all RGB colors are bad... it's only when you have RGB colors that are too bright.
Hello, mam pytanie - Jeśli tworzę grafiki w procreate (RGB) to czy muszę je konwertować potem na cmyk? Redbubble chce żeby wysyłać w png pliki. Więc zastanawiam się czy muszę w ogóle konwertować mój art?
@@DetourShirts Oh sorry mate:) - I have a question - If I create graphics in procreate (RGB) do I have to convert them to cmyk afterwards? Redbubble wants it to send in png files. So I'm wondering if I need to convert my art at all?
So if I create my design using CMYK then create the *.PNG file that Merch by Amazon requires, can I assume that my design has been converted to RGB within the *.PNG?
I make design in CMYK using photopea, Then I export the CMYK as PNG file, so the saved file is RGB right cause I save it as PNG. But when I open the file it still show CMYK color. Does your design show the same as my design? Does the CMYK really convert to RGB when save as PNG? If yes why it show CMYK color?
So CMYK colors are a subset of RGB colors... so by using CMYK to begin with you are just making sure you are picking the right colors for printing... what could happen if you use RGB colors from the beginning is that you may pick colors that you can't print... hope that makes sense
Hello Sir, i wanna ask something about this. I only have android, and i want to sell my design in POD like Redbubble and else. I make my drawing design in Autodesk Sketchbook App and Medibang Paint. Since that two only have RGB color mode, I can't change it to CMYK. So, all i need to do is to keep that RGB color mode in medium brightness or below it, right? Please answer my question. Wish you all the best, Sir.
So if we make a design in a software like Canva, then download the design and import it into Affinity Designer, can we then convert all the colors in the complete design to CMYK while also keeping the DPI at 300? Could you make a video showcasing how this is done, if it's possible to do? Thanks Juna!!
@@DetourShirts I appreciate your response and the tip to download as a PDF!! Thank you so much! I have also just learned that Canva does have an option to download in CMYK format as well.
Cmyk. Yeah I used to hear it all the time. This that and blah blah about some new driver or Adobe rgb profile. It might work, for some big printer in NYC. But the last printers are still using old presses and film. Design in cmyk and pantone colors. Unless it's all web but don't think that cool new shirts or poster is going to look like that.
Hi Juna, Thank you very much for this video. I edit the clipart images we created in Midjourney in Canva and Photoshop. How can I cmyk these cliparts that are transparent in PNG format? I set it as cmyk-png in Photoshop and render it, but it comes out as rgb.I think I don't quite understand, can you help me?
If you start off in CMYK you should be fine.... it will change to RGB when you save it as a PNG but it will use the RGB colors that are inside the CMYK gamut so you should be fine
@@DetourShirts Thanks so much for your help.🥰 I prepared it this way. no problem then. I benefit from your videos and thank you very much for your efforts.🤗🤗
@@DetourShirts Hello again Juna Can you tell me the exact settings you made in Photoshop? 🙏 I want to prepare the png images I created for Etsy in the most accurate way. I'm worried about this 😢 Could you please tell me the correct settings? You can also provide a screenshot if you wish. Sorry for my broken english 🤭
No, u should design all in RGB mode (escpecially you have photo file) because rgb contain higher data, convert to cmyk is latest step (it should printing job convert rgb to cmyk with their printing profile or your home printer can convert rgb to cmyk)). U only create in cmyk if your design pure vector or for clothes (not paper)
Wow Juna! This is exactly what I needed. I did a YT search for it and you came up. So glad you did too! You are so good at explaining things and I really do appreciate it! Thanks so much!!
You are so welcome. So glad I could help
Great video! I've watched so many videos regarding this topic and yours is by far the easiest to understand. Well done! Tyvm 🥰
Glad it was helpful!
Great! Your video here was referenced in a recent Facebook conversation, so it sparked my curiosity. I'm definitely going to experiment with CMYK and see what happens. You've made a very convincing video here. Thanks, Juna!
Awesome, thank you for sharing that
Thanks Juna! I've been trying to understand this for years. Very helpful!!
Glad it was helpful!
The geography of colors (not sure what else to call it) image was really mindblowing!
Yeah.... colors is an interesting field
This is so useful (and timely as I've just bought my own design and the colors are not great!), thank you Juna.
