The color you see is simply light. Where there is no light, there is no color. When you see a colored object, what you are actually seeing is the light reflected or emitted from that object; therefore, the light alone is what you see and not the actual object.

The color of light people are most familiar with is white. Actually, white light is made up of all the colors, although they are impossible to see directly. When you see white light reflected from a sheet of white paper, you are actually seeing an equal mixture of red, green, and blue light being reflected in equal amounts. You must realize and understand this fact before you print color.

Usually white is thought of as no color; however, it is more accurate to think of it as all colors. When one of the colors is absent, the color is not white light, but a different color-green, for example. When magenta (a bluish red color) is absent, the resulting color is green. When cyan (a greenish blue color) is absent, the color is red, and so forth.

As you read this chapter and when you color print, you may find it helpful to think of a color as white with something missing; that is, blue is minus yellow; green is minus magenta; red is minus cyan; yellow is minus blue; magenta is minus green; and cyan is minus red. Also keep in mind that all color is light; and white is all colors.