CMYjärjestelmää

CMYjärjestelmää refers to the Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow color model used in subtractive color mixing. This model is fundamental to color printing and many digital displays. In subtractive color, white light is composed of all colors, and pigments or inks absorb or subtract certain wavelengths of light, reflecting the remaining colors to our eyes. Cyan ink absorbs red light, magenta absorbs green light, and yellow absorbs blue light.

When these three primary colors are combined in different proportions, a wide spectrum of secondary and tertiary colors can be produced. For example, mixing cyan and yellow theoretically produces green, as both inks absorb red and blue light respectively, leaving green to be reflected. Mixing magenta and yellow produces red, and mixing cyan and magenta produces blue. When all three CMY colors are mixed together in equal, maximum amounts, they theoretically absorb all light, resulting in black.

In practice, the black produced by mixing CMY inks is often a muddy brown rather than a true black. This is due to impurities in the inks. Therefore, a fourth color, black (K), is typically added to form the CMYK color model (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Key/Black). The 'K' stands for Key, as black ink was historically used to print the key detail in multi-color printing. The CMYK model is the standard for most commercial printing processes, including magazines, newspapers, and packaging. While CMY is the theoretical basis, CMYK is the practical implementation for achieving rich blacks and a broader color gamut in print.