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There is a lot that goes into printing and file types, and not much of it is simply explained. There’s a reason there’s entire professions, degrees, and resources designed for this exact niche. It’s easy to tell someone to make sure something is in one color mode or another, or what file type to save things as. It’s a little harder to explain if and why certain file types have to be one way or another.
A JPG can have CMYK color because it depends on the color mode used when creating the file. Any file intended for print should be in CMYK so that it is compatible with printers without the loss of color quality.
JPGs are the ideal file type for printing pictures or other files with a high number of of colors. CMYK is what printers use to make prints, which is likely what is the end goal for photography. Therefore, JPGs and CMYK can definitely work in tandem. Keep reading to find out more about JPGs and CMYK color.
What is a JPG?
JPG, also known as JPEG, stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group. It is a highly compressed file type comprised of many pixels. Initially, it was a file type intended for photography but has expanded well past that into being one of the most common file types found anywhere.
It breaks images down into tiny pixels and uses those to save color and data in tiny packages unlike some other file types. The downfall of this is that it cannot support transparency or be easily resized. However, it is a very lightweight type that has a multitude of uses from web to print.
What is CMYK Color?
CMYK Color stands for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Key. Key almost always means Black, but in some specialty machines it can be another color. It is a subtractive color mode, meaning that the darker it is the more color is in it. This is the color mode used in printing due to the fact that printers cannot print light, which is what the additive color mode RGB does in order to make colors.
While it doesn’t have as many colors possible as what is digital, CMYK is still capable of doing a huge range of colors. Files intended for print should be saved if not designed entirely in a CMYK color mode in order to ensure there are no surprises from the screen to the page. Some specialty printers can do the conversion themselves, but that always leaves a high risk of quality degradation.
Can a JPG Have CMYK Color?
A JPG definitely can have CMYK color. These are not mutually exclusive and are not even the same thing. Whereas a JPG is the whole file type, CMYK is the color mode. JPGs were initially designed to be lightweight file types for photographs, and the only thing a printer can print truly is CMYK. Therefore, it would be extremely silly if the file intended for photographs, something that almost always needs to be printed, could not handle CMYK Color.
The main thing to remember is that most programs are going to try and be RGB as they themselves are digital. This color mode will need to be changed. If it is possible in the program, it’s going to vary as to how exactly to change it.
Pros of the JPG File Type
JPGs are one of the most commonly used file types. It’s a well-established file type that is recognized by many programs, web, and print. Not to mention, they also take fewer resources to make and store on most devices. Therefore, there are quite a few pros to using them.
Such pros include:
- Highly compressed
- Lightweight file size
- Useful in both print and web
- Recognizable by printers
- Accepts both RGB and CMYK color modes
- Massive support across various programs and devices
While other file types might be able to preserve more of the quality or digital information of the file, a JPG can be more easily recognized and supported by other programs, devices, and services. Quality loss is relatively minimal as long as it isn’t saved or edited to frequently, making it an excellent choice for printed work.
Cons of the JPG File Type
Nothing is perfect, and that includes JPGs. While the file type is good for some things, it unfortunately is not going to be the solution to every problem or a perfect file type for every need. While the file type does have a lot of good points, it also has a handful of cons that should be considered when selecting how to save.
Such cons include:
- Repetitive saving causes it to lose quality
- Does not support transparency
- It will make anything pixelized
- Not easily edited
- Unable to be cleanly resized
For professional photography or highly complex designs, utilizing bigger file types such as TIFF, RAW, or EPS would be more beneficial due to the lack of extreme compression. Any file that needs to be freely scaled needs to be saved in a vector format, while those needing transparency, animation, or other complex data really should be saved as another file type instead.
Conclusion
JPGs are an extremely common file type. It was initially designed to be a lightweight file for photography. Since it is meant for something that often needs to be printed, it has to have compatibility with the printers in order to do so. Printers use CMYK color in order to make colors people can see and recognize. While it doesn’t have as many colors as RGB, it is the only thing that printers can do.
