Creating CMYK colours with Canva Pro

*Scroll to the bottom of this article if you need more information about the difference between onscreen and printed colours.

Although your design in Canva is created using HEX codes, Canva Pro can convert a HEX code to CMYK values through the 'Brand Kit'. This allows you to use our Paper Values Colour Chart and match your Canva Pro designs to our stocks!

You won't see any colour difference in Canva when you add the CMYK colour (compared to the HEX colour chosen). The conversion works 'behind the scenes' - but it does work if correctly set up! You can add as many CMYK colour conversions as you like in your Brand Kits.

How to create a CMYK colour from the HEX colour in Canva Pro

1. Navigate to the 'Brand' tab on the left and + Add New to create a new Brand Kit. Name and save your Brand Kit, and then in the 'Colors' section + Add New to create a new colour palette.

2. Pick a HEX colour from the Solid Color slider that looks similar to the CMYK colour you want (it doesn't matter what HEX colour you choose, but visually you might prefer to design in approximately the right colour).

3. Click + Add CMYK and input the values of the CMYK using a comma between each number. (We've chosen the CMYK values from our Paper Colour Values Chart for Bloom Cornflower in this example).

3. We'd recommend naming your swatches with the CMYK values or the Peterkin Paper name to make sure you're using the correct one. You can then use the colour/s swatches you've saved in your Brand Kit in your designs.

4. When sharing the file to create the PDF YOU MUST save as PDF Print and choose CMYK for the colour profile. If you don't then the file will not convert the colours to CMYK.

Background info

Whether it's your phone, or a computer monitor, all colours display using three colours (RGB). Colours on screen look much brighter and more vibrant because of the brightness of your screen.

Canva uses the HEX colour system which is a method of accurately creating any RGB colour using a six-digit code made up of numbers and letters.

Digital printing uses four colours CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black), that when blended produce a spectrum of 1000s of colours. 

Some HEX/RGB colours are impossible to accurately replicate with printing, AND every screen is a bit different too, so always expect a variation from what you see onscreen - to the printed result.

HEX/RGB colours onscreen	Adjusted to visualise the printed CMYK result

Related articles

Good to know facts about digital colour printing

How can I find out the CMYK values to match Peterkin paper stocks?