CMYK vs RGB: What’s the Difference and Why It Matters for Sticker Printing

Your stickers looked perfect on your screen.

Bright. Vibrant. Saturated. Immaculate.

Then they arrived… and suddenly the colours were off. Duller. Darker. Not wrong exactly, but not right either.

Welcome to the silent menace of CMYK vs RGB.

If you’re doing custom sticker printing, choosing the wrong colour mode is one of the fastest ways to accidentally sabotage your own design. And it happens all the time.

In this guide, we’re breaking down:

• What CMYK and RGB actually are

• How they’re different (in plain English)

• Why sticker printing only plays nicely with one of them

• How to set up your artwork correctly the first time

This is the difference between stickers you love and stickers you politely pretend to love.

Let’s get into it.

RGB stands for Red, Green, Blue.

It’s a colour mode used for anything that lives on a screen, phones, computers, tablets, TVs, and the glowing rectangle you’re currently staring at.

How RGB Works

RGB is an additive colour model.

That means:

• Colours are created by adding light

• The more light you add, the brighter things get

• All colours combined = white

This is why RGB colours look so bold and punchy on screen. They’re literally glowing.

Where RGB Is Used

RGB is used for:

• Websites

• Social media graphics

• Digital illustrations

• Anything meant to be viewed digitally

RGB is fantastic for screens.
It is not a print-friendly diva.

CMYK stands for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Key (Black).

This is the colour mode used for printing, including sticker printing.

How CMYK Works

CMYK is a subtractive colour model.

That means:

• Colours are created by layering ink

• The more ink you add, the darker things get

• All colours combined = near-black

Printers don’t use light. They use ink. And ink behaves very differently than pixels.

Where CMYK Is Used

CMYK is used for:

• Stickers

• Packaging

• Posters

• Flyers

• Basically anything physical

If it’s being printed, CMYK is not optional. It’s the law of the land.

Here’s the simplest explanation possible (bookmark this mentally):

RGB is for screens.
CMYK is for print.

If you remember nothing else, remember that.

One-Sentence Featured Snippet Answer

RGB is a colour mode for digital screens, while CMYK is a colour mode designed for printing, making CMYK essential for custom sticker printing.

If you send RGB files to print, you’re gambling. And the house always wins.

RGB can display far more colours than CMYK.

That includes:

• Neon greens

• Electric blues

• Ultra-saturated pinks

Printers physically cannot reproduce some of these colours with ink. So when an RGB file gets converted to CMYK automatically, colours get adjusted, sometimes aggressively.

That’s where disappointment is born.

Stickers are small, bold, and design-heavy. Colour accuracy matters a lot.

Using CMYK:

• Gives you predictable results

• Prevents surprise colour shifts

• Matches what printers can actually produce

If you’re ordering die cut stickers, kiss cut stickers, or egg shell stickers, CMYK ensures what you see is what you stick.

Nothing good. Nothing illegal, but nothing good.

Here’s what typically happens:

1. Your RGB file is automatically converted to CMYK

2. Colours shift without your control

3. Bright tones dull down

4. Blacks turn muddy

5. You email customer support asking “why does this look different?”

We want to spare you that journey.

This is why we strongly recommend following our Artwork File Guide before submitting files.

Let’s make this painfully clear:

Always Use CMYK For:

• Custom sticker printing

• Sticker printing of any kind

• Physical products

• Anything you expect to hold in your hands

RGB is fine during design, but before export? CMYK only.

Black is where things often go sideways.

RGB Black vs CMYK Black

• RGB black = light turned off (very clean)

• CMYK black = ink mixture (can look grey if done wrong)

Using a proper rich black in CMYK ensures:

• Deep, solid blacks

• No washed-out greys

• No sadness

Your artwork will thank you.

The colour mode stays the same, but the impact is especially noticeable on bold sticker formats.

Die Cut Stickers

High-contrast designs and logos benefit massively from correct CMYK setup.

Our die cut stickers rely on clean colour separation to look their best.

Kiss Cut Stickers

Sticker sheets often include multiple designs. Inconsistent colour setup can make the sheet feel chaotic.

Proper CMYK setup keeps our kiss cut stickers looking cohesive.

Egg Shell Stickers

Egg shell stickers are bold by nature. You want colours that commit.

Both die cut egg shell stickers and kiss cut egg shell stickers benefit hugely from CMYK accuracy.

Here’s the safest workflow:

1. Design in RGB if you want (totally fine)

2. Convert to CMYK before export

3. Adjust colours manually after conversion

4. Export using print-ready settings

5. Double-check against a CMYK preview

Yes, it’s extra steps. No, skipping them will not end well.

Again: our Artwork File Guide exists for a reason.

“Printers can just fix it”

They can convert it. They cannot read your mind.

“RGB prints fine most of the time”

Sometimes. Russian roulette also works sometimes.

“It looked good on my screen”

Your screen is lying to you. Politely. But still lying.

Here’s the short version:

• RGB = screens

• CMYK = print

• Sticker printing requires CMYK

• RGB files cause colour shifts

• CMYK gives predictable, accurate results

If you want stickers that look intentional instead of almost right, CMYK is non-negotiable.

We love bold colours. We just prefer them intentional.

Before ordering custom stickers, make sure your files are set up properly using our Artwork File Guide, then choose the sticker format that fits your chaos, die cut, kiss cut, or egg shell.

Your designs deserve better than accidental colour betrayal.