What happens when all CMYK colors are combined in full saturation?

When all CMYK colors are combined at full saturation, the primary colors of cyan, magenta, and yellow blend together to absorb light rather than reflect it, ultimately producing black. In the subtractive color model used by CMYK, each color absorbs varying wavelengths of light; when combined, they absorb most of the visible spectrum and yield a very dark color, ideally black.

This process reflects the characteristics of how pigments work, where adding colors together reduces the amount of light that is reflected. In a perfect scenario, combining all three primary subtractive colors at full saturation would ideally result in pure black. However, in practical applications, this may create a dark brownish tone instead of a perfect black, which is why printers often use a separate black ink (the ‘K’ in CMYK) to achieve deeper blacks and enhance contrast.

The other colors mentioned do not adequately describe the outcome of combining all three CMYK components. For instance, combining all colors to produce white would imply that no light is absorbed, which is contrary to how subtractive color mixing operates; hence it wouldn’t occur in this context.