What does CMYK stand for?
Four-color printing, as used by standard printers and copying, is based on the use of the following colors:
- Cyan (a greenish light blue)
- Magenta (a violet tending red)
- Yellow (a medium yellow).
Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow are the abbreviation CMY .
- Black is abbreviated as K. K stands for "Key" or "Key plate".
CMYK vs. RGB - what are the differences?
The difference between CMYK and RGB is quickly summarized: CMYK finds use in printing, while RGB refers to screens. RGB stands for red-green-blue (or red, green, blue) and in this case means colors generated by light and light mixtures on screens.
In RGB mode, much more colors can be displayed than in the CMYK color space. You may have noticed that there is a difference between the display on your computer screen and the printed result. Frequently, the colors look less brilliant and glow or soft from the screen display. This is due to the low color space of the CMYK print. For example, some colors can only be transferred from screen to paper using special colors or special inks. The software of your printer ensures that the RGB color space is converted into the smaller CMYK color space. If the printing of an exact color is extremely important to you, you should therefore invest in sample prints.
Cyan - Blue
Cyan is referred to colloquially as blue. It is a light blue tending to green or turquoise. Cyan is therefore a hue, which lies between blue and green. Occasionally he is also written cyan. In four-color printing it is a colorimetrically defined color. In this case, standardized cyan is according to ISO 2846 and ISO 12647 and is usually referred to as pressure cyan or process cyan. The color of the printed color is defined in daylight D50.
Magenta - Red
Magenta is referred to colloquially as red. It is a red blue or bright purple. Magenta was first used as a synonym for the aniline dye Fuchsin. It is also called Fuchsia. The word derives from the Italian city of Magenta near Milan, where during a battle in 1859, so much blood was spilled that the ground turned red. In the RGB color space, magenta denotes the additive mixture of the maximum intensities of red and blue. However, this magenta differs significantly from the magenta of four-color printing.
Yellow - Yellow
Yellow stands for the color yellow, which is probably the best in four-color printing. Restrictions are only available when playing the purest warm yellow tones.
Black - black - also referred to as "K".
The use of the abbreviation "K" for black has two reasons. On the one hand, this should exclude confusion with blue / blue. On the other hand, the K comes from the key plate - the key plate. This key plate is a black printing plate, which ensures color depth, intensity and contrasts. The three colored plates are aligned on this key plate. The black fraction in the print determines the depth of color, i. It serves to darken the colors. Black is also necessary for the achromatic composition of the image, which prevents too many colors from being printed on top of each other.
Are there any other colors beyond CMYK?
Laser Printers work with CMYK toners only. inkjet printers and ink printers used for professional photo printing, for example, can use additional colors to achieve better printer results. Among other things, brighter gradations of magenta, cyan and also gray are used. As a result, the gradations can be reproduced finer and more precisely in brighter printing areas. Some HP Photo Printers, Canon Plotter or Epson Photo printers use this technique.
Common abbreviations are:
LG = Light Gray / Light Gray
LM = Light Magenta / Bright Red
LC = Light Cyan / Light Blue
Inks in green, red, blue or dark gray expand the color range of the printer. The following terms are usually used here:
DGY = Dark Gray / Dark Gray
R = Red / Red
G = Green / Green
B = Blue / Blue
For photo printing with special printers, there are also inks with the following names:
PC = Photo Cyan / Photo Blue
PM = Photo Magenta / Photo Red
PBK = Photo Black / Photo Black
MBK = Matte Black / Matte Black
Various manufacturers also offer CMYKT ink cartridges. The "T" stands for Topcoat. This is a special varnish for coating the paper with a particularly light-resistant, shiny or water-repellent protective layer.
Do inkjet printers also use color ink cartridges for grayscale images?
The answer must be: Unfortunately, yes! Anyone who thinks they can spare the color cartridges by the pressure in gray scale is unfortunately wrong. For gray is not produced by an attenuated application of black, but as a mixture of cyan, magenta and yellow.
