When Isaac Newton discovered the seven colors of the rainbow – he also realized that only three of them were needed to create white light: Red, Blue, and Green. But is that really the only set of primary colors you’ll ever come across as a designer? Well, no.
Print and paint do not work the same as light. For printing, the primary colors are cyan, yellow, and magenta – or the base colors of the CMYK color model.
In this Chart, we take you through the basics of a CMYK model – in particular, the 12 primary, secondary and tertiary colors you’ll find in a CMYK color wheel, as well as how to adjust their values to attain a desired hue.
We also look at the symbolic meaning humans have attached to different colors over the years. To learn more about the fascinating psychology of colors, here is a highly recommended read by Anelly Aya, ‘Color Psychology: A Guide to Choosing the Right Colors in Design Concepts’.
Now, let’s dive into our Chart in more detail.
Color Wheel
Our color wheel visually shows how primary colors in a CMYK model – cyan, magenta, yellow (and black), combine to form other colors:
Each component is measured as a percentage, ranging from 0% to 100%. Here’s the value for each primary color at full strength:
- Cyan (C:100 M:0 Y:0 K:0)
- Magenta (C:0 M:100 Y:0 K:0)
- Yellow (C:0 M:0 Y:100 K:0)
- Black (C:0 M:0 Y:0 K:100)
For example, if you are working with the color code (C 100, M 50), you are using full-strength cyan (100%) and half-strength magenta (50%). This creates a color that is a blend of cyan and magenta, a purplish hue.
Mixing two primary colors gives you secondary colors like:
- Green (Cyan + Yellow)
- Red (Magenta + Yellow)
- Blue (Cyan + Magenta)
You can add even more depth to your color palette, by mixing a primary and secondary color to create a tertiary color:
Let’s say, you mix Cyan (C) with Blue (which is made from Cyan and Magenta), you end up with a color like Teal:
- CMYK Code for Teal: C 100, M 50, Y 0, K 0
- This means you have full cyan, a bit of magenta, and no yellow or black.
Here are the main tertiary colors in a CMYK model:
- Blue + Cyan = Teal
- Red + Yellow = Orange
- Red + Magenta = Rose
- Cyan + Green = Spring green
- Blue + Magenta = Violet
- Yellow + Green = Chartreuse
Just for your reference, each of the 12 colors shown in the chart includes its corresponding CMYK values to help you in your own color selection and blending.
Color Columns
Our chart also features four columns to help you visualize the transition from darker shades to lighter tones.
This is done using five percentage boxes: 100%, 75%, 50%, 25%, and 5%, allowing you to get a sense of the relative intensity and saturation of each color.
Theoretically, this is because the CMYK model works by partially or entirely masking colors on a lighter, usually white, background, with the ink reducing the light that would otherwise be reflected – as shown in these percentage values.
CMYK Values
Our chart lists CMYK values for the 12 key colors, giving practical references for designers and artists. These values help you communicate effectively about color, ensuring that the final outcome matches your color vision.
Always start with the primary colors and gradually mix in amounts of secondary colors based on the percentages.
Let’s say you want to create a stand-out pink color. To achieve this, your magenta levels should be high, and the yellow, cyan, and black levels should be low. If you add too much yellow, you will get more red hues, but with too much cyan, it will turn purple.
Now imagine you are painting, and want a shade similar to C 100, M 50 – or teal. To do this, you will need to mix a bright cyan paint with a touch of magenta until you reach your desired color balance. In short, the percentages make it easier for artists (using other color models) to replicate CMYK colors in an accurate way.
Color Spectrum Rows
Our chart also includes six rows, each exploring different aspects or qualities of a color:
Shade is when you add black to a color. When creating a darker shade, begin with the color itself, and add black one drop at a time.
Tone is what you are left with if you mix a color with gray. Being a neutral color, gray is equal parts black and white. Adding gray to your base hue will make it less intense and vibrant.
Tint is the lighter version of a pure color made by adding white. In this case, when white is added to red, we end up with a soft pastel pink.
Hue speaks to the origin of a color, and is independent of a color’s intensity or lightness. The Primary and Secondary colors (Yellow, Orange, Red, Violet, Blue, and Green) are considered hues.
Chroma speaks to how vivid or dull a color is. A high-chroma color has no black, white, or gray in it. Chroma: Refers to the purity of a color, with high chroma indicating vibrant colors and low chroma indicating more muted shades.
Value is directly linked to the amount of light a color reflects. In other words, it speaks to how light or dark a color is.
Feel free to check out our Chart on Hues, Tints and Schemes, where we discuss the terms shades, tones and tints in a little more detail.
Color Meanings
When you’re using a color, there’s one more thing you might want to think about- what does the color symbolize.
Right next to the CMYK values, we have inserted a section that describes the different meanings associated with each color.
Color symbolism is the subjective meaning we attach to various colors. It speaks to the emotions they evoke and other intangible ideas or messages a color conveys.
For example, red might convey a sense of danger (“halt!”) or urgency (“buy now before it’s too late!”). Remember, each color is capable of forming both negative or positive associations that may vary across culture and history.
With this color meaning guide, you can learn how to use color psychology to amplify your message with impactful designs that evoke the right emotional response in your viewer.
What Makes CMYK Unique?
Unlike the RGB model, the CMYK model is a subtractive color model where pigment produces color using reflected light.
New colors are created by removing wavelengths from a light with a broad spectrum of wavelengths (hence, the name ‘subtractive’).
As more ink (or pigment) is added, the color becomes darker.
What makes CMYK truly unique and valuable is the ability to achieve precise and vibrant color on physical materials (such as paper or silk) unlike RGB models that are better suited to digital color outputs. However, compared to RGB which works with a large color range that can be displayed through light, CMYK has a more restricted color range best suited to printing.
To sum up, our Chart is a systematic way to describe colors, providing insights into how you can master the art of precise color mixing and reproduction in both digital and traditional media. Our professionally designed CMYK Color Wheel is downloadable in PDF and ADOBE formats. Pin our chart to your Pinterest for easy future reference!
Be aware that the colors shown in these charts may vary significantly based on the medium used (e.g., watercolor, acrylic, digital) and the color model (e.g., CMYK, RGB, HSL).
Please note your monitor settings may affect what you see on your screen compared to your physical prints. The settings on inkjet or laser printers may also produce varying results.
To avoid errors, always test colors in your specific context for more accurate results.
