Cyan ( / ˈ s aɪ . ə n , - æ n / ) 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.
33-399: In the subtractive color system, or CMYK color model , which can be overlaid to produce all colors in paint and color printing, cyan is one of the primary colors , along with magenta and yellow . In the additive color system, or RGB color model , used to create all the colors on a computer or television display, cyan is made by mixing equal amounts of green and blue light . Cyan is
66-591: A Crayola crayon color (color #113) from 1990 to 2003. Teal green is a darker shade of teal with more green. It is a variable color averaging a dark bluish-green that is green, darker, and stronger than invisible green or pine tree. Teal green is most closely related to the Crayola crayon color Deep Space Sparkle. Deep sea green is one of the paint colors manufactured and marketed by American paint company Benjamin Moore . Academia Teal, along with Bronze,
99-517: A color name in English was in 1879. Further origins of the color name can be traced back to a dye produced from the cornflower ( Centaurea cyanus ). In most languages, 'cyan' is not a basic color term and it phenomenologically appears as a greenish vibrant hue of blue to most English speakers. Other English terms for this "borderline" hue region include blue green , aqua , turquoise , teal , and grue . The web color cyan shown at right
132-428: A highly regarded precious gem. Turquoise comes in a variety of shades from green to blue, but cyan hues are particularly prevalent. Approximately 3,700 years ago, an intricately crafted dragon-shaped treasure made from over 2,000 pieces of turquoise and jade was created. This artifact is widely recognized as the oldest Chinese dragon totem by many Chinese scholars. Turquoise jewelry also held significant importance among
165-493: A printed page. To reproduce the web color cyan in inks, it is necessary to add some white ink to the printer's cyan below, so when it is reproduced in printing, it is not a primary subtractive color. It is called aqua (a name in use since 1598) because it is a color commonly associated with water , such as the appearance of the water at a tropical beach. Cyan is also one of the common inks used in four-color printing , along with magenta , yellow , and black ; this set of colors
198-414: A reflecting or transparent surface. Each layer partially absorbs some wavelengths of light from the illumination spectrum while letting others pass through, resulting in a colored appearance. The resultant spectral power distribution is predicted by sequentially taking the product of the spectral power distributions of the incoming light and transmissivity at each filter. The subtractive model also predicts
231-456: A tint being a cyan mixed with white, and a shade being mixed with black. Color nomenclature is subjective. Many shades of cyan with a bluish hue are called blue. Similarly, those with a greenish hue are referred to as green. A cyan with a dark shade is commonly known as teal . A teal blue shade leans toward the blue end of the spectrum. Variations of teal with a greener tint are commonly referred to as teal green . Turquoise , reminiscent of
264-561: Is a secondary color in the RGB color model , which uses combinations of red, green and blue light to create all the colors on computer and television displays. In X11 colors , this color is called both cyan and aqua . In the HTML color list, this same color is called aqua. The web colors are more vivid than the cyan used in the CMYK color system, and the web colors cannot be accurately reproduced on
297-578: Is a greenish-blue color. Its name comes from that of a bird—the Eurasian teal ( Anas crecca )—which presents a similarly colored stripe on its head. The word is often used colloquially to refer to shades of cyan in general. It can be created by mixing cyan into a green base, or deepened as needed with black or gray. It is also one of the first group of 16 HTML/CSS web colors . In the RGB model used to create colors on computer screens and televisions, teal
330-583: Is created by reducing the brightness of cyan to about one half. In North America , teal was a fad color during the 1990s, with, among others, many sports teams adopting the color for their uniforms. The first recorded use of teal as a color name in English was in 1917. The term teal (referring to a species of duck) is derived from the Middle English tele , a word akin to the Dutch taling and
363-418: Is included, resulting in the CMYK color model . The black ink serves to cover unwanted tints in dark areas of the printed image, which result from the imperfect transparency of commercially practical CMY inks; to improve image sharpness, which tends to be degraded by imperfect registration of the three color elements; and to reduce or eliminate consumption of the more expensive color inks where only black or gray
SECTION 10
