Previewing a print colour
Convert the CMYK spec to RGB to see roughly how it will look on a screen before or after printing.
CMYK to RGB
Convert a CMYK colour to RGB in your browser, to preview a print colour on screen.
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Use CMYK to RGB
Converts cmyk colour to rgb in this tab, with nothing sent anywhere.
Runs entirely on your deviceThe conversion happens in this browser tab. Nothing you type is uploaded, logged or stored, which is worth knowing for anything you would not paste into a search box.
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Browse all general convertersAbout CMYK to RGB
CMYK is the language of print - four ink percentages of cyan, magenta, yellow and black - but you cannot show ink on a screen, so to preview a print colour, or to bring one into a web design, you convert it to RGB. This does the standard arithmetic conversion from the four ink values to the three light channels a screen uses. The same honesty applies as in the other direction: the result is an approximation, because how a CMYK colour actually looks depends on the paper and press it was printed on, which no formula can account for. But for getting a print colour onto a screen as a reasonable preview, or translating a brand colour specified in CMYK into a web value, the conversion is exactly what you need.
Using CMYK to RGB
- The four CMYK percentages are read from the input in any reasonable notation.
- They are normalised, and the standard conversion combines the ink values with the black level.
- Each of the three resulting light channels is scaled to the 0-to-255 range RGB uses.
- The result is written as rgb(r, g, b), ready for a screen or a stylesheet.
- Values are clamped to valid ranges so an out-of-bounds ink figure still produces a colour.
Where cmyk to rgb helps
Bringing a brand colour to the web
A colour given only in CMYK converts to an RGB value you can use in a stylesheet.
Before you use the result
- This is a mathematical conversion. The on-screen result approximates the printed colour but cannot match a specific paper and press.
- A colour that relied on the texture or finish of a particular stock will look different as flat screen colour.
- Alpha has no meaning in CMYK, so the output is opaque.
- For colour-critical work, a managed conversion using the source profile is more accurate than this formula.
- Channels are rounded to whole numbers.
Questions about CMYK to RGB
Is the preview accurate?
It is an approximation. How a CMYK colour actually looks depends on paper and press, which a formula cannot capture.
What input format works?
cmyk() notation or four bare numbers, with or without percent signs.
Does it produce alpha?
No. CMYK has no alpha, so the output is opaque RGB.
Why doesn't it match my print exactly?
Because print colour depends on physical inks and stock. Use a colour-managed conversion for critical matching.
Related tools
RGB to CMYK
Convert an RGB colour to CMYK in your browser, the model print uses.
HSL to RGB
Convert an HSL colour to RGB in your browser.
Hex to CMYK
Convert a hex colour to CMYK in your browser, to take a web colour toward print.