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CMYK

CMYK concept

What is CMYK?

CMYK (acronym for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Key) is a very important subtractive color model in the field of printing. It consists of an evolution of another older and more traditional model, the RYB, which has become the new standard in the field of layout and design.

Its name comes from the four main colors from which all the others are built. Its base is made up of cyan, magenta, yellow and black. It is considered, at the same time, a subtractive model because mixing the top three on a white background (cyan, yellow, and magenta) results in the top four, black.

This concept comes from the phenomenon of absorption of the light of colors, and it is that, as explained in physics, it is the light that reflects a surface that shows its color, the rest of the color spectrum being absorbed for her.

CMYK is a concept that we can find in printers and even when buying an ink cartridge for a printer, when retouching a photograph or even when designing an image with vector drawing. Since it consists of a color classification system, one of the most used today, its knowledge is important for designers, as well as its correct use when establishing the colors to be used in any design.

What is CMYK for?

CMYK is used for work at the press level. Marketing companies and agencies, especially their designers, should get used to this color model, since it is the one that printers usually use when coloring labels. In this way, this system is presented as the best way to indicate to these companies how any poster is to be printed, be it advertising or for other purposes.

It is also used in the field of graphic design, including in design templates or conceptual images, to quickly enter the colors that are required when implementing a design, also thanks to the nomenclature of the color codes.

CMYK examples

Giving CMYK Examples is very complicated, since we are talking about a specific color system. Instead, we can give examples of printing errors that have occurred due to not using this system correctly or not designing with it in mind. Errors that, at the same time, have become creative practices. You can take a look at the following link: 4 mistakes that have become creative trends.

More information about CMYK

To get more information about CMYK, our recommendation is that you keep reading. In the articles that we link under these lines you will find what you are looking for, additional material to expand what is explained here and learn about other important concepts related to it.