The number of colors in a printer indicates how many separate color components are used in printing. Standard inkjet printers use four basic colours (CMYK - cyan, magenta, yellow and black), allowing full-colour printing of common documents and photos. However, some printers use extended colour palettes, such as 6 or more colours (e.g. light cyan, light magenta, grey), which provide smoother transitions and higher colour fidelity. Higher colour counts are common in printers designed for professional graphics and photography.
