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Adobe RGB
Adobe RGB (1998) is a colour space developed by Adobe in 1998, designed to encompass most colours achievable on CMYK colour printers.
Adobe RGB, schematic. Shapes are drawn for illustration.
What the sources say
| Point | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Coverage | About 50 percent of CIE visible colours against about 35 percent for sRGB | Wikipedia |
| Volume | Roughly 40 percent more volume than sRGB, mainly in cyan-greens | Cambridge in Colour |
| Reflective colours | Encompasses most reflective colours, with only a few reds and cyans out of gamut | Imatest |
| Web | sRGB has become the standard for images on the internet | Cambridge in Colour |
| Printer | The printer decides whether the extra colours reach the print; check the printer profile | Cambridge in Colour |
For wall art
Most web and phone images are sRGB, so an Adobe RGB file only helps when the whole chain, including the printer, can use the wider range.
Where the sources stop
The coverage figure (about 50 percent of visible colours) and the volume figure (about 40 percent more than sRGB) are different measures from different sources, so do not read them as one comparison.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Adobe RGB color space (fetched 2026-11-12)
- Cambridge in Colour: sRGB vs Adobe RGB 1998 (fetched 2026-11-12)
- Imatest documentation: printer gamuts, total and practical (fetched 2026-11-12)
Figures from these pages are paraphrased; each page was fetched and read on 2026-11-12. Where two sources differ, both are shown.