Design

CMYK stands for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Key (Black). These are the four colours (or inks) that all print media uses to form any other colour in the rainbow. Varying percentage amounts of these four inks are printed as small dots and overlaid over each other to form the final full colour image. All colours have a CMYK code which can be used to create any chosen colour using only those four primary inks. For example Ad Vocab's signature violet is Cyan at 24.9%, Magenta at 27.16% and Yellow and Black at 0%. When setting up files for print (everything from an OOH billboard to a laptop sticker) the colour profile should be set to CMYK so that all the colours will be accurately displayed and printed as intended. All digital screens and media use RGB colours, which work in a slightly different way. Check out the RGB entry to find out more.