Core_Computer Studies: CYMK colour mode

CYMK refers to the printing inks used in four-color process printing. These are Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black. As white light strikes translucent inks, a portion of the spectrum is absorbed. Color that is not absorbed is reflected back to your eye.

In theory, pure cyan , magenta , and yellow pigments should combine to absorb all color and produce black; for this reason they are also called subtractive colors. Because all printing inks contain some impurities, these three inks actually produce a muddy brown and must be combined with black ink to produce a true black.

These colors can be combined and printed to emulate a wide number of other colors. If you look carefully (using a magnifying glass) at a printed color photograph in any magazine or book, you'll see that it's made up of rows of tiny dots called a halftone screen. The dots are placed at different angles and fool your eye into seeing a full spectrum of colors.Combining these inks to reproduce color is called four-color process printing.

For a graphics file to be printed in CMYK, it must be converted or created in that color mode. A different sheet of film is created for each color. For the computer to tell the machine that produces the film, what to put on each sheet of film, the computer image must be in CMYK format.

So, why do we refer to these four ink colors as CMYK and not CMYB? Well, its to avoid confusion - me I think the solution is confusing but that's another matter. Quite simply, it's so that no one will be confused into thinking that the last color is Blue rather than Black.

The other main colour mode that you encounter is RGB.

These notes are written for students who undertake the Core Computer course at School of Art, Australian National University. Students of the course should feel free to contact any member of staff with comments questions and general suggestions..

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