What is CMYK?
CMYK – also called CYM or YMCK – is a subtractive color model used in color printing. A color model is a mathematical model for describing colors as tuples of numbers, usually 3-4 color components or values. CMYK stands for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Key (black), and the color model describes a formula for creating other colors by mixing pigments of these colors in varying amounts.
CMYK stands for cyan, magenta, yellow, and key, or black. These are the four colors of ink used in the traditional method of printing hardcopies of images, called offset printing. The three colors, plus black, roughly correspond to the primary colors, from which can be mixed colors across the visible spectrum. CMYK is a color mixing system that depends on chemical pigments to achieve the desired hues. Before the advent of desktop inkjet or color laser printers, most images printed on paper used offset printing with CMYK colors. A color picture is separated into its separate, constituent parts to create four related pictures in cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. Each image is made into a plate onto which the right concentration, or amount, of colored ink is applied. When the four plates each print onto a page, the colors recombine and form the original image. For example, a deep plum might have equal amounts of cyan (blue-green) and magenta (pink), with a tinge of black. Of course, CMYK
Stands for “Cyan Magenta Yellow Black.” These are the four basic colors used for printing color images. Unlike RGB (red, green, blue), which is used for creating images on your computer screen, CMYK colors are “subtractive.” This means the colors get darker as you blend them together. Since RGB colors are used for light, not pigments, the colors grow brighter as you blend them or increase their intensity.
• Answer: Four Colour Process Printing’, which is also known as ‘Full Colour Printing’, is a widely used printing technique. The system uses four base colours – Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black. By using combinations of these in various tints, it is possible to produce virtually every colour imaginable!
