The color

magenta Magenta () is a color that is variously defined as pinkish- purplish- red, reddish-purplish-pink or mauvish-crimson. On color wheels of the RGB (additive) and CMY (subtractive) color models, it is located exactly midway between red and blu ...

has notable

tints and shades In color theory, a tint is a mixture of a color with white, which increases lightness, while a shade is a mixture with black, which increases darkness. Both processes affect the resulting color mixture's relative saturation. A tone is produc ...

. These various colors are shown below.

Definition of magenta

Magenta is a color made up of equal parts of

red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...

and

blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when ...

light Light or visible light is electromagnetic radiation that can be perceived by the human eye. Visible light is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400–700 nanometres (nm), corresponding to frequencies of 750–420 te ...

. This would be the precise definition of the color as defined for computer display (the color #FF00FF shown in the color swatch above). It is a pure chroma on the RGB color wheel ( Image of RGB color wheel:) midway between

purple Purple is any of a variety of colors with hue between red and blue. In the RGB color model used in computer and television screens, purples are produced by mixing red and blue light. In the RYB color model historically used by painters, ...

and

rose A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...

. In

HSV color space HSL (for hue, saturation, lightness) and HSV (for hue, saturation, value; also known as HSB, for hue, saturation, brightness) are alternative representations of the RGB color model, designed in the 1970s by computer graphics researchers to mor ...

, ''magenta'' has a

hue In color theory, hue is one of the main properties (called color appearance parameters) of a color, defined technically in the CIECAM02 model as "the degree to which a stimulus can be described as similar to or different from stimuli that ...

of 300°. In a color proximity sense, a primary color has a color range of 120° (60° on each side of the color's hue) and any color has to be within that range to be considered a variation of that color. Secondary colors have a color range of 60° (30°), tertiary colors have a color range of 30° (15°), quaternary colors have a color range of 15° (7.5°), quinary colors have a color range of 7.5° (3.75°), and so on. Because magenta is located at a hue angle of 300°, it has a tertiary color range of 285° and 315°, and any color out of this range is more related to violet or

than magenta. Magenta is not a spectral but an ''extraspectral'' color: it cannot be generated by light of a single

wavelength In physics, the wavelength is the spatial period of a periodic wave—the distance over which the wave's shape repeats. It is the distance between consecutive corresponding points of the same phase on the wave, such as two adjacent crests, t ...

. Humans, being trichromats, can only see as far as 380 nanometers into the

spectrum A spectrum (plural ''spectra'' or ''spectrums'') is a condition that is not limited to a specific set of values but can vary, without gaps, across a continuum. The word was first used scientifically in optics to describe the rainbow of colors ...

, i.e., as far as violet. The hue magenta is the

complement A complement is something that completes something else. Complement may refer specifically to: The arts * Complement (music), an interval that, when added to another, spans an octave ** Aggregate complementation, the separation of pitch-clas ...

green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combi ...

: magenta

pigment A pigment is a colored material that is completely or nearly insoluble in water. In contrast, dyes are typically soluble, at least at some stage in their use. Generally dyes are often organic compounds whereas pigments are often inorganic compou ...

s absorb green light, thus magenta and green are opposite colors. This makes magenta an " extra-spectral color".

Three major historical variations of magenta

Magenta dye (original variation) (1860)

Before ''printer's magenta'' was invented in the 1890s for

CMYK The CMYK color model (also known as process color, or four color) is a subtractive color model, based on the CMY color model, used in color printing, and is also used to describe the printing process itself. The abbreviation ''CMYK'' refers ...

printing, and ''electric magenta'' was invented in the 1980s for computer displays, these two artificially engineered colors were preceded by the color displayed at right, which is the color originally called ''magenta'' made from coal tar dyes in the year 1859. Besides being called original magenta, magenta dye color is also called rich magenta to distinguish it from the colors ''printer's magenta'' and ''electric magenta'', shown below. Magenta was one of the first

aniline Aniline is an organic compound with the formula C6 H5 NH2. Consisting of a phenyl group attached to an amino group, aniline is the simplest aromatic amine. It is an industrially significant commodity chemical, as well as a versatile starti ...

dyes, discovered shortly after the Battle of Magenta (1859), which occurred near the town of

Magenta Magenta () is a color that is variously defined as pinkish- purplish- red, reddish-purplish-pink or mauvish-crimson. On color wheels of the RGB (additive) and CMY (subtractive) color models, it is located exactly midway between red and blu ...

in northern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. The color was originally called fuchsine or roseine, but for

marketing Marketing is the process of exploring, creating, and delivering value to meet the needs of a target market in terms of goods and services; potentially including selection of a target audience; selection of certain attributes or themes to emph ...

purposes in 1860 the color name was changed to ''magenta'' after the battle. Hence, the color is named indirectly after the town.

