Why do printers have CMYK ink instead of RYB & black ink?
In: 2442
Red, green, and blue (RGB) are primary colors when you use light to add colors together. If you look at a computer monitor under a microscope, you have little red, green, and blue lights. Red and blue lights add together to make magenta. Red and green lights add together to make yellow. And blue and green add together to make cyan. Add all three and you have a white light.
Cyan, magenta, and yellow (CMY) are primary colors when you use pigment (like ink or paint) to subtract colors. When white light strikes yellow ink, the ink is only reflecting back the yellow light. That’s why it’s yellow. If you mix magenta and yellow it will create red. Cyan and magenta creates blue. And yellow and cyan creates green. All three colors together create black.
It’s interesting how adding colors with light complements subtracting colors with ink or paint.
The K in CMYK is for black ink or paint. Technically you don’t need black ink, especially when you print photographs. Some photo printers don’t have black ink, it just mixes CMY to get black. BUT if you print something with a lot of text, it’s difficult to layer CMY exactly to get crisp, easy to read text.
Plus it wastes a lot of color ink.
So black ink is usually added to printing (CMYK). Typically all color elements are printed first then black is layered on top while adding all the black text throughout the print.
Latest Answers