Which color model uses subtractive blending?

Which color model uses subtractive blending?

• A. RGB
• B. CMYK
• C. LAB
• D. HSL

Answer: (B)

Subtractive blending comes from pigments that absorb parts of the light that hits them. In printing, the CMYK model uses cyan, magenta, yellow inks (with black added) to subtract wavelengths from white light reflected off the paper. Each ink removes certain colors: cyan reduces red, magenta reduces green, and yellow reduces blue. The more inks you layer, the less light is reflected, producing darker colors, with black ink deepening the result. This is different from additive blending, where light itself is mixed to create color (like red, green, and blue forming white). The other spaces, like LAB or HSL, are digital or perceptual models used for color representation rather than how physical ink subtracts light.

Subtractive blending comes from pigments that absorb parts of the light that hits them. In printing, the CMYK model uses cyan, magenta, yellow inks (with black added) to subtract wavelengths from white light reflected off the paper. Each ink removes certain colors: cyan reduces red, magenta reduces green, and yellow reduces blue. The more inks you layer, the less light is reflected, producing darker colors, with black ink deepening the result. This is different from additive blending, where light itself is mixed to create color (like red, green, and blue forming white). The other spaces, like LAB or HSL, are digital or perceptual models used for color representation rather than how physical ink subtracts light.