Process magenta (pigment magenta) (printer's magenta) (1890s)

In color printing, the color called process magenta or pigment magenta is one of the three primary pigment colors which, along with

yellow Yellow is the color between green and orange on the spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a dominant wavelength of roughly 575585 nm. It is a primary color in subtractive color systems, used in painting or color printing. In the ...

and cyan, constitute the three subtractive primary colors of pigment. (The secondary colors of pigment are blue, green, and red.) As such, the CMYK printing process was invented in the 1890s, when newspapers began to publish color comic strips. Process magenta is not an

RGB The RGB color model is an additive color model in which the red, green and blue primary colors of light are added together in various ways to reproduce a broad array of colors. The name of the model comes from the initials of the three addi ...

color, and there is no fixed conversion from CMYK primaries to RGB. Different formulations are used for printer's ink, so there can be variations in the printed color that is pure magenta ink. A typical formulation of ''process magenta'' is shown in the color box at right. The source of the color shown at right is the color magenta that is shown in the diagram located at the bottom of the following website offering tintbooks for CMYK printing

Web colors magenta and fuchsia (1990s)

Magenta, shown at the right, is one of the three secondary colors in the RGB color model, used to make all the colors on computer and television displays. It is made by a mixture of red and blue light at equal intensity. It is called magenta on X11 list of color names, and fuchsia on the HTML color list. The web colors magenta and fuchsia are exactly the same color. Sometimes the web color magenta is called ''electric magenta'' or ''electronic magenta''.

Additional variations of magenta

Magenta (Pantone)

Displayed at right is the color magenta (Pantone), i.e., the color that is called ''magenta'' in the

Pantone Pantone LLC (stylized as PANTONE) is a limited liability company headquartered in Carlstadt, New Jersey. The company is best known for its Pantone Matching System (PMS), a proprietary color space used in a variety of industries, notably graphi ...

color system. The source of this color is the "Pantone Textile Paper eXtended (TPX)" color list, color #17-2036 TPX—Magenta.

Magenta (Crayola)

At right is displayed a Crayola color formulated in 1949; it was originally called ''brilliant rose'' but the name was changed in 1958 to ''magenta''. This color has a hue angle of 329, which is close to the hue angle of the color

, which is 330.

Dark magenta

Displayed at right is the web color dark magenta.

Hot magenta

Displayed at right is the color hot magenta. This color was formulated by Crayola in 1986.

Magenta haze

Displayed at right is the color magenta haze. The source of this color is the "

Textile Paper eXtended (TPX)" color list, color #18-2525 TPX—Magenta Haze.

Quinacridone magenta

At right is displayed the color quinacridone magenta. ''Quinacridone magenta'' is a color made from quinacridone pigment. It is sold in tubes at art supply stores. By mixing various amounts of

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

with it, artists may create a wide range of light, bright, brilliant, vivid, rich, or deep tints of magenta.

Sky magenta

Displayed at right is the color sky magenta. The color ''sky magenta'' is a representation of the color of the sky near the

sun The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...

during the brief period during

twilight Twilight is light produced by sunlight scattering in the upper atmosphere, when the Sun is below the horizon, which illuminates the lower atmosphere and the Earth's surface. The word twilight can also refer to the periods of time when this i ...

when the

pink Pink is the color of a namesake flower that is a pale tint of red. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, politeness, ...

of sunset transitions into the

of early

evening Evening is the period of a day that starts at the end of the afternoon and overlaps with the beginning of night. The exact times when evening begins and ends depend on location, time of year, and culture, but it is generally regarded as beginn ...

