cmyk color guide

CMYKCOLORGUIDE

FORMULAS FOR GETTING THE OPTIMAL RESULTS

ON COLOR REPRODUCTION

CMYK Color Guide

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Reading these color chartsThis guide contains a series of colors that are known to be able to be reliably repro-duced using CMYK offset printing. While no color matching can be guaranteed, in-cluding on the colors shown here, without ordering a spot or Pantone color, the colors and color values shown here are good choices to ensure accurate color reproduction.

The color charts are organized starting with the dark ‘base’ color in the top left and decreasing color values gradually while progressing around the color wheel. The other color wheels on the page increase the values of secondary colors, for exam-ple magenta and yellow, while creating blues.

Please note that, depending on your monitor settings, the colors may appear dif-ferently on your screen than they print on an offset press. Colors will also vary if this guide is printed on an ink jet or laser printer.

C: 70 M: 100 Y: 0 K: 0

C: 50 M: 70 Y: 0 K: 0

C: 5 M: 10 Y: 0 K: 0

C: 40 M: 50 Y: 0 K: 0

C: 25 M: 35 Y: 0 K: 0

> BASE COLOR

C: 75 M: 100 Y: 20 K: 0

C: 50 M: 70 Y: 15 K: 0

C: 10 M: 10 Y: 3 K: 0

C: 40 M: 50 Y: 10 K: 0

C: 25 M: 35 Y: 5 K: 0

C: 75 M: 100 Y: 50 K: 0

C: 50 M: 70 Y: 35 K: 0

C: 10 M: 10 Y: 5 K: 0

C: 40 M: 50 Y: 25 K: 0

C: 25 M: 35 Y: 15 K: 0

C: 75 M: 100 Y: 70 K: 0

C: 50 M: 70 Y: 50 K: 0

C: 10 M: 10 Y: 10 K: 0

C: 40 M: 50 Y: 40 K: 0

C: 20 M: 30 Y: 20 K: 0

Base wheel

Variants




CMYK Color Guide

just black

C: 0 M: 0 Y: 0 K: 100

C: 0 M: 0 Y: 0 K: 70

C: 0 M: 0 Y: 0 K: 10

C: 0 M: 0 Y: 0 K: 50

C: 0 M: 0 Y: 0 K: 30

rich black

C: 30 M: 30 Y: 30 K: 100

C: 25 M: 25 Y: 25 K: 70

C: 5 M: 5 Y: 5 K: 10

C: 20 M: 20 Y: 20 K: 50

C: 15 M: 15 Y: 15 K: 30

Black

Make blackBlacks are created in printing by the presence of color; the black (K) color creates shades of gray based on its density, or the value between 1–100. “Rich black” blends all 4 colors (CMYK) to create a darker, richer black. Avoid over-saturating the paper, it’s not a good idea to concoct your own rich black by setting all colors to the max: 100-100-100-100. Instead, try some of the values shown below.

Be careful when using black to darken colors, it quickly looks muddy.

> BASE COLOR

CMYK Color Guide




C: 0 M: 100 Y: 100 K: 0

C: 0 M: 70 Y: 70 K: 0

C: 0 M: 10 Y: 10 K: 0

C: 0 M: 50 Y: 50 K: 0

C: 0 M: 30 Y: 30 K: 0

C: 20 M: 100 Y: 100 K: 0

C: 15 M: 70 Y: 70 K: 0

C: 2 M: 10 Y: 10 K: 0

C: 10 M: 50 Y: 50 K: 0

C: 5 M: 30 Y: 30 K: 0

C: 50 M: 100 Y: 100 K: 0

C: 35 M: 70 Y: 70 K: 0

C: 5 M: 10 Y: 10 K: 0

C: 25 M: 50 Y: 50 K: 0

C: 15 M: 30 Y: 30 K: 0

C: 70 M: 100 Y: 100 K: 0

C: 50 M: 70 Y: 70 K: 0

C: 10 M: 10 Y: 10 K: 0

C: 35 M: 50 Y: 50 K: 0

C: 20 M: 30 Y: 30 K: 0

Reds

Bold & daring, yet romanticRed quickly turns orange or rust colored in printing. Keep the levels of magenta and yellow in balance: too much magenta turns the red to pink and too much yellow makes the blend orange.