Glad it was helpful!
Great explanation! Thank you! I also use CMYK so that the customer gets the colors that they expect on the shirt. There were some things you taught about hexadecimal that I was not aware. Love your videos!
Glad it was helpful!
This is by far the best explanation I have come across to explain all of this! Thank you so much!!
Wow! Thank you... I'm so glad it helped
Great explanation Juna! You are the best at explaining. The. Best.
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you so much for this content and examples; it's so clear. I so wish I realized an issue and found you before I started my POD journey. You mentioned Canva and, for now, since I'm a newbie who has zero knowledge of PS or AI, I use the Canva platform. Your are correct, you can only design in Canva with RGB; that is just their system. I selected Printify and they only accept in RGB, though they say to check the design in CMYK, still upload to them in RGB, and the print partners all convert to CMYK. The problem I face is that the elements available in Canva, though so so many and beautiful onscreen, don't seem translate well to CYMK when I check in a converter tool. Or I'm doing something seriously wrong.
I do have a headache now and deactivated a number of items in my store due to dull and sometimes totally different colors. OH MY GOD the shock when I checked the CYMK output in an online converter tool. So now I have to redo these. The challenge is that I often design with assets from other artists, and also from the public domain (don't worry, I purchase from the artists).
I can understand why POD youtubers who are not artists don't focus on this crucial bit of RGB/CMYK info and use more simple designs and mostly text. Definitely NOT a slam, I myself am not an artist. Yet. Anyway, it is what it is. Thanks in advance for any insight you or any commenters have.
It's okay... you can design in RGB you just need to be careful with the bright colors... they may not turn out
CMYK is a specification that that was designed for printing on a white background such as paper. RGB is a specification for use on digital monitors which have a black background.
Yes....Exactly why they are opposites
Thanks so much for this. I was going insane for ages wondering why KDP wasn't printing the vibrant colours of my book files. Rather disappointing that it can't be done but it makes perfect sense. I was using Canva so now I will upload my designs into Photoshop and convert to CMYK.
Glad I could help!
@Olwynn Say did this actually work? I also use canva for all of my designs, and wanted to know if you can import the completed design into photoshop/affinity designer and convert all of the colors to CMYK? Thanks in advance for any and all replies!
@@gamenicity5905 Canva now has a CMYK option when exporting. At least the pro version has.
@@olwynnsay237 Thank you so much for responding! It's good to hear that it is an option in Canva!!
Tha same here😂😂😂😂
this was awesome! I just had my first experience with printing something and the color turned out nothing like my screen. I was sitting thinking what could be the issue, then realized that my ink is CMYK so thought maybe the color wasn't being translated correctly because it was in RGB. This video helped me understand exactly what was going on.
Glad it helped!
Thank you, the diagrams really helped me to understand this, especially your explanation about some of the RGB colours being within the range of CMYK and how that means the PNG will maintain the correct colours.
Glad it was helpful!
Very interesting, helpful and well explained. Learned so much. Thanks Juna.
Glad it was helpful!
Wow, thank you for this really informative video! Very much appreciated.
Glad it was helpful!
Interesting Juna….Thank you for sharing!!
Thanks for watching!
Thank you, please help me , teepublic , redbubble and merch by Amazon which color your are using on this pod website, final export design color RGB or CMYK
Design in CMYK bur final export is RGB
@@DetourShirts You mean Design in CMYK and when export design change CMYK to RGB then export or no need to change color mode just export
I always wondered about this but never took the time to look. Thanks for sharing this information
I always just used the default which is probably RGB
Glad it was helpful!
Absolutely superb Juna..I went to art school and this is the simplest best demonstration I've seen. What about PANTONE color system used in printing is that cmyk? Also if u were to design in canva and import to affinity could u just select the image in whole and then change to cmyk to see true colors on image?
Thank you! Cheers! Pantone usually is a spot color and I believe used more for printing so my guess is it's a CMYK color. Sometimes you can change the color of Canva stuff but only if they are SVGs or EPS... Some Canva stuff are "photos" so you can't change it to CMYK in Affinity Designer but you could in Affinity Photo or Photoshop.
Thanks so much for sharing this juna. Love your content
Glad you enjoy it!
