CMYK color charts and values

Some colors are much more challenging to reproduce perfectly in print. The charts below contain a series of CMYK colors that are known to be reliable for offset printing.

While we cannot offer exact color matching, we can recommend these relatively safe choices for your designs. Using these charts will help you achieve greater consistency in accurate color reproduction.

The ‘base’ color is displayed on the left of each row. As you progress to the right, the color values decrease gradually. The lower rows in each chart show secondary colors.

Please note that your monitor settings may affect what you see on your screen vs. the finished product from a printer. Inkjet or laser printers may also produce varying results based on settings. If precise color is vital to your project, we recommend that you purchase a proof of your print job to see exactly how it will look in print.

Standard black (the K in CMYK) is essentially made from shades of grey. How black the black looks is based on density, on a scale of 1 to 100.

Rich black is created by blending all of the CMYK colours, resulting in a more rich and saturated tone. Make sure not to over-saturate the paper by setting all colours to the 100 maximum. For best results, try some of the values shown in the chart below.

Remember, you should always be careful when using black to make the colours darker. It can easily make your colours appear muddy.

Read our black vs. rich black guide

Red can often appear orange or rusty when printing. When this happens, you need to look at your levels of magenta and yellow. If your red looks too pinkish, you have too much magenta in the mix. If you see a more orange tinge, that’s because the yellow value is too high.

Remember, you should always be careful when using black to make the colours darker. It can easily make your colours appear muddy.

Getting a nice, bright orange is easy: it’s two parts yellow, one part magenta (0-50-100-0).
Changing the balance of these colours will produce mossy greens, a rich rust colour, or earthy browns.

Remember, you should always be careful when using black to make the colours darker. It can easily make your colours appear muddy.

CMYK yellows and greens

Cyan and yellow combine to make lovely green colours. For the most vibrant results, use them in equal parts and make them dense.

Be careful when making yellow itself darker–it can easily become more of a mustard colour. In dense yellow mixtures, the finished colour can look more orange or green.

Remember, you should always be careful when using black to make the colours darker. It can easily make your colours appear muddy.

Cyan and yellow will produce a lovely green colour. For the most vibrant results, put them in equal parts and make them dense. As for yellow itself, be careful when making it darker. It can easily become more of a sage or mustard colour. In dense mixtures, it can become more orange or green.

Remember, you should always be careful when using black to make the colours darker. It can easily make your colours appear muddy.

In CMYK, blue is one of the most difficult colours to reproduce accurately. To get the colour you want, it’s best to use even and balanced mixtures, like 100-50-0-0. Otherwise, you’ll get more purple or green colours.

Remember, you should always be careful when using black to make the colours darker. It can easily make your colours appear muddy.

Regal purple tones are CMYK friendly. A 3:2 magenta to cyan ratio is an excellent place to start (79-100-0-0).

Remember, you should always be careful when using black to make the colours darker. It can easily make your colours appear muddy.

Pinks in CMYK printing are all about the magenta. To make your pinks really pop, the magenta levels should be high, and the yellow, cyan, and black very low. If you put too much yellow in, you’ll get more red hues. Too much cyan, and it’ll turn purple.

Remember, you should always be careful when using black to make the colours darker. It can easily make your colours appear muddy.

True metallic gold finish is not possible with CMYK printing, but a flat or NMM (non-metallic metal) representation of gold can be produced. Some examples are shown below.

If you want a true metallic finish, you will need to use a metallic Pantone spot ink to your design. 
Foils are also available for some products.

Remember, you should always be careful when using black to make the colours darker. It can easily make your colours appear muddy.

Just like gold tones, a metallic silver finish is not possible with CMYK printing. Flat or NMM (non-metallic metal) colours are possible, and are shown in the chart below.

If you want a true metallic finish, you will need to use a metallic Pantone spot ink to your design. 
Foils are also available for some products.

Remember, you should always be careful when using black to make the colours darker. It can easily make your colours appear muddy.

Want your colours to really jump off the page? Although CMYK can never quite reach the backlit-brilliance of RGB colours, the colour mixes below will ensure the most vivid results for your printed products.