The Complementary Colors
Color Wheel
Full and Complementary Colors
Full Colors are described as the colors of the spectrum with the highest clarity and
purity. The combination of two full additive colors results in a very bright color.
These colors are called complementary colors as they complement each other to
produce a very bright color, like the color of light in the daytime.
Rapidly rotating two full subtractive colors on a disc combines the colors and makes
them appear as gray. These colors are called physical complementary colors.
The observation of a full subtractive color in the visual field followed by a rapid shift
to a white area results in the illusion of an entirely different color for a short period
of time. These colors are called psychological complementary colors.
Full colors are arranged on the color wheel such that opposing colors are either
physically or psychologically complementary.
Surprising Effects
The Color imageRUNNER C3220/C2620 uses complementary colors in the Nega/
Posi mode. When an image consisting of three additive primary colors is scanned
into the machine, it automatically replaces these additive primary colors with their
respective complementary colors before printing a four color image consisting of
the subtractive primary colors (C, M, and Y) and black (K).
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