Great demonstration. This makes things understandable. People would be so upset to get a shit with so different of colors
Thanks... I know I would be upset
Great explanation, i am thinking this for a while on how i can provide an accurate color of my product when printed
Glad it was helpful!
Hi Juna, your video is probably the best I've seen in this topic, you have pointed out a clear direction for me to start off my print design work using CMYK. However, I am still a little confused... since CMYK is less vibrant on-screen, if I use a bright CMYK red for example, will the print result be bright red? i.e. what I see CMYK on-screen will turn out to be the same on print? May I suggest if you could kindly make a video to demonstrate the whole process from start to finish (i.e. specify the setting you used when you design your work on screen and compare it to the actual result). I understand it might take up a lot of your time, but I suspect it's going to be a big hit as none of the youtube videos actually show the "how to" video... Thank you for your time!!
Great suggestion for a video.... A "bright" red in CMYK should print the way you see on screen if you calibrated your screen correctly... Honestly, it may be slightly less bright just because it won't have the light of the computer screen but it should be really close.... I could do a print out and make a video... that's a great idea.
Thanks for the great explanation!
My pleasure!
Great video Juna, one question, if I adjust my tempkate for CMYK, do I still need to use the CMYK color space in Affinity Designer, or..., can I use the RGB color wheel and it is already within the CMYK more limited color spectrum?
Wow.... great question.... I would think you still need to use the CMYK color space but I haven't fully tested it out.
What kind of machinary are you using?
One the best logical explanation. Thanks Juna
By the way, does that mean we will never be able to get that bright vivid RGB colors on printed shirts? If so, would customers like the dull color when they see it on devices?
There are some bright colors you can use in CMYK... not all bright colors are out of gamut... just certain ones....CMYK still has white, yellow, magenta and others..
Thank you for this!
You are very welcome
If you are screen printing onto T-Shirts, wouldn't it be most accurate to be working in Index Color since it will allow you to map your inks to the RGB values on your monitor--thus ensuring the most accurate sRGB color values and gamut limits caused by your ink. Plus it helps with spot color printing or stochastic modelling.
Good call.... I'm not screen printing though..... I'm sending a file to Print on Demand site that will do DTG printing
I had no idea. Thank you!
Happy to help!
You are very welcome
It would be interesting to see the two printed versions to compare 😀 Btw what color profile do you use? mine is "Japan Web Coated Ad" by default, but I heard that it isn't recommended because these POD sites work in the USA, so it's recommended to use another one, but no one specifies which of the entire list
So I'm pretty basic... I leave it on the default which is sRGB IEC61955-2.1.... I know that says RGB and I said to design in CMYK but the output for the PNG is still RGB so I feel as long as I'm using CMYK colors when I design if it converts to RGB when saving it should be fine.... I would change it if I were saving it to a TIFF or JPG that was going straight to a press like a magazine or something.
@@DetourShirts oh okay, I'm going to stick to those profiles you mention so that the result is more stable, thanks! 👍
Now a days printers can take an rbg file (with all that extra information) and convert all that information into cmyk and get a brighter, much better print. I'm a large format digital print specialist and I work with HP Latex family printers. You can litterary get a bright colorful logo just like you see it on the screen on fabric and many other substrates. believe me.
I heard about that.... I don't know if POD has those kinds of printer yet though... I guess we can test it
Thank you for this video detour it's very helpful
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you Juna you explained this very well. 🎨 Any suggestions for sites with contrasting printable colors to make them look brighter and pop?
Well maybe I need to put the best CMYK colors to use as a free download.... or maybe someone has already made a list.
@@DetourShirts Yes, please do. This would be very helpful!
@@DetourShirts That would be so helpful.
Hey, Juna! Thanks for this. I'm thinking something we can do if we design in Canva / Kittl / etc. in RGB to plug it into an actual graphics program and convert the color mode to CMYK so we can see what it's going to look like. Thanks again!
Yes you can! That's a great idea
Good news! Exactly how would you convert the colors in either Corel or photoshop? I have both programs here.
Thanks Juna for nice explanation.
I wonder about the clip art or free images we get from internet to use in designs. Are they in rgb or cmyk?
