why do you need 9 different colors to mix a car color but a PC uses only 4 different colors to print any color

Answer 1

Car colors also include other aspects such as luster, sparkle, and other accenting highlights which computer printers have trouble reproducing.

Answer 2

Bacaroo... There are only 3 "primary" colors plus black. Technically, black is not a color. Scientifically, it is the absence of light.

Anyway, if you have the 3 primary colors of Red, Blue, and Yellow, you can mix any existing color. Mix any two of these colors and you get the 3 "secondary" colors as follows...

Red & Blue = Violet
Red & Yellow = Orange
Blue & Yellow = Green

Go a little heavier on one of the colors and the hue changes to another spectrum. Add black and the basic color remains the same but becomes darker. Add white and, again, the basic color remains the same but becomes lighter.

Answer 3

All of which (the above) is well and good but didn't really answer your question did it.

The colors on a pc are, essentially, pre-mixed combinations that lend the best efficiency in printing. Thus MAGENTA is a combination of the primary colors of red and blue (and maybe yellow) that will, statistically, provide the best useage.