four-color

American  

[fawr-kuhl-er, fohr-] / ˈfɔrˌkʌl ər, ˈfoʊr- /

adjective

Printing.

1. noting or pertaining to a process for reproducing colored illustrations in a close approximation to their original hues by photographing the artwork successively through magenta, cyan, and yellow color-absorbing filters to produce four plates that are printed successively with yellow, red, blue, and black inks.

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Example Sentences

Schneider, 42, is clad in several muted shades of green — a short-sleeved work shirt with a Bic four-color ballpoint in the left breast pocket, paint-spattered pants and lighter green socks.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 23, 2025

Eleven years after the publication of the first proof, both proofs were overturned and the slippery four-color theorem reverted its status back to the four-color conjecture.

From Scientific American • Jul. 24, 2023

He had to carry four-color pens, usually four at a time, that he would give out to anyone he met, even though the inscription identified the recipient as a thief.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 27, 2022

Stan Lee, the mastermind of comics who plotted countless splats, yeeows and kabooms, created a four-color universe of crime fighters in tights that looked like New York, because it was.

From New York Times • Nov. 14, 2018

"It's all explained right here in your instruction book," the demonstrator said, holding up a garishly printed booklet opened to a four-color diagram.

From Toy Shop by Brey, Charles