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CMYK colour charts and

values
Colour is one of the most commonly
misunderstood and error prone
topics in all of printing. We've
compiled these CMYK guides based
on our experience to help you
understand various aspects of how
printed colour works and why it
might be different from what you'd
expect.

1 Reading these colour charts

2 CMYK black
3 CMYK reds
4 CMYK oranges and browns
5 CMYK yellows and greens
6 CMYK blues
7 CMYK purples
8 CMYK pinks
9 CMYK golds
10 CMYK silvers
11 CMYK bright colours

Reading these colour charts

Some colours are much more challenging The CMYK colour model
to reproduce perfectly in print. The charts
below contain a series of CMYK colours
that are known to be reliable for offset
printing.

While we cannot offer exact colour

matching, we can recommend these
relatively safe choices for your designs.
Using these charts will help you achieve
greater consistency in accurate colour
reproduction.
The ‘base’ colour is displayed on the left
of each row. As you progress to the right,
the colour values decrease gradually. The
lower rows in each chart show secondary
colours.

Please note that your monitor settings

may affect what you see on your screen
vs. the finished product from a printer.
Inkjet or laser printers may also produce
varying results based on settings. If
precise colour is vital to your project, we
recommend that you purchase a proof of
your print job to see exactly how it will
look in print.

CMYK black
Standard black (the K in CMYK) is colours to the 100 maximum. For best
essentially made from shades of grey. results, try some of the values shown in
How black the black looks is based on the chart below.
density, on a scale of 1 to 100.
Remember, you should always be careful
Rich black is created by blending all of when using black to make the colours
the CMYK colours, resulting in a more rich darker. It can easily make your colours
and saturated tone. Make sure not to appear muddy.
over-saturate the paper by setting all
Read our black vs. rich black guide
(/support/standardvsrichblack)

Just black Rich black

CMYK reds
Red can often appear orange or rusty Remember, you should always be careful
when printing. When this happens, you when using black to make the colours
need to look at your levels of magenta darker. It can easily make your colours
and yellow. If your red looks too pinkish, appear muddy.
you have too much magenta in the mix. If
you see a more orange tinge, that’s
because the yellow value is too high.
CMYK oranges and browns
Getting a nice, bright orange is easy: it’s Cyan and yellow combine to make lovely
two parts yellow, one part magenta (0- green colours. For the most vibrant
50-100-0). results, use them in equal parts and make
Changing the balance of these colours them dense.
will produce mossy greens, a ruch rust
Be careful when making yellow itself
colour, or earthy browns.
darker–it can easily become more of a
Remember, you should always be careful mustard colour. In dense yellow mixtures,
when using black to make the colours the finished colour can look more orange
darker. It can easily make your colours or green.
appear muddy.
Remember, you should always be careful
CMYK yellows and greens when using black to make the colours
darker. It can easily make your colours
appear muddy.

CMYK yellows and greens

Cyan and yellow will produce a lovely Remember, you should always be careful
green colour. For the most vibrant results, when using black to make the colours
put them in equal parts and make them darker. It can easily make your colours
dense. As for yellow itself, be careful appear muddy.
when making it darker. It can easily
become more of a sage or mustard
colour. In dense mixtures, it can become
more orange or green.
CMYK blues
In CMYK, blue is one of the most difficult Remember, you should always be careful
colours to reproduce accurately. To get when using black to make the colours
the colour you want, it’s best to use even darker. It can easily make your colours
and balanced mixtures, like 100-50-0-0. appear muddy.
Otherwise, you’ll get more purple or
green colours.
CMYK purples
Regal purple tones are CMYK friendly. A Remember, you should always be careful
3:2 magenta to cyan ratio is an excellent when using black to make the colours
place to start (79-100-0-0). darker. It can easily make your colours
appear muddy.

CMYK pinks
Pinks in CMYK printing are all about the Remember, you should always be careful
magenta. To make your pinks really pop, when using black to make the colours
the magenta levels should be high, and darker. It can easily make your colours
the yellow, cyan, and black very low. If appear muddy.
you put too much yellow in, you’ll get
more red hues. Too much cyan, and it’ll
turn purple.
CMYK golds
True metallic gold finish is not possible Foils are also available for some products.
with CMYK printing, but a flat or NMM
Remember, you should always be careful
(non-metallic metal) representation of
when using black to make the colours
gold can be produced. Some examples
darker. It can easily make your colours
are shown below.
appear muddy.
If you want a true metallic finish, you will
need to use a metallic Pantone spot ink
to your design.

CMYK silvers
Just like gold tones, a metallic silver Foils are also available for some products.
finish is not possible with CMYK printing.
Remember, you should always be careful
Flat or NMM (non-metallic metal) colours
when using black to make the colours
are possible, and are shown in the chart
darker. It can easily make your colours
below.
appear muddy.
If you want a true metallic finish, you will
need to use a metallic Pantone spot ink
to your design.

CMYK bright colours

Want your colours to really jump off the colours, the colour mixes below will
page? Although CMYK can never quite ensure the most vivid results for your
reach the backlit-brilliance of RGB printed products.

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