> BASE COLOR




CMYK Color Guide

C: 0 M: 70 Y: 100 K: 0

C: 0 M: 50 Y: 70 K: 0

C: 0 M: 5 Y: 10 K: 0

C: 0 M: 35 Y: 50 K: 0

C: 0 M: 20 Y: 30 K: 0

C: 20 M: 70 Y: 100 K: 0

C: 15 M: 50 Y: 70 K: 0

C: 2 M: 5 Y: 10 K: 0

C: 10 M: 30 Y: 50 K: 0

C: 5 M: 20 Y: 30 K: 0

C: 50 M: 70 Y: 100 K: 0

C: 35 M: 50 Y: 70 K: 0

C: 5 M: 5 Y: 10 K: 0

C: 25 M: 35 Y: 50 K: 0

C: 15 M: 20 Y: 30 K: 0

C: 70 M: 70 Y: 100 K: 0

C: 50 M: 50 Y: 70 K: 0

C: 10 M: 10 Y: 20 K: 0

C: 35 M: 35 Y: 50 K: 0

C: 20 M: 20 Y: 30 K: 0

Oranges & Browns

Rustic & automnalMaking a statement with a flashy orange requires 1 part magenta and 2 parts yellow, with 0-50-100-0 being one of the best combinations. Imbalanced colors result in mossy greens or rich rust and earthy brown.


> BASE COLOR

CMYK Color Guide




Oranges & Browns

C: 0 M: 50 Y: 100 K: 0

C: 0 M: 30 Y: 70 K: 0

C: 0 M: 5 Y: 10 K: 0

C: 0 M: 20 Y: 50 K: 0

C: 0 M: 15 Y: 30 K: 0

C: 20 M: 50 Y: 100 K: 0

C: 15 M: 35 Y: 70 K: 0

C: 2 M: 5 Y: 10 K: 0

C: 10 M: 25 Y: 50 K: 0

C: 5 M: 15 Y: 30 K: 0

C: 50 M: 50 Y: 100 K: 0

C: 35 M: 35 Y: 70 K: 0

C: 5 M: 5 Y: 10 K: 0

C: 25 M: 25 Y: 50 K: 0

C: 15 M: 15 Y: 30 K: 0

C: 70 M: 50 Y: 100 K: 0

C: 50 M: 35 Y: 70 K: 0

C: 7 M: 5 Y: 10 K: 0

C: 35 M: 25 Y: 50 K: 0

C: 20 M: 15 Y: 30 K: 0

> BASE COLOR




CMYK Color Guide

C: 0 M: 30 Y: 100 K: 0

C: 0 M: 20 Y: 70 K: 0

C: 0 M: 2 Y: 10 K: 0

C: 0 M: 15 Y: 50 K: 0

C: 0 M: 10 Y: 30 K: 0

C: 20 M: 30 Y: 100 K: 0

C: 15 M: 20 Y: 70 K: 0

C: 2 M: 5 Y: 10 K: 0

C: 10 M: 15 Y: 50 K: 0

C: 5 M: 10 Y: 30 K: 0

C: 50 M: 30 Y: 100 K: 0

C: 35 M: 20 Y: 70 K: 0

C: 5 M: 3 Y: 10 K: 0

C: 25 M: 15 Y: 50 K: 0

C: 15 M: 20 Y: 30 K: 0

C: 70 M: 70 Y: 100 K: 0

C: 50 M: 20 Y: 70 K: 0

C: 10 M: 5 Y: 10 K: 0

C: 35 M: 15 Y: 50 K: 0

C: 20 M: 10 Y: 30 K: 0

Yellows & Greens

Young & vibrant

Greens are constructed with cyan and yellow. Equal, dense levels of cyan and yellow are the building blocks of vibrant greens. Yellow is hard to darken without transforming it into a sage or mustard color, or in more dense mixtures becomes orange and green.


