From the e(mailbox): The K in CMYK does not stand for black

We get letters! OK, mostly spam and overdue homework assignments, but we do get letters. And some of them are interesting and helpful.

Such was the case with the following note. Valerie Cox wrote us to explain a problem with our definition of CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, black):

‘CMYK is a scheme for combining primary pigments. The C stands for cyan (aqua), M stands for magenta (pink), Y is yellow, and K stands for black.’

The K does not stand for “black,”  it stands for “Key.”  The key color in today’s printing world is black, but it has not always been this way.   During the early days of printing, the colors used for Key have been brown, blue, or black, whichever was the cheapest ink to acquire for the times.”

We should have guessed there was more to that story… we’ve read our alphabet books and we do understand how initialisms work: A is for Apple, K is for… something that starts with K.

Read more about acronyms and initialisms. (It’s interesting. I promise.)

Thanks to Ms. Cox for making us look just that little bit smarter today than we did yesterday!