Explain the difference between RGB color mode and CMYK color mode and when you should use each in Photoshop.

• A. RGB is for on-screen digital work; CMYK is for print. Use RGB for web graphics and screen-based work; convert to CMYK when preparing for print and anticipate color shifts.
• B. RGB uses black and white only; CMYK uses color.
• C. RGB and CMYK are identical.
• D. RGB is for print; CMYK for web.

Answer: (A)

Color modes reflect how color is produced and where it will be seen. RGB is an additive color space used for on‑screen work because it creates colors by blending light from red, green, and blue; it tends to produce very bright, saturated colors and supports a broad gamut, which is ideal for digital displays. CMYK is a subtractive color space designed for printing with inks; it blends cyan, magenta, yellow, and black, producing colors by absorbing light, and its gamut is more limited than RGB, which means some RGB hues can’t be reproduced exactly on paper.

In Photoshop and similar workflows, you design for the medium first: for web and screen graphics, stay in RGB. When the project will be printed, convert to CMYK before sending it to the printer so you can see how colors will look with ink and adjust accordingly. Since converting from RGB to CMYK can shift colors, it’s common to soft-proof or view with the printer’s ICC profile to anticipate adjustments and keep colors as faithful as possible.