Good point... My guess is most of them are RGB
So the CMYK thing is only for previewing, but I should switch back to RGB mode then save? Sorry I'm a little confused. I mean, If PNGs are only RGBs, can I save directly from CMYK mode as PNG (and it will automatically be RGB)?
Yes.... you are right creating in CMYK will get you the right color but when you save it to a PNG it will automatically change to RGB.... that's fine though because your design will be saved as RGB colors that match the CMYK color instead of RGB colors that outside of the CMYK gamut.... hope that make sense.
Thank you..... So much
You are so welcome
Thank you for the video. Could you tell me what should be CMYK setting to have a good BLACK colour? Is it enough to set B=100? Or maybe it would be not too dark? Is the T-shirt cheaper when there is one color in a project? Regards.
When it's print on demand you can have as many colors as you want... the number of colors do not affect the price....there is probably a really good scientific answer about what black to use but I like using full black with all CMYK colors at 100. I don't know if that's the best or not but that's what I do.
Thank you so much wish I knew this when creating my logo which is bright fushia colour😢
Right.... It may not print out so bright
Hello, How do you handle this when you make print on demand designs in Kittl?
In Canva and Im guessing Kittl, youre designing colour blind, once exported as cmyk the colours can be muddy and no longer complimentary.
Trying to figure out how to design in kittl for print.
Seems lots of people dont care and you will end up buying designs that print in different tones of colour.
Thanks so much,
This info barely gets discussed, these fast design programs dont have the cmyk options and its pretty key basic info.
All I can think to do is design in Kittl/Canva and then use another program that allows me to view it in cmyk and change each colour with the paint bucket.
Thanks again
Yeah... you are right... I just kind of have to guess
The best explanation and demonstration I’ve seen about CMYK and RGB! Thank you Juna 💜
Wow... thank you...You are so welcome!
Amazing!!! Thank you!
Glad you liked it
Do print companies request RGB files so they can make the adjustments to match "True RGB" colors on their own? Maybe they have techniques to do that. There's Poster prints, T-shirt prints out there that have successfully done this for decades right?
I've heard that there are some printers that can match RGB colors that don't use CMYK printing but a lot of the POD companies still use CMYK printing so it's better to be safe.
But wait.. We've all seen Tshirts with neon green colors.. neon pink colors.. If printing companies are limited to CMYK, what is the explanation behind those RGB ranged shirts we see irl?
Yes... there can be special runs if you are doing spot colors, neon colors or other special colors but CMYK printer don't do that normally
Thank you for explaining this so well! I've been searching forever on how I am supposed to get my RGB images to look how I want once the printers change it to CMYK. I use Canva and I still have issues with trying to use their converter tool, because you can only change to CMYK one color at a time inside of "brand colors" which is confusing to me. How do some shirts you see in stores have those bright neon colors?
Glad it was helpful! Some of the neon colors in stores are spot colors and not a mix of CMYK
No I have not, though I do understand the color wheel of printers. I was not aware of the RGB standard being so large in the color wheel. As I say to my kids, Now you know!!! JI Joe!!!!, thank you for the breakdown of the color wheel. Very informative.
Thanks for sharing... know is half the battle....lol....BTW, I believe the other half of the battle is doing... know and then do
@@DetourShirts well put.
This is a great video Juna! You are the best! Designing in Affinity Designer makes sense to me now. The photo conversions still get me, and I haven't gotten to use Affinity Photo yet but I have it. It looks like you can chose cmyk color format when you create a new file. If you then dropped a photo in, from a digital camera, will you then see the photo in cmyk colors? Or, is it better to create in the rgb format and convert it within the same program? Thank you!
Glad it was helpful!.... yes, I think it will change the colors for you so that it works..... or at least you will see what's in the CMYK gamut
@@DetourShirts Thank you Juna!
Very informative. Thanks for showing this in Affinity Designer. How do you apply this to your workflow when you're creating designs in Canva (exporting), etc. Also, do you export to RGB or CMYK on your mocks? From the sound of it, you work in CMYK in AD, export as .png and already know what your print color output will be prior.
Good question! I export my mockups in RGB too. I create everything in CMYK when I can but Canva doesn't let you so I just try to be careful on the colors I choose.
