CMYK to RGB

CMYK to RGB Converter

Enter four ink percentages and see the matching RGB channels. cmyk(20%, 40%, 60%, 10%) converts to rgb(184, 138, 92), a light brown similar to camel or tan. It is a quick way to preview a print specification on screen, or to feed a brand color from a print guide into CSS, a canvas drawing, or a slide deck.

How the conversion works

Each colored ink blocks one light primary: cyan blocks red, magenta blocks green, and yellow blocks blue. Black blocks all three. So each RGB channel is what is left after the matching ink and the black ink have taken their share:

• R = 255 × (1 − C) × (1 − K)
• G = 255 × (1 − M) × (1 − K)
• B = 255 × (1 − Y) × (1 − K)

Worked example

For cmyk(20%, 40%, 60%, 10%), the black factor is 1 − 0.10 = 0.9:

That gives rgb(184, 138, 92), or #B88A5C in HEX.

A second example: cmyk(75%, 0%, 50%, 20%) converts to rgb(51, 204, 102), a fresh green.

Useful patterns

• Black only: with C, M, and Y at 0, all three channels are equal, so K alone always produces a neutral gray.
• One ink only: 100% yellow leaves red and green untouched, giving rgb(255, 255, 0).
• Adding black scales every channel down by the same factor, which darkens the color without changing its hue.

Keep in mind

This is the standard device-independent formula. Professional prepress software converts with ICC profiles that model a specific paper and press, so its RGB preview can differ slightly. For proofing brand colors, compare against a printed sample.

To get a HEX code directly, use CMYK to HEX. To go from screen to print, open the RGB to CMYK converter.