USE OF COLOR- Print & Web
Color Schemes – Print & Web

CMYK- CMYK stands for cyan, magenta, yellow and black. Almost all color printing uses this four-color process. Every color used is a combination of one or more of those colors. When you are creating materials to print, you should always be in CMYK color mode. CMYK is a reflective model, that is, color as we see it. When light hits a red apple, we see red. When you mix blue and yellow you will get green.

RGB- RGB stands for red, green and blue. RGB color is used in monitors– computers, televisions etc., by giving off light. When creating materials for the web, you should be in RGB mode. The light emitted doesn't reflect off of anything before hitting our eyes, therefore, it is not a reflective model, like CMYK. Since it is light, we are not personally mixing the colors, but just be aware that creating colors does not work the same way as the CMYK model. In the RGB model, for example, red and green create yellow.

Indexed- Index colors are a limited pallet of 256 "web safe" colors. The advantage to using indexed colors is that the files sizes will be smaller. "Web safe" refers to the fact that the computer will never need to generate a color that is not in its palette, which can keep images from looking spotty.

Text- In both Web and print, long blocks of text should be in a dark color, preferably black, to make the information the easiest to read. For headings, choose one appropriate color to use consistently throughout the piece or section. When too many colors are used it becomes overwhelming and confusing for the user. The color should be used as a signal to guide the user through the information.

Web- On the Web, you have access to many colors at no cost. This is why it is especially important to choose a color palette or scheme and stick with it throughout the entire site. Use the color consistently to guide the user through the site and highlight important information. Do not use a new color for every heading, block, text or graphic. Again, this will overwhelm the viewer and make your site feel cluttered and busy. If you are putting color behind text, limit your background color to light blue, light green, light tan (or light yellow), or light red (pink), and don't put a color behind your main text.

Print- One major difference between Web and print in color use is the amount of colors you can create and the cost. Color printing can be very expensive if done professionally and the quality of colors printed from any printer has a lot to do with the quality of the printer. Because of this, printed materials tend to have a more limited pallet. If you are working with a limited pallet you can still create more than one color by varying the saturation of the colors you are using. For example, if you are only working with black and white, use grays for a little variation. If you are using a color, use it to emphasize important information, not just anywhere to make the material look "pretty".