@@DetourShirts Thank you Juna, and thanks for responding. I think I have this down now... So, your mocks still reflect the CMYK design output colors properly either way because as you so kindly articulated, you're working with CMYK colors to begin with (which is smart and such an important nugget ).
So... While working in Canva, I assume the proper play then is taking the Canva RGB Hex color code, converting it to the matching CMYK Hex Color (someone needs to create a video like this for Canva), exporting the file as a regular .PNG to preserve the transparency. And, even though technically Canva converts the .PNG back to RGB (unless we print as a .PDF and choose CMYK), our eyes will see the .PNG file exactly as it should and will print on the apparel because we have been working with the proper CMYK hex color to begin with. 😃
Thank you very much: this explains the problem I had with a book cover that should have been bright blue, but it faded into the color of the 3rd square in your video. ... Is there any way to fix this? ... I started with a photo of a bright blue sky (with a few clouds) -- but in the finished product, the sky does not look like the photo.
When in photoshop you can change the mode to CMYK and see what it looks like.... if you screen is calibrated correctly you should see what it would look like.... it should also show if a color is out of gamut (and too bright).
Thanks 🙏 so much you saved my life i was just going crazy why are my book cover for kdp looks dull on the platform . But my question here is why do some best sellers book has got like very vibrant colors in their cover why can I get the sane result what are they using ?? For designing 😅😅😅 still wondering crazy though 😊😅
Glad I could help! 2 things...Some CMYK colors are bright so they may be using that or what you are seeing on screen doesn't actually match what is printed.
Yeah actually i re designed some the cover i was talking about using cmyk colors and it turned out beautifully i was really happy with the result . The i went back to check the covers of people i was talking about earlier and found out that they were using cmyk colors those bright ones and just thought of the same . Really appreciate your efforts thank you
Oops! This is really important and I never realized it.
If you don't want your colors to potentially be duller than what you thought.... yes, very important
It looks like the colors get duller, Why did experience a couple of my shirts a brighter? My beige turned yellow, My purples turned pink.
Well it's partly CMYK vs RGB and it's partly Print on Demand is just duller
But what I don't understand, and this is why I keep making my products myself instead of looking for manufacture, it is that if I print my designs (RGB I can get so much beautiful purples and pinks, if I do that work in CMYK the colors are so off, I don't like them at all. (I mean when I print them) So my question is: Why I can get those beautiful colors just with my home printer but I have to down to CMYK for a professional print? Because I don't get it, and it is driving me crazy haha....
Your home print should be printing CMYK too so it should turn out similar unless you have a better printer at home.... It could also be the medium.... printing on glossy nice paper is different than printing on a tshirt.
I understand you choose CMYK to make sure the print products have the same colors you see on the computer screen. If you do everything from scratch, of course, you can set everything on CMYK. But, if you use other party's art work you purchase in your design, for instance, when you use the graphic alphabets from Canva, then what could you do to make sure that the colors on Canva art works will also show up like that on the print products?
You could bring them into something like photoshop and then change it to CMYK but yeah sometime you can't and just have to hope for the best.
Hi I have been watching your videos. I like the way you give us the details. I am doing I art through Leonardo and Midjourney already saved. How do I convert digital photos from so to RGB OR CMYK?
Please email me asap. Is there a video on this
I don't have a video on this but you can do it with Photopea and save it as CMYK. When you are in Photopea go to the top menu bar and select Image then Mode and then pick CMYK
Very good video. I am just wondering how you can find RBG and CYMK colours that are the same wheel as per the colour wheel
Very easy... There are lots of RBG & CMYK colors that overlap and that are in the color wheel
I have a couple questions regarding colors and file formats:
1. If a design is created in Canva using RGB colors, can that file be opened in Photoshop or another editing program and then be changed to CMYK for printing purposes?
2. I was unaware that a PNG file only saves in CMYK color (good to know). If I were to create a design that does not need a transparent background isn’t it best to save the design as a JPG file (smaller file size)? In that case, one would just need to make sure the design is transferred over to CMYK before saving the JPG file for printing. Am I correct?
Thank you for your awesome videos.
I'll try to answer the best I can.