#1732798642449396-445: Is one such commonly used pigment. A typical formulation of process cyan is shown in the color box on the right. Subtractive color Subtractive color or subtractive color mixing predicts the spectral power distribution of light after it passes through successive layers of partially absorbing media. This idealized model is the essential principle of how dyes and pigments are used in color printing and photography, where
429-412: Is referred to as CMYK. In printing, the cyan ink is sometimes known as printer's cyan, process cyan, or process blue. While both the additive secondary and the subtractive primary are called cyan , they can be substantially different from one another. Cyan printing ink is typically more saturated than the RGB secondary cyan, depending on what RGB color space and ink are considered. That is, process cyan
462-474: Is required. Purely photographic color processes almost never include a K component, because in all common processes the CMY dyes used are much more perfectly transparent, there are no registration errors to camouflage, and substituting a black dye for a saturated CMY combination, a trivial prospective cost-benefit at best, is technologically impractical in non-electronic analog photography . Teal Teal
495-505: Is usually outside the RGB gamut , and there is no fixed conversion from CMYK primaries to RGB. Different formulations are used for printer's ink, so there can be variations in the printed color that is pure cyan ink. This is because real-world subtractive (unlike additive) color mixing does not consistently produce the same result when mixing apparently identical colors, since the specific frequencies filtered out to produce that color affect how it interacts with other colors. Phthalocyanine blue
528-576: The Theory of Colours (1810) by the German poet and government minister Johann Wolfgang von Goethe , and The Law of Simultaneous Color Contrast (1839) by the French industrial chemist Michel Eugène Chevreul . In late 19th and early to mid-20th-century commercial printing, use of the traditional RYB terminology persisted even though the more versatile CMY (cyan, magenta, yellow) triad had been adopted, with
561-586: The Aztecs , who often featured this precious gemstone in vibrant frescoes for both symbolic and decorative purposes. The Aztecs revered turquoise, associating its color with the heavens and sacredness. Additionally, ancient Egyptians interpreted cyan hues as representing faith and truth, while Tibetans viewed them as a symbol of infinity. After earlier uses in various contexts, cyan hues found increased use in diverse cultures due to their appealing aesthetic qualities in religious structures and art pieces. For example,
594-435: The complement of red ; it can be made by the removal of red from white. Mixing red light and cyan light at the right intensity will make white light. Different shades of cyan can vary in terms of hue, chroma (also known as saturation, intensity, or colorfulness), or lightness (or value, tone, or brightness), or any combination of these characteristics. Differences in value can also be referred to as tints and shades, with
627-547: The Middle Low German telink . Teal blue is a medium tone of teal with more blue. The first recorded use of teal blue as a color name in English was in 1927. The source of this color is the Plochere Color System , a color system formulated in 1948 that is widely used by interior designers . Teal was subsequently a heavily used color in the 1950s and 1960s. Teal blue is also the name of
660-686: The color of the stone. In the 1870s, the French sculptor Frédéric Bartholdi began the construction of what would later become the Statue of Liberty . Over time, exposure to the elements caused the copper structure to develop its distinctive patina , now recognized as iconic cyan. Following this, there was a significant advancement in the use of cyan during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Impressionist artists, such as Claude Monet in his renowned Water Lilies , effectively incorporated cyan hues into their works. Deviating from traditional interpretations of local color under neutral lighting conditions,
693-454: The color resulting from a mixture of paints, or similar medium such as fabric dye, whether applied in layers or mixed together prior to application. In the case of paint mixed before application, incident light interacts with many different pigment particles at various depths inside the paint layer before emerging. Art supply manufacturers offer colors that successfully fill the roles of the subtractive primary colors magenta and cyan. For example,
SECTION 20
#1732798642449726-427: The cyan ink is completely transparent to green and blue light and has no effect on those parts of the spectrum . Magenta is the complement of green , and yellow the complement of blue . Combinations of different amounts of the three inks can produce a wide range of colors with good saturation . In inkjet color printing and typical mass production photomechanical printing processes , a black ink K (Key) component
