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RGB

red, green, and blue light bulbs illustrating the colors of light

What is RGB?

RGB stands for Red, Green, and Blue. These are the colors of light. Monitors, TVs, and projectors produce images with RGB colors.

RGB is an additive color model. Colors are created by adding different amounts of light together. This is in contrast to the subtractive model CMYK, where colors are created by subtracting certain wavelengths of light through pigments or dyes.

Here’s how RGB works:

  1. Red: When red light is at its highest intensity and green and blue lights are turned off, the result is a pure red color. Lowering the intensity of red light and increasing the intensity of green and blue lights can create shades of orange and pink.
  2. Green: When green light is at its highest intensity and red and blue lights are turned off, the result is a pure green color. Adjusting the intensity of green light while varying the intensities of red and blue lights results in a range of greens, from lime green to teal.
  3. Blue: When blue light is at its highest intensity and red and green lights are turned off, the result is a pure blue color. Modifying the intensity of blue light along with the intensities of red and green lights produces various shades of blue, including indigo and turquoise.
RGB additive color model. Colors of red, green, and blue overlap each other and combine to create white in the center. Light adds up to white.

When all three colors of red, green, and blue are at their maximum intensities, they combine to create white light. When all three colors are absent (at zero intensity), the result is black.

RELATED GLOSSARY TERMS

additive
blue
CMYK
green
red
subtractive