Subtractive color

Subtractive color describes color mixing in which pigments, dyes, or filters absorb selected wavelengths from illuminating light, leaving the unabsorbed wavelengths to reach the eye.

Selective absorption: The preferential absorption of some wavelengths of light by a material while others are transmitted or reflected. Colorants create subtractive effects by absorbing some wavelengths more strongly than others.
Visible spectrum: The range of electromagnetic wavelengths detectable by human vision. Subtractive mixing can remove only wavelengths present in its illumination.
CMYK color model: A four-color printing model using cyan, magenta, yellow, and black inks. It applies subtractive mixing to reproduce images with layered inks on a reflective substrate.
Additive color: Color mixing by combining light from different sources or wavelengths. Additive mixing adds light, whereas subtractive mixing filters wavelengths from illumination.
Kubelka–Munk theory: A model of diffuse light scattering and absorption in turbid materials such as paint and paper. It estimates how pigment absorption and scattering combine to shape a paint’s reflected color.
Illuminant: A specified source of light characterized by its spectral power distribution. Changing the illumination changes which wavelengths are available to be absorbed or reflected.
Color printing: The production of colored images on paper or other substrates using printing processes. Its inks selectively absorb light, making subtractive mixing a practical image-making method.
RGB color model: A color model representing colors through red, green, and blue light components. RGB describes emitted or combined light rather than absorption by colorants.
Spectral reflectance: The fraction of incident light a surface reflects at each wavelength. A colored surface’s reflectance spectrum records which wavelengths its colorants remove.
Color stimulus: The pattern of light reaching the eye that gives rise to a color perception. The final stimulus, rather than the colorant alone, determines perceived color.

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