Primary colour

Primary colours are a set of colours from which other colours can be created by mixing (pigments, dyes, etc.) or overlapping (coloured lights).

  • Human perception of colour is based on the sensitivity of the eye to the electromagnetic spectrum, specifically the visible spectrum of light that includes spectral colours between red and violet.
  • A set of primary colours is a set of pigments or coloured lights that can be combined in varying amounts to create a wide range of colours.
  • Different sets of primary colours are used for additive colour mixing (of light) and subtractive colour mixing (of pigments).
  • Colour models such as RGB, CMY and RYB use different sets of primary colours.
  • The process of combining colours to produce other colours is used in applications such as electronic displays and colour printing to create a range of colours that can be perceived by humans.
  • Additive and subtractive colour models can be used to predict how wavelengths of visible light or pigments interact with each other.
  • RGB colour is a technology used to reproduce colour in ways that match human perception.
  • The primary colours used in colour-spaces such as CIELAB, NCS, Adobe RGB (1998), and sRGB are determined by an extensive investigation of the relationship between visible light and human colour vision.