Need to show a print color on screen? Converting CMYK to RGB gives you the light-based equivalent of your ink percentages, the values a monitor, a mockup or a web page can actually display.
How CMYK to RGB conversion works
- Take the four percentages as ink amounts for the Coated FOGRA39 profile.
- Read the color the profile prints for that ink mix, using the relative colorimetric intent with black point compensation.
- Convert that color to sRGB. Colors a screen cannot show are clipped to the closest value it can show.
- Round each channel to a whole number between 0 and 255.
Worked example
The RGB result shows how this ink mix looks on coated paper with the standard Coated FOGRA39 profile. Other CMYK profiles (for example from your print shop) give different numbers, and a printed piece never glows like a screen.
CMYK and RGB explained
What is CMYK?
CMYK is the four-ink model used in printing: cyan, magenta, yellow and key (black), each as a percentage from 0 to 100. Ink subtracts light instead of emitting it, so CMYK covers fewer colors than a screen, which is why bright screen colors often look duller once they are printed.
- Syntax:
- cmyk(C%, M%, Y%, K%)
- Range:
- 0–100% per ink
- Best for:
- print, packaging, press-ready artwork
What is RGB?
RGB describes a color as three channels of light (red, green and blue), each from 0 to 255. It mirrors how screens actually work: all three at 255 give white, all at 0 give black. RGB is the right choice whenever you need to calculate with a color, and rgba() adds transparency on top.
- Syntax:
- rgb(R, G, B)
- Range:
- 0–255 per channel
- Best for:
- code, canvas, transparency with rgba()
CMYK to RGB reference table
The most common CSS colors, converted from CMYK to RGB.
| Color | CMYK | RGB |
|---|---|---|
| black | cmyk(89%, 78%, 62%, 97%) | rgb(1, 1, 1) |
| white | cmyk(0%, 0%, 0%, 0%) | rgb(255, 255, 255) |
| red | cmyk(0%, 95%, 92%, 0%) | rgb(229, 36, 32) |
| lime | cmyk(64%, 0%, 100%, 0%) | rgb(105, 180, 45) |
| blue | cmyk(93%, 75%, 0%, 0%) | rgb(44, 74, 154) |
| yellow | cmyk(9%, 0%, 96%, 0%) | rgb(244, 230, 0) |
| orange | cmyk(0%, 43%, 94%, 0%) | rgb(246, 162, 22) |
| teal | cmyk(83%, 27%, 48%, 12%) | rgb(9, 129, 128) |
| purple | cmyk(63%, 100%, 4%, 1%) | rgb(125, 33, 126) |
| gray | cmyk(48%, 39%, 39%, 21%) | rgb(129, 128, 127) |