A quick guide to colour and file format

Colour

Different colour codes are used for each means of reproduction:

Pantone (PMS)

Used to produce decorative colour printing in screen and offset.
Stands for Pantone Matching System. The C or U that follows the colour code stands for Coated (paper) and Uncoated (paper) respectively.

CMYK

Used for four-colour printing. Suitable programs to work with CMYK are, for example, Adobe Illustrator and InDesign. Stands for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Keycolour (black). CMYK colours are described with a percentage for each colour.

RGB

Also used to indicate the colours on a computer screen. Suitable programs are Microsoft Word and PowerPoint, etc.
Stands for Red, Green and Blue. RGB colours are described with a value from 0-255 for each colour. All digital images work in the RGB colour space.

HEX

Used, for example, for web pages and in programs such as Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
The colour value consists of three pairs of numbers and/or letters (0-9 and A-F).

NCS

Used for textile printing and paint varnishes.
Stands for Natural Color System and is a colour system based on a division into lightness, colour and saturation.

File formats

Different file formats are suitable for different purposes. Graphic elements, such as logos, can be made up of pixels or lines. The line-based formats are primarily used in professional graphic production, while pixel composites can be used both professionally in images and in the office, e.g. in Microsoft Word and PowerPoint.

Ai

Used for both object (vector) graphics and pixel graphics. A line-based format that enables scalability. Ai is preferable when creating paper-based printed materials or printing on clothing and signs.
Stands for Adobe Illustrator.

JPEG

Used mainly for photographs and for the web. A pixel-based format.
Stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group. Very effective for compression, but with loss of quality.

PNG

Used for both graphics and photographs, as well as the web. A pixel-based format. A png file can have a transparent background and can be incorporated into in PowerPoint and Word files with perfect results.
Stands for Portable Network Graphics.

Indd

Indd stands for Adobe InDesign and is a program used to create layouts and printed matter, such as business cards, signs, brochures, etc. All the above file formats can be set up in InDesign, but a line-based format is preferable because it allows unlimited scalability.