Process cyan
The standard cyan ink used in four-colour printing (CMYK)
Process cyan is the blue-green ink used as one of the four main colours in CMYK printing, alongside magenta, yellow, and black. It is usually more saturated than screen cyan and can vary in appearance depending on the ink formulation, with phthalocyanine blue often used as the pigment.
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- Process cyan is a primary ink in CMYK printing.
- It is also called printer's cyan or process blue.
- Phthalocyanine blue is a common pigment for this ink.
- The printed colour can vary between ink brands.
- Process cyan is usually more saturated than screen cyan.
What colour is Process cyan?
Process cyan is the standard blue-green ink used in four-colour printing, known as CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, black). It is more saturated than the cyan you see on screens, and its exact shade can change depending on the ink's formulation. This colour sits between blue and green, and is essential for reproducing a wide range of colours in printed materials.
Where does Process cyan come from?
The name 'process cyan' comes from its role in the printing process, where it is one of the primary inks. It is also called printer's cyan or process blue. The colour is defined by its use in CMYK printing, not by a single pigment or formula, so its exact appearance can vary.
How is Process cyan made?
Process cyan ink is usually made with synthetic pigments, most commonly phthalocyanine blue. Different manufacturers may use slightly different recipes, which leads to small variations in the printed colour. The ink is designed to work as a primary colour in subtractive colour mixing, where it combines with magenta and yellow to create a full spectrum of printed colours.
Where Process cyan is used
This colour is a staple of the printing industry. It is one of the four inks used in standard colour printing for books, magazines, packaging, and many other products. Because process cyan is a primary colour in CMYK, it is mixed with other inks to produce a wide range of hues on paper.
Turquoise around the world
What the turquoise and cyan family means from country to country.
The old colour word qing covers green, blue and the shades between. In the five-element system it belongs to wood, the east and spring.
Nature and renewalCalmSource: Blue–green distinction in languageTurquoise, firuzeh in Persian, has been mined near Nishapur for thousands of years. It is worn against the evil eye, and its colour covers the domes of mosques in Isfahan.
Protection and healingSacred and holyAweSource: TurquoiseIn the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mary wears a blue-green cloak covered in stars. Turquoise was precious to the Aztecs, who used it in mosaic masks.
Sacred and holyAweSource: Our Lady of GuadalupeThe English word turquoise comes from the French for Turkish, because the stone reached Europe through Ottoman lands. Tiles from Iznik made the colour a mark of Ottoman mosques.
Royalty and powerSource: TurquoiseThe mosques and tombs of Samarkand are faced with turquoise and deep blue tiles. The three great madrasas of the Registan square and their ribbed turquoise domes are the best known.
Sacred and holyAweSource: RegistanShades and relatives of Process cyan
Process cyan is sometimes confused with the cyan seen on digital screens, but the two are not identical. The printed version is usually more saturated and can fall outside the range of colours (gamut) that screens can display. There is no single formula for process cyan, so its exact shade may differ between printers and ink brands.
Colours that go with Process cyan
Harmonies are worked out from the value #00B7EB. Contrast ratios follow the WCAG 2 formula.
Questions people ask about Process cyan
What colour is process cyan?
Process cyan is a blue-green ink used in printing, more saturated than the cyan seen on screens. Its exact shade can vary depending on the ink formulation.
Where does the name 'process cyan' come from?
The name comes from its use in the printing process as one of the four main inks in CMYK colour printing.
What is process cyan made from?
It is usually made with synthetic pigments, most often phthalocyanine blue, though the exact recipe can vary between manufacturers.
Is process cyan the same as the cyan on my computer screen?
No, process cyan is typically more saturated and can appear different from screen cyan, as the two are defined by different colour systems.
Good reading and sources
The facts on this page come from the Wikipedia article "Cyan" (the section "Process cyan"), written by its contributors and used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence. Rang rewrote the text in its own words, with AI assistance, and compares every page with the article to make sure no passage is copied. It may be reused under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 licence with a link back.
It may contain mistakes. The swatch is an approximation: named colours are not fixed standards, and every screen shows them a little differently. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-03.
More of the turquoise and cyan family
All of turquoise and cyan
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Cyan
A blue-green colour found between blue and green on the spectrum and key in printingBasic colour
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Blue-green
The colour between blue and green, part of the cyan familyNamed shade · 🇦🇺 Australia +3
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A light blue-green shade trademarked by Tiffany & Co. for its boxes and brandingNamed shade