Design with print colours

Ever wonder why colours on screens sometimes look different than when they’re printed? That's because screens and printers use different colour models. This results in a different range of colours per model.

To help match the screen and printed colours, you can use CMYK colours while designing. You can also download a CMYK file after.

RGB and CMYK are color models used to build colors. Let’s understand how color models affect the designing and printing experience.

RGB is an additive color model created by mixing red, green, and blue light together, used for digital displays like monitors and phones. Because it’s light-based, RGB can produce bright, saturated, or neon-like colors on your screen.

On the other hand, CMYK is a subtractive color model optimized for paper and physical materials. Colors are built by layering cyan, magenta, yellow, and black inks for printing. Since inks absorb and reflects light, the color range is naturally more limited.

When your design is sent for printing, the colors are automatically converted from RGB values to the closest possible CMYK match.

The conversion works well for most colors. But ultra-bright RGB colors such as electric blues or hot pinks fall “out of gamut”. This means that they can’t be replicated exactly in print, and you might notice these colors appear softer or more muted.

If you’re planning to print your design, we recommend designing with CMYK-safe colors from the start. Designing with the output in mind helps align the colors of your design when printed.

While slight color variations sometimes happen, there are simple ways to help you create designs that look accurate both on screen and in your hands.

While super bright or highly saturated colors (like neon pinks or vivid purples) look great on screen, they may appear more muted or washed out when printed. Choosing slightly lighter versions of these types of colors can help get closer to your intended look. Scroll down to the Using CMYK colors in Canva section, or refer to the image below for the recommended colors.

Your choice of material can influence how colors appear on your final prints. Here's what to expect:

• Gloss and matte finishes on paper products will show very similar color accuracy, with gloss having a shinier surface reflection and matte offering a more subtle appearance. Both translate your screen colors quite well.
• Uncoated and specialty papers (like hemp) may show softer, warm color tones compared to coated options, though the difference is usually minimal.
• Non-paper products like mugs, mouse pads, tote bags, and apparel use different printing methods and materials, which can affect how colors appear compared to your screen. We recommend using the print preview and ordering one printed copy to test color output before placing a larger order.

Nearly every product allows you to order a single copy, making it affordable to test your design before committing to larger quantities. Try experimenting with how the colors will look on different paper finishes and make any tweaks before your big order. Learn more about ordering prints.

The Canva editor uses colors in hex. codes, which are a compact way of expressing RGB values. To work with print-friendly CMYK colors, you can use online color pickers to convert CMYK values into hex format, then input these converted colors in the Canva color palette.

1. Get CMYK colors using online color pickers. Make sure to take note of their HEX codes. Here are some sites you may check:

• Colorffy (HEX to CMYK, RGB to CMYK)
• ConvertAColor

2. Input the CMYK color hex codes from the editor or in a color palette. Learn more about changing element color and setting up color palettes.

3. Use CMYK colors in the elements on your design.

If you’re not happy with the colors on your Canva Print order, contact us and we’ll do our best to provide you with a solution.