CMYK

Most explanations of color start by telling us that RGB and CMYK are different systems. While that is true, the relationship between them is more connected than many people realize.

RGB additive systems create color by adding red, green, and blue light, while CMY subtractive systems create color by removing red, green, and blue components from white light.

On press cyan ink filters red light, allowing green and blue light to reflect from the substrate. Magenta ink filters green light, and yellow ink filters blue. In other words, CMY inks work by controlling the same RGB light components that displays generate directly.

The next time someone tells you that RGB is for screens and CMYK is for print, remember that both systems ultimately manipulate the same red, green, and blue visual signals and rely on the same human visual response.

CMYK may not literally be RGB in disguise, but it is closer than many people think.