In the subtractive color system, colors are produced by mixing colorants. Certain colors of light are absorbed (subtracted) by the colorants whereas others are reflected and seen by the viewer. The subtractive primary colors are cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y). If we mixed yellow and cyan, we would get green; mixing yellow and magenta gives us red; and combining magenta and cyan produces blue. Theoretically, the combination of all three primary colors would give us black; however, in reality, a dark brown results. Hence, a fourth color, black (K), is added to color printing to compensate for the imperfect color produced from the primary color trio.