If you've printed anything with a commercial printing service, you've probably heard of the term CMYK. But what does it mean and why does it matter? Let's evaluate the definition of CMYK, why we use this color process for printing, and how to make sure that you use the right colors in your print designs.
What is CMYK in printing?
CMYK stands for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Key: these are the colors used in printing. A print shop uses ink dots to create an image from these four colors. 'Key' actually means black. It is called Key because it is the primary color used to determine the result of the image. While black ink provides depth and shading, other colors create different colors in the spectrum depending on how they are mixed. For example, Cyan (Cyan) and Yellow (Yellow) create a green color when one overlaps the other.
True Black and CMYK
Technically, if you add cyan, magenta, and yellow in equal and large amounts, it will create black. However, due to the impurities of the ink, true black is difficult to reproduce - so printers contain black ink (K) along with other colors. CMYK colors tend to be darker than RGB colors because this is a less wide spectrum.
When you have 100% of all colors (C 100%, M 100%, Y 100% and K 100%), this is solid black. Similarly, when you set all colors to 0%, your print will be completely blank.
Why Printers Use CMYK?
Some commercial printers print in RGB, but most (including instant printing) print in CMYK only. This is because CMYK is easier to standardize thanks to the range of colors available. This means we can ensure that all of your print products look perfectly consistent throughout the print run. There can be so many minute variations in RGB that it is almost impossible to guarantee consistency of colors in one print run or even between different print runs.
CYMK can be monitored using a GMG scanner and associated software. This allows each press to be calibrated to produce a standard color, regardless of the specific features of each machine. This is why commercial printers use CMYK most often because it helps ensure color consistency in print runs as well as between machines.
Another big reason is that when you print on paper, you add pigmented colors to a white canvas to darken it - that's why we use subtractive, CMYK colors for printing.
