How Does CMYK work?

CMYK is a subtractive color model. Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and black inks are applied in order to mask over a white background (paper). Hence, the term subtractive, as to subtract brightness from white.

How is artwork converted to CMYK?

The conversion of artwork into CMYK is called color separation. The process begins by separating the artwork into RGB(red,green,blue), typically done with a digital scanner.

The second step is to invert each separated color. The negative image produced when each separation is inverted represents the Cyan, Magenta and Yellow values accordingly.

What about the black ink?

A black separation is also created to resolve the issue with black and other dark colors having a brownish muddy finish. The combination of Cyan, Magenta and Yellow yields a black that looks watered down and muddy. See our article on black text and how to make sure the text in your artwork is a rich black.

Optical Illusion?

The image below is a visual description of halftoning. This process is an optical illusion that mimics a smooth continuous color tone to the naked eye. When looked at closer, you can see that the artwork is composed of dots of each separation (CMYK - Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black). If you look even closer, you will notice that each dot is not 100% solid color, it is actually a transparency and is overlaid by the next color in the sequence(CMYK) to form a new color.
These dots are measured in Dots Per Inch (DPI). The more dots per inch, the finer the dots, which results in great quality and sharpness.
The difference in quality between a 72dpi image and a 300dpi image can make a huge difference in your print. Read more about DPI and how to use high-resolution images in your artwork.

What is CMYK?

How Does CMYK work?

How is artwork converted to CMYK?

What about the black ink?

Optical Illusion?