What is the difference between CMYK and RGB for printing?
RGB is how screens make color with light; CMYK is how presses make it with ink. Some vivid RGB colors — bright blues, neon greens, hot pinks — have no ink equivalent and shift when printed. Apex files are RGB, which is what home printers and most online labs expect; they convert on their side, and a little shift on saturated colors is normal, not a defect.
- 01
When to convert yourself
Only if a commercial printer asks for CMYK. Then convert in an editor with the printer's profile, look at what shifts, and adjust. Converting blind and sending it is how prints come back dull.
- 02
When not to
Home inkjets and consumer labs take RGB and handle the conversion better than a generic conversion would. Sending them CMYK can make things worse.
- 03
What shifts most
Saturated cyan-blues, electric greens, magenta-pinks. Earth tones, greys and most pastels survive intact — which is why breed portraits and minimalist art print predictably.
Are Apex files RGB or CMYK?+
RGB, sRGB. Print labs and home printers expect it.
Will my print match my screen?+
Close, not identical. Screens are backlit; paper is not. Brightness and saturation drop a little on every print from every file.
Should I ask for a proof?+
For anything large or expensive, yes. A small test print costs a dollar and answers the question.
- —Apex does not ship CMYK-converted files or printer-specific profiles.
- —It cannot guarantee a specific printer's color output.
Colors chosen to print.
Minimalist, vintage, watercolor and earth-tone palettes that survive the trip from screen to paper.