1. Yes you can edit colors in Photoshop and change it to CMYK
2. Actually PNG saves your file as RGB not CMYK but if you design in CMYK, you should be fine. Some POD sites do take JPG but some don't... Amazon for example only takes PNG
@@DetourShirts Thank you kindly for your quick response. So, after creating a design using CMYK for print and saving the file as a PNG, the file has then been saved with the muted CMYK colors in an RGB color assigned format? I think I've got it... You've been a great help!
Hi, thanks, if anyone can advise please. I published a kids book, bright green, CMYK download, it looks crap on screen at Amazon, came out that dull green. So should I just pick a not so bright green? And woll the printed book look the same dull? Sorry, I'm not tech savvy, just an ol lady, appreciate any help.
Use CMYK color when creating your book.... the very bright RGB greens can't be printed but there still are some nice bright greens with CMYK
@@DetourShirts thanks for replying, I don't use an illustrator software like adobe to design, just a simple program called bookbolt for low content publishing that I don't think we have a choice in what kind of colours we use to create it, we have a colour picker, but I don't know what it uses at the back end. I think I'll change the cover to RGB, order the books and see how it looks, as least it will look good on screen on Amazon Thanks
Thank u so much
Most welcome 😊
You were talking about print files and you didn't print anything 😅. Next video would be cool to see how to adapt RGB files to Cmyk if you wanna print your pictures. Tnx
Interesting idea..... the print part for me is sending it to a POD site 😀
teepublic is telling to art in rgb but redbubble is telling in cmyk what we should do?
It's fine... most if not all CMYK colors are still in the RGB space so you should be fine
What about saving the documents of cmyk on pdf?
Yes... use CMYK for a PDF if it's going to be printed.... if it's just a PDF to look at on screen then it doesn't matter
hye thanks for sharing some great tips, im not have much patient to read all the comments but, i want to ask, like you mention in the video, if you design in RGB u will get the CMYK after printing,, but how to design in cmyk and get the finishing product with rgb colour? i have problems with everytime i print out some stickers and the colour is different than design,,,
Thank You,
So most RGB color are also CMYK colors you just have to watch out for the ones outside of the CMYK spectrum (which are usually the bright one).... Design in CMYK and then just save as a PNG. A PNG is RGB so it will just change it to RGB and you will be fine.
Such a useful video! How would you tell if something like an element you import from somewhere like Creative Fabrica has been designed in CMYK or RGB? If it's something like a PNG where you can't select the individual colours to update them as you did in the video (i.e. the RGB colour still showed until you clicked on one of the numbers in the slider) is there a danger that even if you export in CMYK the final design might not print as you're expecting? Hope that makes sense!
There is no real good way sorry... if you download it as a PDF you could check... but a png would be tough... One way you could check is to bring it into Photoshop or something similar and see if the color are out of gamut.
@@DetourShirts thank you for your help - I'll try that. :)
I created a CMYK file but when I go to File > Save as > there is no option for PNG type. I can only export it as a PNG which converts it to sRGB. But then I lose the 300 resolution for dpi and the exported file is 96 dpi. Can you help Juna?
It's okay that it converts it to a PNG with sRGB... the colors will be fine. What app are you using?
@@DetourShirts Sorry forgot to mention I'm using Photoshop. What about dpi though?
Thank you juna
You are very welcome
Great video! What about photo printing case,not design stuff in Photoshop? I shoot photos in sRGB and edit in photoshop then export in sRGB format which is good for Social Medea posting. However, when I print the same file with my Epson SC-900 printer, i get dull colors on photo parer. Perhaps the reason why is that you explained. So, how should I do to make the best result both for social media posting and photo printing? Thanks in advance!
Yup that's exactly the reason... convert it to CMYK before printing and adjust the colors
@@DetourShirts thanks for your reply! :)
Hello Juna, it says that you can design in Canva using CMYK by adding codes to the color palette.
True... if you know the right codes that will work for those graphics where you can actually change the color
@@DetourShirts understood thanks!
Hello! thank you for this educational video :) I have been making some AI art and wanting to use them as downloadable prints, the colors are really bright so now I am a little worried lol but some are not bright colors. I have photoshop , my question is, can I convert these images to CMYK in photoshop? i have templates i made in PS for aspect ratio, i make the art, drop it into my template. someone said you can not convert to CMYK ? if i can convert after the image is made please let me know. also, i am saving the prints in JPEG .Thank you!