> BASE COLOR

CMYK Color Guide




Yellows & Greens

C: 0 M: 10 Y: 100 K: 0

C: 0 M: 5 Y: 70 K: 0

C: 0 M: 0 Y: 10 K: 0

C: 0 M: 5 Y: 50 K: 0

C: 0 M: 3 Y: 30 K: 0

C: 20 M: 10 Y: 100 K: 0

C: 15 M: 5 Y: 70 K: 0

C: 2 M: 0 Y: 15 K: 0

C: 10 M: 5 Y: 50 K: 0

C: 5 M: 3 Y: 30 K: 0

C: 50 M: 10 Y: 100 K: 0

C: 35 M: 5 Y: 70 K: 0

C: 5 M: 0 Y: 10 K: 0

C: 25 M: 7 Y: 50 K: 0

C: 15 M: 3 Y: 30 K: 0

C: 70 M: 10 Y: 100 K: 0

C: 50 M: 5 Y: 70 K: 0

C: 7 M: 0 Y: 10 K: 0

C: 35 M: 5 Y: 50 K: 0

C: 20 M: 3 Y: 30 K: 0

> BASE COLOR




CMYK Color Guide

Yellows & Greens

C: 80 M: 0 Y: 80 K: 0

C: 55 M: 0 Y: 55 K: 0

C: 10 M: 0 Y: 10 K: 0

C: 40 M: 0 Y: 40 K: 0

C: 25 M: 0 Y: 25 K: 0

C: 80 M: 20 Y: 80 K: 0

C: 55 M: 15 Y: 55 K: 0

C: 10 M: 2 Y: 10 K: 0

C: 40 M: 10 Y: 40 K: 0

C: 25 M: 5 Y: 25 K: 0

C: 80 M: 50 Y: 80 K: 0

C: 55 M: 35 Y: 55 K: 0

C: 10 M: 5 Y: 10 K: 0

C: 40 M: 25 Y: 40 K: 0

C: 25 M: 15 Y: 25 K: 0

C: 80 M: 70 Y: 80 K: 0

C: 55 M: 50 Y: 55 K: 0

C: 10 M: 10 Y: 10 K: 0

C: 40 M: 35 Y: 40 K: 0

C: 25 M: 20 Y: 25 K: 0

> BASE COLOR

CMYK Color Guide




C: 100 M: 0 Y: 30 K: 0

C: 70 M: 0 Y: 20 K: 0

C: 10 M: 0 Y: 3 K: 0

C: 50 M: 0 Y: 15 K: 0

C: 30 M: 0 Y: 10 K: 0

C: 100 M: 20 Y: 30 K: 0

C: 70 M: 15 Y: 20 K: 0

C: 10 M: 2 Y: 3 K: 0

C: 50 M: 10 Y: 15 K: 0

C: 30 M: 5 Y: 10 K: 0

C: 100 M: 50 Y: 30 K: 0

C: 70 M: 35 Y: 20 K: 0

C: 10 M: 5 Y: 3 K: 0

C: 50 M: 25 Y: 15 K: 0

C: 30 M: 15 Y: 10 K: 0

C: 100 M: 70 Y: 30 K: 0

C: 70 M: 50 Y: 20 K: 0

C: 10 M: 5 Y: 3 K: 0

C: 50 M: 35 Y: 15 K: 0

C: 30 M: 20 Y: 10 K: 0

Blues

Clean & fresh

Blue is one of the hardest colors to accurately reproduce with CMYK printing. The purest blues are even, balanced color mixtures such as 100-50-0-0. Imbalanced blends produce purple and green colors.


