CMYK

Also called: cyan, magenta, yellow, and key or Europa scale

The abbreviation for the color model CMYK stands for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Key Color. It is a system for capturing colors in a code. Colors are derived in the CMYK system in shares of cyan (light blue/turquoise), magenta (bright pink/fuchsia), yellow and black (key plate).

The scale for printing colors consisting of cyan, magenta and yellow was established in the standard DIN 16539 in 1965. This standard scale is better known as the Europa scale.

CMYK is a so-called subtractive color model. In this, white is the base color, where color components are used to filter out certain colors. The darkest colors are obtained by combining several components in high values. This makes CMYK different from additive color models such as RGB, where a mixture of all colors actually produces white.

CMYK color coding is primarily used for printing. The four printing colors collectively form the desired color. In addition to CMYK, there is also CMY, a similar color model but without black. In this system, however, it is very difficult to print dark color tones properly on a light background. Hence within CMYK the addition of black via the 'key plate', which also lends itself better to applying details.

Another color model widely used for printing and standardizing colors for a variety of applications is PMS.