Shades of blue pigment blue, is the tone of blue that is achieved by mixing process (printer's) cyan and process (printer's) magenta in equal proportions. It is displayed at right. The purpose of the CMYK color system is to provide the maximum possible gamut of color reproducible in printing by the use of only three primaries. The color indicated is only approximate as the colors of printing inks may vary. The color defined as "blue" in the NCS or Natural Color System is an azure-like color shown at right (NCS 2060-B). The Natural Color System is a color system based on the four
Blue–green distinction in language different and common words: while ' refers to the color of arterial blood, ' is a red tending towards yellow or the color of clay. Italian distinguishes blue ('), green (') and grey ('). There are also common words for light blue (e.g. the color of the cloudless sky): ' and ', and other for darker shades, e.g. ', indigo. ', the English equivalent of azure, is usually considered a separate basic color rather than a shade of "blu" (similar to the distinction in English between red and pink). Some sources even go to the point of defining "blu" as