CMYK: the backbone of print
When it comes to print and product packaging, colour is more than just an aesthetic choice – it is a core part of a company’s brand identity. CMYK stands for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Key (Black). It’s the industry’s model for colour printing, and forms the building blocks for almost everything you see in physical media.
By layering and combining these four primary colours, printers can reproduce a wide spectrum – from soft shades to bold, eye-catching tones. As a consumer of print, you rarely notice it, but CMYK is everywhere, from the glossy brochures at estate agents to the paper sleeve wrapped around your weekly tub of houmous.
For companies like Stag Print, colour consistency is vital to success – especially in packaging, as it is often the first thing a potential customer sees. To ensure this, our team is highly trained, and our machines are calibrated to print to ISO standards and supported by state-of-the-art colour management systems.
Beyond CMYK
As versatile as the CMYK model is, it does have some limitations. Not every shade can be perfectly created with just four inks – think metallic golds, vivid fluorescents, or even an opaque white base layer that is vital for printing on KraftPak® paperboard or clear substrates. At Stag Print, our highly experienced team are able to offer these services too.
The modern-day challenge
So much of the media we consume these days is on screens and digital displays, but these rely on a different model – RGB (Red, Green, Blue). RGB is an additive model, whereas CMYK is subtractive: RGB creates colours by adding light, with all wavelengths combining to produce white, on the other hand CMYK creates colours by applying ink to a surface, all coming together to produce black.
The challenge comes when trying to replicate on screen visuals to paper. Whilst most modern design software handles conversion well, one critical factor remains. Screen displays have a backlight which impacts the brightness and visual intensity, something that paper cannot do. Fortunately, there are ways to compensate for this and our team is on hand to offer advice.
So…
CMYK is more than just ink – it’s the foundation of print and packaging, and a vital yet often overlooked part of everyday life. Achieving excellence requires expertise: from maintaining consistent tones across an entire brand range, to knowing when specialty inks or finishes are needed, and that’s where Stag Print excels.
If you want your print and packaging to stand out and strengthen your brand identity, get in touch with us today.