CcMmYK, sometimes referred to as CMYKLcLm or CMYKcm, is a six-color printing process used in some

inkjet printer Inkjet printing is a type of printer (computing), computer printing that recreates a digital image by propelling droplets of ink onto paper or plastic substrates. Inkjet printers were the most commonly used type of printer in 2008, and range f ...

s optimized for photo printing. It complements the more common four-color ''

CMYK The CMYK color model (also known as process color, or four color) is a subtractive color model, based on the CMY color model, used in color printing, and is also used to describe the printing process itself. The abbreviation ''CMYK'' refers ...

'' process, which uses only cyan, magenta, yellow and black, by adding light

cyan Cyan () is the color between blue and green on the visible spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a predominant wavelength between 500 and 520 nm, between the wavelengths of green and blue. In the subtractive color system, or CMYK c ...

and light

magenta Magenta () is a purple-red color. On color wheels of the RGB color model, RGB (additive) and subtractive color, CMY (subtractive) color models, it is located precisely midway between blue and red. It is one of the four colors of ink used in colo ...

. Individually, light cyan is often abbreviated ''Lc'' or ''c'', and light magenta ''Lm'' or ''m''.

Advantages of CcMmYK over CMYK

CcMmYK colorants reduce graininess in the middle tone region. This reduced graininess typically improves the photographic appearance of

blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB color model, RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB color model, RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between Violet (color), violet and cyan on the optical spe ...

skies and some flesh tones. The most noticeable result of using light cyan and light magenta inks is the removal of a distinct and harsh

dither Dither is an intentionally applied form of noise used to randomize quantization error, preventing large-scale patterns such as color banding in images. Dither is routinely used in processing of both digital audio and video data, and is ofte ...

dot appearance in prints that use light shades of cyan or magenta produced with only the

inks. Usually when printing a dark color the printer will saturate an area with colored ink dots, and conversely, for a light color it will use fewer ink dots. The resulting graininess is hard to notice with yellow because yellow is perceived as a very light color, but sparse individual cyan and magenta ink dots, e.g. for a pale blue sky, can be discernible against a white background. By using light cyan and light magenta, the printer can saturate areas that would typically use halftoning with these inks to remove the look of sparse magenta and cyan dots. The disadvantage is that the printer needs approximately twice as much light cyan and magenta ink to achieve the same saturation as it would using pure cyan and magenta inks. The result, however, is significantly better for some images.

References

Color space Printing terminology {{Color-stub