CMYK/RGB/Hex and what marketing asks for...

[quoz]

I'm in an art department in a manufacturing company. We maintain a collection/catalog of images we use for print brochures, ads, banners, etc. We're not really involved in web development. But we frequently get requests from other areas for images, along with statements such as:

1) "I would like this logo to match our existing logo. Green color (#74be1f). png, svg, jpg, ai."
(My note:  The existing Illustrator logo in our catalog is 61c, 0m, 100y, 0k, and Document Color Mode = CMYK.)

2)  "This will be used in print and digital. May be used on tradeshow banners as well. Can you suggest a size, please."

My way out of this is to explain that I can provide them with an .ai file (or .svg) that they can use at any size, but if they want .jpg or .png, to only use it at the actual size. BUT then my question is:  If I just provide them with files in CMYK color mode, am I risking giving them something that might drastically change color if used digitally?

I really don't want to start populating our collection with various versions using various color modes...

Thanks.

[Bobby Henderson]

I would not recommend using RGB Hex colors for artwork intended for printing, at least not unless the printer doing the work could print wider gamut colors. Many RGB colors go well outside the CMYK gamut range. Unfortunately so many people do not care about details such as the differences between raster and vector art or CMYK and RGB color modes. And they don't want to know either. It's very difficult to idiot proof art files and hope they use the elements properly.

What applications are being used to print these logos?

[quoz]

Hi Bobby Henderson. I agree about not using Hex colors for printing. We always design in CMYK. Is there a way to know if a CMYK color will change drastically if used digitally? Should I change color modes to RGB before giving her a file for web use?

[Bobby Henderson]

If I knew for certain an art file would be used only on the web I would create a vector version of the logo in RGB mode and provide a PNG, JPEG or SVG version. I wouldn't leave it up to others to do the color conversion. Generally, it's much easier going from CMYK to RGB without bad color shifts than going in the reverse direction (RGB to CMYK).

[quoz]

Thanks. To clarify:  The existing logo used as "seed" is CMYK. Assuming I retain a CMYK version of the new logo for print use (we supply X-4 PDFs), is it enough to change the color mode to RGB before I create an .svg file for her web use? (And explaining that "equivalent" colors in various color systems may not "match"?)

(Liked your comment about "idiot proof".... although to be fair, she's no idiot; she's just depending on ME not to be...)

[Bobby Henderson · Accepted solution]

Definitely keep a "master" vector-based art file in CMYK mode for printing purposes. Changing colors to RGB and soft-proofing exported SVG files either in Illustrator or drag-dropped into a web browser window should be good enough. Straight conversions from CMYK to RGB usually work okay, but sometimes the results need to be tweaked. It's kind of a judgment call between holding a printed copy of a logo and deciding how colors should look on electronic screens. Pantone spot colors from a physical swatch book are sometimes a convenient middle ground reference for tweaking colors in CMYK and RGB modes.

[quoz]

Got it, thanks! Didn't know I could test simply by drag&drop of an Illustrator-generated svg into a browser... how simple.

[Bobby Henderson]

Thankfully modern web browsers know how to handle SVG files natively finally. And most people are using either Chrome, Firefox, Safari or Edge. Defunct browsers like Internet Explorer are disappearing from use, although people still using vintage PCs may still be firing it up. I just wish SVG use could become as common as JPEG and PNG for people sharing logo files. I wouldn't have to waste as much time converting client art into vector format (we do bill for the time though); I prefer using that time to do more productive, more creative things.

[quoz]

Couldn't agree more... can't count the number of times I've been asked to create a brochure or display, and was provided with a logo--one that was obviously originally created in a vector program--in the form of a 2" x 2" JPG...