. This color was one of the colors in the set of ''Venus Paradise'' colored pencils, a popular brand of colored pencils in the 1950s. This color is also called ''medium lavender pink''. A photograph of the sky displaying the color ''sky magenta'' in its natural context by photographer Dave Horn

is displayed here

Telemagenta

Displayed at right is the color telemagenta. This is one of the colors in the RAL colour standard, RAL color matching system, a color system widely used in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

. The RAL color list first originated in 1927, and it reached its present form in 1961.

Amaranth

Amaranth (color) Amaranth is a reddish- rose color that is a representation of the color of the flower of the amaranth plant. The color shown is the color of the red amaranth flower (the color normally considered amaranth), but there are other varieties of am ...

is a reddish-rose color that is a representation of the color of the flower of the amaranth plant. The color amaranth purple is displayed at right.

Orchid

The color orchid, since it has a hue code of 302, may be classified as a rich tone of magenta. ''Orchid'' is a representation of the color of the

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowerin ...

flower. The first recorded use of ''orchid'' as a color name in English was in 1915. In 1987, orchid was included as one of the X11 colors. After the invention of the

World Wide Web The World Wide Web (WWW), commonly known as the Web, is an information system enabling documents and other web resources to be accessed over the Internet. Documents and downloadable media are made available to the network through web ...

in 1991, these became known as the X11 web colors.

Pale purple

Pale purple is a pale tint of magenta despite it being called a purple.

Plum

The color plum, since it has a hue code of 307, may be regarded as a dark tone of magenta. The color ''plum'' is a close representation of the average color of the plum fruit. The first recorded use of ''plum'' as a color name in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

was in 1805.

Purple pizzazz

Displayed at right is the color purple pizzazz. This color was formulated by Crayola in 1990.

Razzle dazzle rose

Displayed at right is the color razzle dazzle rose. This color is a vivid tone of rose tending toward magenta. This is a

Crayola Crayola LLC, formerly the Binney & Smith Company, is an American manufacturing company specializing in art supplies. It is known for its brand ''Crayola'' and best known for its crayons. The company is headquartered in Forks Township, Pennsylva ...

crayon color formulated in 1972 and called hot magenta. In 1990 the name changed to ''razzle dazzle rose''.

Rose quartz

There is a grayish shade of magenta that is called rose quartz. The first recorded use of ''rose quartz'' as a color name in English was in 1926.

Shocking pink

Shocking pink (the original 1937 ''shocking pink'') takes its name from the tone of pink used in the lettering on the box of the

perfume Perfume (, ; french: parfum) is a mixture of fragrant essential oils or aroma compounds (fragrances), fixatives and solvents, usually in liquid form, used to give the human body, animals, food, objects, and living-spaces an agreeable scent. Th ...

called ''Shocking'', designed by Leonor Fini for the

Surrealist Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to ...

fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli in 1937.

Shocking pink (Crayola)

Displayed at right is the Crayola color shocking pink. This is a

crayon color formulated in 1972 and called ultra pink. In 1990 the name was changed to ''shocking pink''.

Steel pink

The color steel pink is displayed at right. The color ''steel pink'' was introduced by

in January 2011, when the Ultra Hot and Super Cool set of Crayola colored pencils was fully introduced. "Steel pink" is a deep tone of magenta.

Web color violet

Although called violet, it is actually a shade of magenta.

African violet

The color African violet is displayed at right. The source of this color is the "

Textile Paper eXtended (TPX)" color list, color #16-3250 TPX—African Violet.

English violet

The color English violet is displayed at right. The first recorded use of ''English violet'' as a color name in

was in 1928.

Chinese violet

The color Chinese violet is displayed at right. The first recorded use of ''Chinese violet'' as a color name in

was in 1912. The source of this color is the "

Textile Paper eXtended (TPX)" color list, color #18-3418 TPX—Chinese Violet.

Japanese violet

The color Japanese violet is shown at right. This is the color called "violet" in the traditional Japanese colors group, a group of colors in use since beginning in 660 CE in the form of various dyes that are used in designing

kimono The is a traditional Japanese garment and the national dress of Japan. The kimono is a wrapped-front garment with square sleeves and a rectangular body, and is worn left side wrapped over right, unless the wearer is deceased. The kimono ...

.. , Tokyo , 1985. The name of this color in

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

is , meaning "violet color".

Finn

The color Finn is displayed at right. Finn is a dark magenta color.

References

External links

How the color magenta was discovered in 1859 through research into coal tar (aniline) dyes.

{{Color topics Shades Shades Shades