A Color Model is a defining method by which colors are reproduced for various different medias. In addition to pure light, which is based on reflected wavelengths of light at different frequencies, there are two other Color Models commonly used today, RGB and CMYK. These two Color Models are executed in very different ways, which makes them also useful in different ways.

The CMYK Color Model is a subtractive color system. Subtractive meaning that this Color Model is based on the use of dyes applied to a surface in order to absorb the visible wavelengths of light that one does not want to represent. In other words it is subtractive because media represented in this way actively stops the refraction of light that is not consistent with the color represented, thus only reflecting that which is meant to be perceived.

CMYK stands for the dyes cyan, magenta, yellow and the letter K stands for black. These colors are defined by the printing industry as the four process colors. These colors are applied to printed surfaces in a kind of uniform diamond shaped lattice that includes the necessary subtractive colors, in order to produce color images. CMYK can also be used to represent spot colors, which are simply the printing of a solid area of one color alone. The CMYK method is the primary Color Model used in printed media.

The RGB Color Model is an additive color system which achieves its colors, most of which are represented by the Pantone color set, through the layering of dyes or light to represent colors of different wavelengths. This layering method of color production is why RGB is the color method used for medias such as television or computer monitors, which basically utilize electrical processes to emit light of different wavelengths onto a sensitive dark, usually black, surface. By mixing colors on black translucent surface this color system produces light of different wavelengths, which is why it is considered additive in nature.

Now that the differences between the two color representation methods has been explained it is obvious why CMYK is superior, where printing is concerned, and why RGB is a natural choice for monitors. CMYK does not require the ability to emit light of different wavelengths, which is of course necessary for a color image to work on a piece of paper. That being said RGB is the best choice if one is producing a publication that is to be displayed on a monitor.