Professional online OKLCH to CMYK color converter tool for print design and publishing. Convert OKLCH (Oklab Lightness Chroma Hue) color values to CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Key/Black) format with precision for high-quality print production workflows.
Transform modern OKLCH color codes to print-ready CMYK color space using our free OKLCH to CMYK converter, ensuring accurate color reproduction for professional printing, offset printing, and commercial design projects.
Experience our advanced OKLCH to CMYK color conversion tool with real-time preview, interactive sliders, and instant CMYK values for professional print design workflows.
OKLCH (Oklab Lightness Chroma Hue) is a polar coordinate representation of the Oklab color space, representing a major breakthrough in modern color science. Developed by Björn Ottosson in 2020, it was specifically designed to address the perceptual uniformity deficiencies of traditional color spaces. OKLCH uses three dimensions to describe colors: Lightness, Chroma, and Hue, providing a representation method that better aligns with human visual perception characteristics.
Range: 0.0-1.0
Represents the brightness of the color, 0 is pure black, 1 is pure white
Range: 0.0-0.4
Represents color saturation, 0 is gray, higher values are more vivid
Range: 0°-360°
Represents the position on the color wheel, like red, green, blue, etc.
CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Key/Black) is the standard color model for the printing industry, based on subtractive color mixing principles. Unlike displays that use additive color mixing (RGB), CMYK produces various colors by overlaying different densities of semi-transparent inks on white paper. This model directly corresponds to the four basic inks of printing presses: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Key/Black.
Absorbs red light, reflects blue-green light
Absorbs green light, reflects red-blue light
Absorbs blue light, reflects red-green light
Enhances contrast and detail
Theoretically, Cyan + Magenta + Yellow should produce black, but in actual printing:
OKLCH to CMYK conversion is a complex color space transformation process involving the conversion from a perceptually uniform modern color space to a print-oriented subtractive model. Due to the different fundamental principles of the two color spaces, the conversion process requires intermediate color spaces (typically RGB) and considers gamut mapping and printing characteristics.
Polar to Cartesian conversion
A = C × cos(H°)
B = C × sin(H°)
Through XYZ color space
Matrix transformations
Gamma correction
Subtractive model conversion
Black separation algorithm
Ink optimization
// 1. Normalize RGB values (0-255 → 0-1)
R' = R / 255, G' = G / 255, B' = B / 255
// 2. Calculate Black (K) component
K = 1 - max(R', G', B')
// 3. Calculate CMY components
C = (1 - R' - K) / (1 - K)
M = (1 - G' - K) / (1 - K)
Y = (1 - B' - K) / (1 - K)
// 4. Convert to percentages
C%, M%, Y%, K% = C×100, M×100, Y×100, K×100
OKLCH and CMYK have different gamut ranges, which is a key issue that requires special attention during the conversion process. OKLCH is based on modern display technology and supports wider gamuts, while CMYK is limited by the physical properties of printing inks and has a relatively smaller gamut. Understanding these differences is crucial for achieving optimal print results.
When OKLCH colors exceed the CMYK gamut, appropriate gamut mapping algorithms must be employed:
Before conversion, check if OKLCH colors are within CMYK reproducible range:
Monitor and control total ink coverage to avoid printing issues:
Adjust conversion parameters according to specific printing conditions:
Convert traditional CMYK print colors to modern OKLCH format for digital workflow upgrades.
Convert OKLCH colors to RGB format for digital display and web applications.
Convert OKLCH values to hexadecimal color codes for CSS and web development use.