Color depth

... is the number of bits used to encode the color of each pixel. Therefore with color depth n we can encode 2ⁿ colors.

• color depth 8: We can represent 256 colors.
• High color: color depth = 16: 6 bits are used for red parts, 5 bits for green and blue parts each. These parts are combined additively (like with colored light, (Red-Green-Blue) model) on the screen, and subtractively (using Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black like on paintings, the model) when printing.
• True color: color depth = 24: same as above, but with 8 bits for each of red, green, blue.