RGB aint CMYK

It's been another busy week at IP, but we have now finally got the time to add another exciting installment to our blog!
It occurred to me the other day, how confusing colour can be! Then I came across a fantastic article that explains RGB and CMYK extremely well. So if you were ever confused about what the printer is talking about when he is huffing and puffing that you have got your artwork in RGB, not CMYK, or you don't actually quite understand what the different processes are all about, then read on!

Colour is colour, right? Wrong! Depending on your application and use, there are two main colour referencing formats you will come across: RGB and CMYK. These two colour formats are for completely different uses, but the result of the two formats is the same to our eyes.

How do you know when each is being used? How does this influence your colour printing projects? These issues and others are the point of this discussion as we delve into the finer points of colour printing.

RGB: the primary colours of light
RGB is an acronym for Red, Green and Blue: the primary colours of light. When your computer monitor or television screen reproduces images, the three primary colours are mixed together in varying shades and strengths. The important distinction here is that light, rather than ink, is used to reproduce an image. Just because a picture looks one way on a monitor or television screen does not mean that it will be reproduced accurately on paper.

CMYK: the primary colours of ink
CMYK is an acronym for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black: the primary colours of ink. When your printer reproduces images, the four primary colours of ink are mixed together in varying shades and strengths.

You are probably noticing the pattern about now, in that RGB and CMYK do the same thing but in different ways. What you have to understand is that RGB references light and CMYK is ink.

What all of this means.
You cannot print in RGB and you cannot view pictures on a monitor in CMYK. So, to answer our first question of how to know when you are using which colour format, monitors display in RGB and printers display in CMYK.

A conversion process has to take place to go from viewing pictures on a monitor to view the same pictures in print. What's more, the conversion is not always perfect or accurate. In response to the question about how this impacts colour printing: there may be differences between what you see on the monitor and what you get back from the print shop. You can compensate for this by calibrating your monitor and through printing proofs to make sure your work is translating properly.

RGB and CMYK are fundamentally different. RGB is how monitors display light. CMYK is how printers reproduce images in ink. You can make sure your colour printing turns out as expected by using a calibrated monitor and by printing proofs to check for any colour variations.

Article Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Kaye_Marks

Keep creative,

James

Helvetica

"A vehicle for social conformity through consumerism"

Or universal clarity and enduring beauty for the modern business?

I was originally going to discuss SEO for websites as a follow-on from my previous blog, but as I can already sense the yawns and the mouse approaching the "next" button I decided to divert after a discussion with fellow colleagues regarding the Helvetica font. I was surprised at the passion that this simple font can evoke and therefore it had to be mentioned in our blog!

So what comes to mind when you think of Helvetica?
A vehicle for social conformity through consumerism?
Or universal clarity and enduring beauty for the modern business?

Let's start from the beginning!
Helvetica was created by Max Miedinger with Eduard Hoffmann at the Haas’sche Schriftgiesserei (Haas type foundry) of Münchenstein, Switzerland. Haas set out to design a new sans-serif typeface that could compete with Akzidenz-Grotesk in the Swiss market. Originally called Neue Haas Grotesk, it was created based on Schelter-Grotesk.
In 1960 the typeface's name was changed by Haas' German parent company Stempel to Helvetica — derived from Confoederatio Helvetica, the Latin name for Switzerland — in order to make it more marketable internationally.

Helvetica is without question a comprehensively diverse font and has undoubtedly helped shaped the landscape of twentieth century graphic design. From a branding point of view Helvetica's message is this: you are going to get to your destination on time; your plane will not crash; your money is safe in our vault; we will not break the package; the paperwork has been filled in; everything is going to be OK. Some might say that this is too safe and welcomes no creativity. But it is sans serif, there are no wiggly bits at the end of the letters. It has smooth, clean lines and an unobtrusive geometry that almost suggests it was designed not to stand out.
I would argue that if your brand is strong enough and design concepts are clear, then Helvetica would merely compliment your individual brand with clarity and enduring beauty.
After all, Helvetica is used by so many modern companies; one of the biggest corporate creative companies, Apple, use Helvetica as their standard font for leopard OSX, and few can argue they are not leaders for design within their many industries? So, really, is it all that bad!?

Lars Mueller, author of "Helvetica: Homage to a Typeface "was quoted as saying, "It has a modern attitude which lines up with the aesthetic premises of the 1950s and 60s".
And Frank Wildenberg, managing director of Linotype, the German firm that owns the font says, "It's durable. It comes from natural design forms. It doesn't have an expression of fashion. It has very clear lines and characters, it looks like a very serious typeface,"

Personally I have to agree with them. I think the font can work well in so many different forms; it is simple and beautifully formed, lending itself to many creative solutions. It is just important to use it right!

Famously, Neville Brody, for all his creativity, would not agree, and did indeed say "When people choose Helvetica they want to fit in and look normal. They use Helvetica because they want to be a member of the efficiency club. They want to be a member of modernism. They want to be a member of no personality. It also says bland, unadventurous, unambitious."

Well...
Last year was the 50th anniversary of Helvetica and in celebration the Helvetica Poster Contest was held. Take a look at our selected favourites from the competition, that we think have some personality!


Hey! and maybe go to our website imprentapronto.com to view what we do with and without Helvetica!

Keep creative,

James

Special Thanks to:
Helvetica NOW Poster Contest
BBC
AisleOne

Welcome

Firstly, Imprenta Pronto would like to welcome the internet nation to our blog. We set this up to allow a creative forum for everyone to enjoy and express themselves, be it designers discovering a new font, advertisers loving (or hating) a new advert, printers bragging about their new machine, or to just find some helpful advice!

At Imprenta Pronto we offer a vast amount of services. Printing, design, branding, marketing and web. Today I thought we'd talk about the web and the exciting new developments.
With social networking reaching a peek and blogging making people's lives, interests and work far more accessible, will we see a downfall of the commercial website?
Could you imagine a world run by Facebook, Myspace and Bebo and the numerous blogging sites out there? An advertising dream no doubt! But what would it all mean for us?
Personally I think that the more viable it becomes, the more we will find people wanting to break free for some individuality. There are many fantastic-looking blogging sites but here are a quick few of our favorite individually-designed sites!

A good website should not only look great but function well and, most of all, be as user-friendly as possible.

Sometimes it's a case of the simpler the better; it all depends on your target audience.

www.elstonhardwoodflooring.com/

This site is a perfect example of a creative but unique looking site. Something different.

www.klassiker-in-acryl.de/

This is a fun and creative site. Well done, guys!

www.themattinator.com

Now for the plug! A great example of a website that is creative but still kept clean and simple, even with a large number of categories, making it very user-friendly.
For web services, hosting and registration please go to http://www.imprentapronto.com/. Oh, and while you're there, please view our other services!

www. imprentapronto.com

Keep creative,

James