CMY2

CMY2 is a term sometimes used in discussions of color representation to denote a two-channel, cyan–magenta color encoding that omits the yellow channel. It is not a widely standardized color space; rather, CMY2 appears as a specialized or intermediate representation in certain workflows, algorithms, or device-specific pipelines that work with two subtractive primaries rather than three.

In CMY2, colors are described by a pair of values corresponding to cyan and magenta amounts. The absence of a third primary means that direct control over hues such as yellow, orange, or greens is limited, and reproducing the full CMY gamut typically requires conversion to a three-channel model (such as CMY, CMYK, or a device-specific space). When used, CMY2 is usually an intermediate step before mapping to a standard color space or to a printer profile.

Applications for CMY2 tend to be technical and context-specific: it can appear in color compression, indexing, or as a simplification in simulations where only two primaries are needed. Its primary limitation is the loss of color expressiveness and accuracy compared with three-channel CMY or CMYK, leading to possible color clipping and artifacts if converted directly to standard spaces.

See also: CMY color model, CMYK, color management, color space, chroma subsampling.