---
title: The ultimate guide to RGB | Oppaca
description: What is RGB and what it is used for?
---

[Oppaca Blog ](https://www.oppaca.com/en/blog)

# [The ultimate guide to RGB | Oppaca](https://www.oppaca.com/en/blog/font-color/what-rgb-what-it-used)

 Written by [Federica Artuffo](https://www.oppaca.com/en/blog/author/federica-artuffo) | May 25, 2022 12:24:40 PM

##### How can our eyes perceive the colors of what’s around us?  Let’s find out how a brief story of colour and how we can see it.

 

**Newton **was the first who defined that **color **is not inherent in objects. Rather, the surface of an object reflects some colors and absorbs all the others. For this reason what our eyes can perceive are only the reflected colors. Thus, red is not "in" an apple. The surface of the apple is reflecting the wavelengths we see as red and absorbing all the rest. In other words an object appears white when it reflects all wavelengths and black when it absorbs them all.

Now that we've established how we see all the colors, let's discuss how a **color **is produced.

 

### **So how are produced the colors we see? What is RGB?**

Color creation is rooted in the **RGB **system. But what is **RGB**?  
**RGB **stands for "**Red Green Blue**”. **RGB **refers to three hues of light that can be mixed together to create different **colors**. Combining red, green, and blue light is the standard method of producing **color images on screens**, such as TVs, computer monitors, and smartphone screens.

The **RGB **color model is an "**additive**" model. When 100% of each color is mixed together, it creates white light. When 0% of each color is combined, no light is generated, creating black. It is sometimes contrasted with **CMYK **(cyan, yellow, magenta, and black), the standard color palette used to create printed images.  
For more infos about **CMYK, **go check our article ["What is CMYK? What is it used for (in the printing industry)?”](https://www.labelado.com/en/blog/2019/11/19/what-cmyk-what-it-used-printing-industry/)on **Labelado **blog.

Let’s see more precisely what does it mean to be an **additive model**.

 

### **What does it mean to be an additive model?**

The **RGB color model **is **additive **in the sense that the three light beams (one red, one green, and one blue) are added together, and their light spectra add to make the final **color's spectrum**. Each of the three beams is called a component of that **color**, and each of them can have an arbitrary intensity, from fully off to fully on, in the mixture.  
Zero intensity for each component gives the darkest **color **(no light, considered the *black*), and full intensity of each gives a white; the *quality* of this white depends on the nature of the primary light sources, but if they are properly balanced, the result is a neutral white matching the system's white point.

When the intensities for all the components are the same, the result is a shade of gray, darker or lighter depending on the intensity.  
When the intensities are different, the result is a colorized hue, more or less saturated depending on the difference of the strongest and weakest of the intensities of the **primary colors **employed.

 

### **How many colors can be created using RGB?**

The **number of colors **supported by **RGB **depends on how many possible values can be used for red, green, and blue. This is known as "**color depth**" and is measured in bits.  
The most common color depth is 24-bit color, also known as "true color." It supports eight bits for each of the three colors, or 24 bits total. This provides 28, or 256 possible values for red, green, and blue. 256 x 256 x 256 = 16,777,216 total possible colors in the "**true color**" palette.

When displaying a color image on a screen, each pixel has a specific **RGB **value. In 24-bit color, this value is between 0 and 255, where 0 is no color and 255 is full saturation).   
Since each color has 256 possible values, it can also be represented using two hexadecimal values (16 x 16).  
The standard way to display an **RGB value **is to use the **hexadecimal values **for red, green, and blue, preceded by a number symbol, or hashtag.

 

### **Fun fact**

The **human eye **can only distinguish about **seven million colors**, so color depths above 24-bit are rarely used.

 

##### If you need answers about **RGB **and color perception or you want to learn more about a particular topic, write us with this form, and a member of the **Labelado **staff will respond as soon as possible.​​​​​​

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