Yes.... I believe you can convert them to CMYK but I haven't used Photoshop in such a long time that I don't remember how.... sorry
Thank you so much. I never new the way the rrggbb colour codes worked before seeing this video, you explained it very clearly.
One question. I don't do digital designs, I photograph my oil paintings and then open them in photoshop and just tweak the colours and contrast etc... if I convert the image to CMYK it doesn't appear to make any difference to the colours tones. Do you think it is necessary for me to convert to CMYK? Thanks again!
It really depends on what you want to do with it... If you just want a digital file then RGB is fine... If you want to print it then I would convert it to CMYK so that you can see what it would look like printed.
@@DetourShirts Thanks for your reply... I should have mentioned it is for uploading to redbubble (so yes, for printing) when I convert to CMYK it looks the same as RGB so I guess I don't need to convert?
@@drakeart1 In Photoshop, there are preview command that let you prewiew your image in CMYK mode (I think it's command+Y). I guess other applications have similar option. In illustrator I always work in CMYK mode as I deal with prints most of the times.
@@smitnkp Thanks.... I can easily change the image to CMYK and then quickly undo if necessary. perhaps with vector designs and the like you get a big change in colour (not sure) with my images there is no change in appearance
How do you print an image on a teeshirt that doesn't have a background if you can't make a png?
Why can't you make a png?
@@DetourShirts
You can't make a CMYK png. Png only works with RGB.
Is CMYK is best for vinyl printing ?
I m using Coreldraw x7 to design and I couldn't get the exact what I am expecting
I've never printed vinyl but I'm going to guess yes... anything printed should be CMYK
If possible, could you please make a video on how to easily make curved text? Like the text on the poster behind you that says "we have to go back". I'm referring to the "go back" bottom part while the top stays flat. Is there a way to do this in affinity designer without having to convert the text to curves and then manually trying to curve it?
You can type on an arch or any path but to do something like the one on my tshirt is a little different... Yes I can do a video for Affinity Designer
@@DetourShirts i know you can put text to path, what I mean is making the text convex like the "go back" part
😭😭😭 Canva use RGB colors, right? And when we export in PNG format with transparency, this will be a RGB file. So, how can we ensure that we stay in the CMYK color zone if we use Canva?
One way to make sure is to use safe HEX colors when creating your design.... it's okay to use RGB colors as long as they are in the safe CMYK range of colors.....not all RGB colors are bad... it's only when you have RGB colors that are too bright.
@@DetourShirts thank you for your answer! What do you mean by "safe HeX color?' Can we check this 'safe area' when using Canva ?
Thanks
No problem
Hello, mam pytanie - Jeśli tworzę grafiki w procreate (RGB) to czy muszę je konwertować potem na cmyk? Redbubble chce żeby wysyłać w png pliki. Więc zastanawiam się czy muszę w ogóle konwertować mój art?
Thanks? Sorry I'm not sure what language this is to translate it.
@@DetourShirts Oh sorry mate:) - I have a question - If I create graphics in procreate (RGB) do I have to convert them to cmyk afterwards? Redbubble wants it to send in png files. So I'm wondering if I need to convert my art at all?
You could but it's a pain....I would just leave it... just be very careful of very bright reds, blues and greens.
They may not print well
So if I create my design using CMYK then create the *.PNG file that Merch by Amazon requires, can I assume that my design has been converted to RGB within the *.PNG?
Yes... exactly
I make design in CMYK using photopea, Then I export the CMYK as PNG file, so the saved file is RGB right cause I save it as PNG. But when I open the file it still show CMYK color. Does your design show the same as my design? Does the CMYK really convert to RGB when save as PNG? If yes why it show CMYK color?
So CMYK colors are a subset of RGB colors... so by using CMYK to begin with you are just making sure you are picking the right colors for printing... what could happen if you use RGB colors from the beginning is that you may pick colors that you can't print... hope that makes sense
@@DetourShirts Thank you for answering.. So am I doing the right step? And the saved file is the correct color what I should get?
You should get a good looking design that has colors that match what you picked
Hello Sir, i wanna ask something about this.
