Printing is a subtractive process; all the colors combine to form black.
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Subtractive. He chiseled marble rocks.
An additive process is one that adds on material to an existing part or solid object to make it larger in mass. A subtractive process is one that shoves down material off of a part or solid object in order to make it smaller or lighter weight.
In subtractive processes, the sculptor begins with a mass of material larger than the finished work and removes material, or subtracts from that mass until the work achieves its finished form. Carving is a subtractive process. In additive processes, the sculptor builds the work, adding material as the work proceeds. Modeling, construction, and assemblage are additive processes.
Nearly all modern color photographic film processes use subtractive color because it is more efficient. It produces a very good facsimile of the original scene colors with less loss of light than with additive color. Each additive color filter subtracts two-thirds of the white light striking it, while each subtractive color filter transmits two-thirds. With three color dye layers in subtractive color film, all colors can be reproduced: the subtractive primaries are magenta, cyan, and yellow, each of which absorbs its complementary color. Combinations of these three colors can reproduce their shared additive primary. For example, magenta transmits red and blue, while absorbing green light. Cyan transmits blue and green, while absorbing red. When superimposed, both red and green are absorbed and only the shared blue transmission is permitted. By varying the density of each subtractive filter, virtually any color can be reproduced.
Subtractive color is the mixing of paints, dyes, inks, and natural colorants, etc. to create a range of colors; for example red and green pigments, being quite far apart, when mixed result in a dark browinish color depending on the actual pigments used. Additive color is the mixing of illumination, a good example is the screen you are looking att now. There a yellow color is obtained by illuminating a green and a red sub-pixel.