displaying + printing colour

ADDITIVE COLOUR
Computer monitors are devices that use the additive primaries to create colour. Adding equal parts of red, blue, and green light produces white. The complete absence of red, blue, and green light results in black.

Additive colours are R=Red  G=Green  B=Blue

SUBTRACTIVE COLOUR
Unlike monitors, printers use subtractive mixing to produce colours. The term “subtractive” is used because the colours are pure until you begin mixing them together, resulting in colours that are less pure versions of the primaries.

Subtractive shown colours above are  C=Cyan  M=Magenta Y=Yellow  K=Black

At Vivid, our printers create colour from 8-12 primary inks.

COLOUR MODELS, SPACES AND MODES
A colour model describes the colours we see and work with in digital images. Each colour model, such as RGB, CMYK, or HSB, represents a different method (usually numeric) for describing colour.

A colour space is a variant of a colour model and has a specific gamut (range) of colours. For example, within the RGB colour model are a number of colour spaces: Adobe RGB, sRGB, ProPhoto RGB, and so on.

Each device, like your monitor or printer, has its own colour space and can only reproduce colours in its gamut. When an image moves from one device to another, image colours may change because each device interprets the RGB or CMYK values according to its own colour space. You can use colour management when moving images to ensure that most colours are the same or similar enough so they appear consistent.

COLOUR MATCHING
No device is capable of reproducing the full range of colours viewable to the human eye. Each device operates within a specific colour space that can produce a certain range, or gamut, of colours.

Colour variations can result from differences in image sources; the way software applications define colour; print media; and other natural variations, such as manufacturing differences in monitors or monitor age.

If you have an existing print or colour swatch you want matched to, please bring it in to accompany your order.