I only have android, and i want to sell my design in POD like Redbubble and else. I make my drawing design in Autodesk Sketchbook App and Medibang Paint. Since that two only have RGB color mode, I can't change it to CMYK.
So, all i need to do is to keep that RGB color mode in medium brightness or below it, right?
Please answer my question.
Wish you all the best, Sir.
Yes... you should be fine... just stay away from the super saturated Red, Greens and Blues and you should be fine
@@DetourShirts great, thank you so much for this info Sir.
Should I use CMYK for threadless as well.??
They says to upload designs in RGB.
Please help.
If it's going to be printed in the end... always start with CMYK if you can
@@DetourShirts thanks for your quick response😍
So, what should be the output file in PNG for POD : RGB or CMYK?
The output is PNG which is always RGB... you can't change it
So if we make a design in a software like Canva, then download the design and import it into Affinity Designer, can we then convert all the colors in the complete design to CMYK while also keeping the DPI at 300? Could you make a video showcasing how this is done, if it's possible to do? Thanks Juna!!
Totally possible to do... thanks for the idea.... I would download the design as a PDF from Canva
@@DetourShirts I appreciate your response and the tip to download as a PDF!! Thank you so much! I have also just learned that Canva does have an option to download in CMYK format as well.
Cmyk. Yeah I used to hear it all the time. This that and blah blah about some new driver or Adobe rgb profile. It might work, for some big printer in NYC. But the last printers are still using old presses and film. Design in cmyk and pantone colors. Unless it's all web but don't think that cool new shirts or poster is going to look like that.
So true... thanks for your comments
Is Kittl designed natively in CYMK or RGB?
If I had to guess it would be RGB since they default to HEX colors
Hi. Are home printers set to print in RGB or CMYK? So if I design something to print on a home computer, should I design in RGB or CMYK? Thanks
If it's color it's CMYK.... because it prints on white paper.... to print RGB you would have to start with black because it's opposite.
@@DetourShirts Thank you
My conclusion:
If you are using inkjet with six ink system - Use RGB Profile for printing on photo paper
Hmmmmm...... I don't know about that
the only disadvantage when using CMYK is you will miss ''copy and past hex color''
True.... hex colors are RGB...some are within the CMYK gamut but some are not
if you would integrate digital photos into your design, would you convert them to cmyk first?
Yes
@@DetourShirts thanks for answering and your interesting video!
Great. I just watched a video that said that exact opposite.
Interesting….Like what?
Hi Juna, Thank you very much for this video. I edit the clipart images we created in Midjourney in Canva and Photoshop. How can I cmyk these cliparts that are transparent in PNG format? I set it as cmyk-png in Photoshop and render it, but it comes out as rgb.I think I don't quite understand, can you help me?
If you start off in CMYK you should be fine.... it will change to RGB when you save it as a PNG but it will use the RGB colors that are inside the CMYK gamut so you should be fine
@@DetourShirts Thanks so much for your help.🥰 I prepared it this way. no problem then. I benefit from your videos and thank you very much for your efforts.🤗🤗
@@DetourShirts Hello again Juna
Can you tell me the exact settings you made in Photoshop? 🙏
I want to prepare the png images I created for Etsy in the most accurate way. I'm worried about this 😢 Could you please tell me the correct settings? You can also provide a screenshot if you wish. Sorry for my broken english 🤭
No, u should design all in RGB mode (escpecially you have photo file) because rgb contain higher data, convert to cmyk is latest step (it should printing job convert rgb to cmyk with their printing profile or your home printer can convert rgb to cmyk)). U only create in cmyk if your design pure vector or for clothes (not paper)
Why paper and not clothes.... don't they both use CMYK printers?
@@DetourShirts material & liquid/gel ink matter. just google it.
How Can I save a PNG in CMYK?
You can not.... but you can design in CMYK and then when you save it as a PNG it will save it as RGB but with the CMYK safe colors.
Should use RGB mode when design, not CMYK!!!
If you are designing for a screen/digital.... absolutely
But Kittl is only rgb!!!!!!
Yes... but you can make sure to use CMYK colors
Awesome explanation. Thank you!!!
You're very welcome!
Thanks
Welcome