A:   CMYK (short for cyan, magenta, yellow, and key (Black)) is a subtractive color model used in color printing.
   A common misconception is that this color model is based on actual mixing of pigments, however when seen under a microscope you will see that the dots are printed next to each other and there is very little mixing. This is how a printer is able to reproduce rich red and blue from cyan, magenta, and yellow. By combining small enough ink dots next to each other an optical illusion is caused, for example, humans perceive tiny magenta and yellow dots placed next to each other as red.[clarify]
   In this way the mixture of ideal CMY colors is subtractive (cyan, magenta, and yellow printed together on white result in black). CMYK works on an optical illusion that is based on light absorption. The colors that are seen are from the part of light that is not absorbed.[clarify] In CMYK, magenta plus yellow produces red, magenta plus cyan makes blue and cyan plus yellow generates green.