CMYK stands for four print colors:
- C — Cyan
- M — Magenta
- Y — Yellow
- K — Black
A CMYK color is made by mixing these four inks at different percentages.
Take this one:
C: 100 / M: 0 / Y: 0 / K: 0
That’s pure Cyan.
And this:
C: 0 / M: 0 / Y: 0 / K: 100
That’s black.
Things get more interesting once you start mixing the channels.
Why are CMYK colors used for printing?
Your phone screen makes color with light. Paper doesn’t.
Printed color comes from ink sitting on a physical surface and reflecting light back to your eyes. That’s why a bright RGB color on your monitor can lose some punch when it’s printed.
A neon green may look electric on screen but much flatter on paper. Same with some bright blues and oranges.
That doesn’t always mean something went wrong at the printer. RGB and CMYK just have different color ranges.
If you’re making a business card, poster, magazine, catalog, package, brochure, or another printed piece, CMYK is usually the color model you’ll be dealing with.
For websites and apps, RGB and HEX make more sense.
How do you read a CMYK code?
HEX gives you one code:
#FF0000
CMYK gives you four values:
0, 100, 100, 0
The order is always:
Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black
So in that example, there’s no Cyan, Magenta is at 100%, Yellow is at 100%, and Black is at 0%.
The result is red.
If you have a CMYK value but need to use the color on a website, you’ll want its HEX equivalent. A cmyk to hex converter can do that quickly.
15 Common CMYK Color Values
The values below are useful starting points. The exact printed result can shift depending on the paper, printer, ink, and color profile.
Cyan
CMYK: 100, 0, 0, 0
One of the four colors CMYK is built from. It sits somewhere between bright blue and turquoise.
Magenta
CMYK: 0, 100, 0, 0
A strong pink-purple color and another base color in the CMYK system.
Yellow
CMYK: 0, 0, 100, 0
Pure yellow.
Only the Yellow channel is used here, so the mix is about as simple as it gets.
Black
CMYK: 0, 0, 0, 100
Standard black.
You’ll often see this value used for small text and fine lines.
Red
CMYK: 0, 100, 100, 0
Mix Magenta and Yellow at full strength and you get red.
Green
CMYK: 100, 0, 100, 0
Cyan plus Yellow.
The result is a clean, fairly strong green.
Blue
CMYK: 100, 100, 0, 0
Full Cyan and full Magenta create a deep blue.
Orange
CMYK: 0, 50, 100, 0
Yellow does most of the work here, with Magenta pulling the mix toward orange.
Purple
CMYK: 50, 100, 0, 0
More Magenta than Cyan gives this mix its purple look.
Pink
CMYK: 0, 50, 20, 0
Lower Magenta with a small amount of Yellow produces a softer pink.
Navy Blue
CMYK: 100, 80, 0, 40
Much darker than regular blue. The added Black pushes the color toward navy.
Turquoise
CMYK: 80, 0, 30, 0
Mostly Cyan, with enough Yellow to pull it slightly toward green.
Lime Green
CMYK: 50, 0, 100, 0
There’s a lot of Yellow in this mix, which gives it a lighter, sharper look than a standard green.
Burgundy
CMYK: 20, 100, 70, 40
A dark red with plenty of Magenta and enough Black to bring the tone down.
Gold
CMYK: 20, 30, 80, 10
This mix can give you a gold-like color in standard printing.
But it won’t look metallic.
For a real metallic gold finish, you’d need metallic ink, foil, or another special print process.
Can you make gradients with CMYK colors?
Yes.
One easy route is to convert your CMYK colors to HEX or RGB first, then build the gradient digitally.
You can use the Gradient Maker on Eggradients to test transitions between two or more colors.
If the final design is going to print, check those colors again in CMYK before sending the file out.
That bright transition on your monitor may not come out with the same intensity on paper.
RGB or CMYK?
Look at where the design is going.
Instagram post? RGB.
Website? RGB or HEX.
Business card? CMYK.
Printed poster? CMYK.
Product packaging? CMYK again.
The simple rule is that screens use light, while print uses ink.
One more thing: the same CMYK code won’t always look exactly the same from one printer to another. Matte paper, glossy paper, ink, color profiles, and the press itself can all change the result a little.
If color matching really matters, a small print proof can tell you more than another thirty minutes of adjusting values on a screen.