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 displaying 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.

Published: 2006