The three primary colors (magenta, cyan and yellow) used to absorb or subtract parts of the complete spectrum of white light to form the complete color spectrum; colors that absorb all other wavelengths of light but their own reflecting back only their own color wavelength of light. ubtractive primary colors are how we see color in the real world. Pure white light is all around us. As it bombards the objects we see, their colorants (the things that give them color) absorb certain light frequencies and reflect others. For instance, the subtractive primary yellow absorbs the frequencies of light that reflect as cyan and magenta so that the only light reflected is of the yellow frequency. The yellow primary essentially takes away or subtracts the frequencies of cyan and magenta. When there are no subtractive primaries present, there is pure white. When all the subtractive primaries are mixed in equal amounts, there is black. ubtractive primaries represent how we perceive color in life and in the physical world. By comparison, additive primaries combine multiple colors of light to form the color spectrum. The additive primaries (red, green and blue) mix together and add to one another to form colors. When there are no additive primaries there is black or darkness. When they are all added together in equal amounts, they form white. Additive primaries are used to recreate images on televisions, monitors, video displays and spotlights.