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Check print colours for total ink, RGB in a CMYK job, rich black and registration black

Colour mode checkFreeFor designers

25/day

free runs a day, no sign-in.

Before: what you give it

The example input, as typed in. You paste text, CSS, markup or notes.

colors:
  #0a0a0a
  #00ff66
  cmyk(100,100,100,100)
  C=60 M=40 Y=40 K=100
  PANTONE 485 C
  cmyk(0,0,0,100)
  rgb(255,255,255)
stock: coated
smallest_text_pt: 8

After: what comes back

The first lines of a real run on that input. Nothing here is edited by hand.

Colour check (7 line(s), stock: coated, TAC limit 300% as a convention)

- #0a0a0a: rgb -> C0 M0 Y0 K96, TAC 96%
- #00ff66: rgb -> C100 M0 Y60 K0, TAC 160%
- cmyk(100,100,100,100): cmyk -> C100 M100 Y100 K100, TAC 400%
- C=60 M=40 Y=40 K=100: cmyk -> C60 M40 Y40 K100, TAC 240%
- PANTONE 485 C: spot
- cmyk(0,0,0,100): cmyk -> C0 M0 Y0 K100, TAC 100%
- rgb(255,255,255): rgb -> C0 M0 Y0 K0, TAC 0%

- [high] cmyk(100,100,100,100): total ink 400% is over 300% for coated stock. Too much ink dries slowly, sets off onto the next sheet, and can crack when folded. (cmyk(100,100,100,100)) Fix: Lower the ink values, or ask the printer for their TAC and profile.
- [high] cmyk(100,100,100,100) is 400% "registration black". It is for crop marks only; as artwork it floods the press. (cmyk(100,100,100,100)) Fix: Use 60/40/40/100 (rich black, 240%) for large areas, or 0/0/0/100 for text.
- [medium] #00ff66 is a vivid, near-pure screen colour. RGB gamut is wider than CMYK; neon greens, bright blues and oranges print duller (see the library's 365 Graphic Design Sins on RGB vs CMYK gamut). (#00ff66) Fix: Soft-proof in the target CMYK profile, or choose a spot colour.
... full output on the tool page

What you get

Each colour's mode, naive CMYK for RGB, total ink against a stock limit, and per-line warnings

What it cannot do

Naive conversion with no colour management; the TAC limits are conventions and your printer's figure wins.

Who it is for

  • Designers

Free and Pro

Free25 runs a day per IP address, up to 100,000 characters a run.
ProNo daily limit, 300 requests a minute, up to 200,000 characters a run.

What each plan includes

Use it from your assistant

The tool is called check_colour_mode. Connect the server once, then ask for it by name or just describe the job. Install steps for each app.

claude mcp add --transport http designers https://designers.allthepossibles.com/mcp
curl -X POST https://designers.allthepossibles.com/api/colour-mode-check -H 'content-type: application/json' -d '{"colors":"#0a0a0a\n#00ff66\ncmyk(100,100,100,100)\nC=60 M=40 Y=40 K=100\nPANTONE 485 C\ncmyk(0,0,0,100)\nrgb(255,255,255)","stock":"coated","smallest_text_pt":8}'

Try it here

The form starts with the same example input, so you can run it first and then swap in your own.

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