759-417: The cyan sometimes referred to as "process blue" and the magenta as "process red". In color printing , the usual primary colors are cyan , magenta and yellow (CMY). Cyan is the complement of red, meaning that the cyan serves as a filter that absorbs red. The amount of cyan ink applied to a white sheet of paper controls how much of the red light in white light will be reflected back from the paper. Ideally,
792-411: The focus of artists was on accurately depicting perceived color and the influence of light on altering object hues. Specifically, daylight plays a significant role in shifting the perceived color of objects toward cyan hues. In 1917, the color term teal was introduced to describe deeper shades of cyan. In the late 19th century, while traditional nomenclature of red , yellow , and blue persisted,
825-512: The hues evolved, the printing industry maintained the use of the traditional terms red , yellow , and blue . Consequently, pinpointing the exact date of origin for CMYK , in which cyan serves as a primary color, proves challenging . In August 1991, the HP Deskwriter 500C became the first Deskwriter to offer color printing as an option. It used interchangeable black and color (cyan, magenta, and yellow) inkjet print cartridges. With
858-496: The inclusion of cyan ink in printers, the term "cyan" has become widely recognized in both home and office settings. According to TUP/Technology User Profile 2020, approximately 70% of online American adults regularly use a home printer. Its name is derived from the Ancient Greek word kyanos (κύανος), meaning "dark blue enamel, Lapis lazuli ". It was formerly known as "cyan blue" or cyan-blue, and its first recorded use as
891-432: The perception of color is elicited after white light passes through microscopic "stacks" of partially absorbing media allowing some wavelengths of light to reach the eye and not others, and also in painting, whether the colors are mixed or applied in successive layers. The subtractive color mixing model predicts the resultant spectral power distribution of light filtered through overlaid partially absorbing materials on
924-467: The phthalocyanine blues , which became available during the 1930s, and quinacridone magenta, first offered during the 1950s, together with yellow produce more highly-saturated violets and greens than do the traditional red and blue. RYB (red, yellow, blue) is the traditional set of primary colors used for mixing pigments. It is used in art and art education, particularly in painting . It predated modern scientific color theory . Red, yellow, and blue are
957-409: The physical mixture of pigments or dyes. These theories were enhanced by 18th-century investigations of a variety of purely psychological color effects, in particular, the contrast between "complementary" or opposing hues produced by color afterimages and in the contrasting shadows in colored light. These ideas and many personal color observations were summarized in two founding documents in color theory:
990-485: The primary colors of the RYB color "wheel" . The secondary colors, violet (or purple), orange, and green (VOG) make up another triad, conceptually formed by mixing equal amounts of red and blue, red and yellow, and blue and yellow, respectively. The RYB primary colors became the foundation of 18th-century theories of color vision as the fundamental sensory qualities blended in the perception of all physical colors and equally in
1023-496: The printing industry initiated a shift towards utilizing magenta and cyan inks for red and blue hues, respectively. This transition aimed to establish a more versatile color gamut achievable with only three primary colors. In 1949, a document in the printing industry stated: “The four-color set comprises Yellow , Red (magenta) , Blue (cyan) , Black ”. This practice of labeling magenta , yellow , and cyan as red , yellow , and blue persisted until 1961. As
Cyan - Misplaced Pages Continue
1056-516: The prominent dome of the Goharshad Mosque in Iran , built in 1418, showcases this trend. Additionally, Jacopo da Pontormo's use of a teal shade for Mary's robe in the 1528 painting Carmignano Visitation demonstrates the allure for these hues. During the 16th century, speakers of the English language began using the term turquoise to describe the cyan color of objects that resembled
1089-433: The stone with the same name, is a shade in the green spectrum of cyan hues. Celeste is a lightly tinted cyan that represents the color of a clear sky. Other colors in the cyan color range are electric blue , aquamarine , and others described as blue-green . Cyan boasts a rich and diverse history, holding cultural significance for millennia. In ancient civilizations, turquoise , valued for its aesthetic appeal, served as
#448551