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RGB to CMYK Converter

Color Picker · developer

Convert RGB values to CMYK with a fixed input and output format, live preview of the conversion line, and copy-ready results. All processing runs locally in your browser.

Calculator

From: RGB (red, green, blue)

To: CMYK (print inks)

CMYK and “exact” values

CMYK describes ink on paper; on screen we still use sRGB. This tool uses a simple 0–100% model for preview—not a specific printer ICC profile—so it will not match Photoshop or print shops exactly.

When CMYK is shown as whole percentages, several different RGB colors can round to the same CMYK string. That is normal: CMYK→RGB is not unique. Here, CMYK copied from the Color Picker is converted so it matches the same HEX/RGB shown beside that color on the picker.

For web and UI work, treat HEX / RGB as the stable reference; use CMYK as an approximate print-oriented hint.

About RGB

RGB expresses a color as three integers from 0 to 255 for red, green, and blue in the sRGB space. It matches how screens mix light.

About CMYK

CMYK describes cyan, magenta, yellow, and black ink percentages (0–100%). It is a print-oriented model; on-screen preview still uses RGB.

How to convert RGB to CMYK

Enter a valid RGB value in the calculator. The tool follows the pipeline below: parse your input, hold the color as sRGB (with alpha when relevant), then format the result as CMYK.

Accepted shapes include CSS-like functions (e.g. rgb(...), hsl(...)) and compact comma-separated numbers where appropriate. Hex may include or omit the leading #.

Conversion procedure

  1. Parse RGB: accept either a CSS function rgb(r, g, b) or three numbers separated by commas. Whitespace is ignored. Each of R, G, B must be an integer or decimal within 0–255; values outside that range are treated as invalid input.
  2. Resolve to internal sRGB: the three integers are taken as R, G, B directly in sRGB. Alpha is fixed at 1 because plain RGB carries no transparency in this tool.
  3. Build CMYK: let r,g,b be 0–1. K = 1 − max(r,g,b). If K = 1, the result is (0,0,0,100). Otherwise C, M, Y are computed as (1 − r − K)/(1 − K) etc., multiplied by 100, and rounded to integer percentages for display: cmyk(c%, m%, y%, k%).
  4. Finalize: the result string is what you copy from the calculator. The line under the fields summarizes the path in short form (CMYK ← sRGB ← RGB). Rounding is intentional so values read like typical CSS; tiny differences versus other apps can still appear because of integer hue, saturation, lightness/value, or ink percentages.
  5. CMYK reminder: this model is a screen-side approximation. For print-critical work, follow your printer or PDF export profile; use HEX/RGB on this site as the authoritative on-screen reference.

Example

Input (RGB): 52, 152, 219

Output (CMYK): cmyk(76%, 31%, 0%, 14%)

Summary

This page converts RGB input into CMYK output. The numbered “Conversion procedure” above is the full breakdown: validation and parsing, conversion to a single internal sRGB (+ alpha) sample, derivation of CMYK coordinates from that sample, and final rounding to the strings you see in CSS-oriented tools. The same pipeline runs in your browser as you type.

Relationship context

RGB (red, green, blue) and CMYK (print inks) are different ways to describe the same sRGB color (except CMYK, which is an approximate ink model). Converting RGB → CMYK does not change the underlying color within the limits of each notation; it only changes how numbers are written.

Example conversions

Sample RGB values and the matching CMYK output using the same rules as the calculator.

RGB inputCMYK output
0, 0, 0cmyk(0%, 0%, 0%, 100%)
255, 255, 255cmyk(0%, 0%, 0%, 0%)
231, 76, 60cmyk(0%, 67%, 74%, 9%)

More color format converters

Other dedicated pages (fixed input and output types). Open the Color Picker for the full list.

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