RGB vs CMYK vs PMS - What's the difference?

RGB vs CMYK vs PMS is a bit like the Hatfields and McCoys of the design world. You're never quite sure which one you should use, when, and why! But don't worry; I'm here to break it down for you.

RGB stands for red-green-blue. It's an additive color system that uses light; combine these three basic colors together in various ways and voila!, you get all the hues on your computer monitor or phone screen! This system is used mainly by digital displays like TVs, computers, tablets and yes – phones. And because RGB relies on light to create its spectrum of colors, color matching can be tricky (think sunsets!).

CMYK stands for cyan-magenta-yellow-black (key). It's a subtractive color system best suited for printing on paper or fabric. It works by having a base layer of white then selectively subtracting to achieve other shades. Colors need to be carefully balanced so as not to remain too dark or muddy looking when printed – no surprise there since printers aren’t very good at creating bright hues from scratch either! That’s what makes this method superior in some cases since it allows finer control over each tone produced during the printing process.

PMS refers Pantone Matching System – it’s a proprietary collection of standardized solid inkings created by Pantone Incorporated back in 1963 as away way standardize corporate branding amongst different manufacturers so that companies could maintain brand consistency across any materials they printed onto ranging from business cards all the way up to large scale billboards! Each pigment has been assigned a number value directly related back into their database which makes it easier than ever before to reproduce them with exact accuracy across myriad substrates without issue (provided they have an adequate printer/press setup).

To sum things up: RGB is great if you're going digital while CMYK comes out ahead when using traditional print media due its higher level of control over hue balance and accuracy...and if precision is key then look no further than PMS - it's got everything you need! So go ahead - pick your poison my friends - just remember that behind every great project lies perfect understanding between RGB CMYK & PMS…happy designing :-)