We all learn about the primary colors when we are in grade school, but not everyone knows that those colors (red, yellow, and blue) are the primary colors in only in specific settings. There are two types of color mixing; Additive and subtractive.
Subtractive Colors
RYB (red, yellow, blue) is an example of subtractive colors. We have developed this concept into what is known as CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, black). Whenever we print, we use these colors. Its called subtractive because the more colors you mix together, the darker they get. For instance, adding a cyan (blue) to a yellow makes a green which is going to be darker than either color individually. It's very hard to mix these colors to get light colors. There are many shades which are virtually impossible to print.
Additive Colors
RGB (red, green, blue) is what is known as additive colors. this is the type of color we experience all around us. Light emits a spectrum of colors. These colors are then either absorbed or reflected by objects, and the reflected light is what interacts with our eyes to stimulate a color interpretation by our brain. For instance, a red apple absorbs all the colors of the spectrum except for the red light, which is then reflected and seen by our eyes and interpreted by our brains. Black is produced by all of the colors being absorbed, thus why black materials get so hot. It's because all the energy of the light is being absorbed by that color. This is also how monitors work. There are red, green, and blue pixels. By adjusting the intensity of these colors, monitors can simulate most any color.
Putting them together
In our industry, we deal with both print and on screen colors. This becomes a difficulty because colors don't always translate perfectly. Additionally, since CMYK is more limiting as far as a printable spectrum, many times you may be surprised at how different things look after printing compared to your screen. It's not perfected yet, but computers can do a pretty good job at compensating. We at L I M E work very hard to make sure these colors come a close to possible to the desired shade. It may take a couple tries, but in the end we do everything possible to get that color perfect print.
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