Subtractive color

In any color space a point exists at which no color has been added. In a subtractive color space this is the color White. From this original point each color is subtracted from the white to leave the resulting color.

This is a useful concept because paper is white. To create an image on paper, it is necessary to subtract amounts of each color - this is done by covering the paper with ink which acts as a filter. For instance a 'red' ink is actually a filter that absorbs cyan light.

Printers invariably use subtractive color schemes as they print on white paper. By comparison, most computer displays use the (additive) RGB color space because without power applied the display screen will be close to black in color.

See also: CMYK color space, RGB color space, color space