THE “K” IN CMYK, NAMED AFTER THE BLACK KEY PLATE, ALSO KNOWN AS THE ‘KEY’.
In printing, CMYK stands for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow… and Key. But why "K" for black?
It goes back to traditional printing techniques. In four-color process printing, black ink isn’t just another color. It’s the key plate.
This plate holds the detail, contrast, and outlines that align the other three inks. It’s like the final black lines in graffiti, the layer that sharpens everything and pulls the image together.
If the key plate is even slightly off, the whole print looks off.
Calling it “B” for black would’ve caused confusion with blue, which already appears in RGB color models. So printers went with “K”.
And let’s be honest, CMYB sounds a bit like a boyband from 2015.
