Four colour process printing is the most common system for producing full colour print. In fact, the vast majority of magazines and colour books are produced using the four-colour process.

Originally the artwork and originals had been separated using filters and four printing plates were produced.

The four colour process printing consists of four ink colours namely, Cyan (Blue), Magenta (Red), Yellow and Black and is often referred to as CMYK. The inks used for four colour process printing are translucent due to which they can be overprinted and combined in a variety of different proportions to produce a wide range of colours.