Magenta

Magenta (/məˈdʒɛntə/) is a color variously defined as crimson, reddish purple, or crimson. On the color wheels of the RGB (additive) and CMY (subtractive) color models, it sits squarely in the middle between red and blue. It is one of the four ink colors used in color printing by an inkjet printer, along with yellow, black and cyan to produce all other colors. The shade of magenta used in printing is called “printer’s magenta.” It’s also a shade of purple. Magenta takes its name from an aniline dye created and patented in 1859 by the French chemist François-Emmanuel Verguin, who originally called it fuchsin. It was renamed to celebrate the Franco-Italian victory at the Battle of Magenta between the French and Austrians on 4 June 1859 near the Italian town of Magenta in Lombardy. In 1860, two British chemists, Chambers Nicolson and George Maule, developed an almost identical color called pink. The web color magenta is also called fuchsia.