> BASE COLOR




CMYK Color Guide

C: 100 M: 50 Y: 0 K: 0

C: 70 M: 35 Y: 0 K: 0

C: 10 M: 5 Y: 0 K: 0

C: 50 M: 25 Y: 0 K: 0

C: 30 M: 15 Y: 0 K: 0

C: 100 M: 50 Y: 20 K: 0

C: 70 M: 35 Y: 20 K: 0

C: 10 M: 5 Y: 2 K: 0

C: 50 M: 25 Y: 10 K: 0

C: 30 M: 15 Y: 5 K: 0

C: 100 M: 50 Y: 50 K: 0

C: 70 M: 35 Y: 35 K: 0

C: 10 M: 5 Y: 5 K: 0

C: 50 M: 25 Y: 25 K: 0

C: 30 M: 15 Y: 15 K: 0

C: 100 M: 50 Y: 70 K: 0

C: 70 M: 35 Y: 50 K: 0

C: 10 M: 5 Y: 5 K: 0

C: 50 M: 25 Y: 35 K: 0

C: 30 M: 15 Y: 20 K: 0

Blues

> BASE COLOR

CMYK Color Guide




C: 70 M: 100 Y: 0 K: 0

C: 50 M: 70 Y: 0 K: 0

C: 5 M: 10 Y: 0 K: 0

C: 40 M: 50 Y: 0 K: 0

C: 25 M: 35 Y: 0 K: 0

C: 75 M: 100 Y: 20 K: 0

C: 50 M: 70 Y: 15 K: 0

C: 10 M: 10 Y: 3 K: 0

C: 40 M: 50 Y: 10 K: 0

C: 25 M: 35 Y: 5 K: 0

C: 75 M: 100 Y: 50 K: 0

C: 50 M: 70 Y: 35 K: 0

C: 10 M: 10 Y: 5 K: 0

C: 40 M: 50 Y: 25 K: 0

C: 25 M: 35 Y: 15 K: 0

C: 75 M: 100 Y: 70 K: 0

C: 50 M: 70 Y: 50 K: 0

C: 10 M: 10 Y: 10 K: 0

C: 40 M: 50 Y: 40 K: 0

C: 20 M: 30 Y: 20 K: 0

Purples

Royal & elegantDespite a regal heritage and easy CMYK reproduction, purple is typical-ly limited in use in modern design. Remember that blue tones quickly appear purple when too much magenta is added. Bold purples use a 3-to-2 ratio between Magenta and Cyan, such as 70-100-0-0


> BASE COLOR




CMYK Color Guide

C: 10 M: 100 Y: 0 K: 0

C: 10 M: 70 Y: 0 K: 0

C: 0 M: 10 Y: 0 K: 0

C: 5 M: 50 Y: 0 K: 0

C: 3 M: 30 Y: 0 K: 0

C: 10 M: 100 Y: 0 K: 0

C: 15 M: 20 Y: 70 K: 0

C: 0 M: 10 Y: 2 K: 0

C: 5 M: 50 Y: 10 K: 0

C: 3 M: 30 Y: 5 K: 0

C: 10 M: 100 Y: 50 K: 0

C: 7 M: 100 Y: 35 K: 0

C: 0 M: 10 Y: 5 K: 0

C: 5 M: 50 Y: 25 K: 0

C: 3 M: 30 Y: 15 K: 0

C: 10 M: 100 Y: 70 K: 0

C: 7 M: 70 Y: 50 K: 0

C: 0 M: 10 Y: 10 K: 0

C: 5 M: 50 Y: 35 K: 0

C: 3 M: 30 Y: 20 K: 0

Pinks

Just plain fiesty

Ah, pink. The best pink tones have an extraordinarily high level of magenta and relatively low levels of yellow, cyan, and black. Too much yellow deviates to red hues while too much blue makes a purple mix.


> BASE COLOR

CMYK Color Guide




C: 0 M: 100 Y: 100 K: 0

C: 0 M: 60 Y: 100 K: 0

C: 5 M: 100 Y: 0 K: 0

C: 0 M: 30 Y: 100 K: 0

C: 0 M: 5 Y: 100 K: 0

C: 100 M: 0 Y: 100 K: 0

C: 100 M: 15 Y: 0 K: 0

C: 0 M: 30 Y: 0 K: 0

C: 100 M: 70 Y: 0 K: 0

C: 60 M: 100 Y: 0 K: 0

Pop!

Getting vibrant colors

You want your designs to pop of the page? While CMYK’s color range isn’t fluorescant bright, these color mixtures will produce outstanding, bright results in offset printing.

warmer tones

cooler tones

cmyk color guide

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