Here, we report preparation of cyan ceramic nano-pigment for inkjet printing and the Ni substitutional effects on the cyan color. $MgAl_2O_4$ was selected as the crystalline host network for the synthesis of nickel-based cyan ceramic nano-pigments. Various compositions of $Ni_xMg_{1-x}Al_2O_4$ ($0{leq}x{leq}1$) powders were prepared using the polymerized complex method. The powder was then preheated at $400^{circ}C$ for 5 h and finally calcined at $1000^{circ}C$ for 5 h. XRD patterns of $Ni_xMg_{1-x}Al_2O_4$ showed a single phase of the spinel structure in all the compositions. The particle sizes ranged from 20 to 50 nm in TEM observations. The characteristics of the color tones of $Ni_xMg_{1-x}Al_2O_4$ were analyzed by UV-Visible spectroscopy and CIE $L^*a^*b^*$ measurement. CIE $L^*a^*b^*$ measurement results indicate that the pigment color changes from light cyan to deep cyan due to the decrease of the $a^*$ and $b^*$ values with an increase of an Ni substitutional amount. In addition, the thermal stability and the binding nature of $Ni_xMg_{1-x}Al_2O_4$ are also discussed using TG-DSC and FT-IR results respectively.