# How to force true black ink printing?



## Sunro (Apr 19, 2008)

We are a bit puzzled over how to make our Blazer Pro print black using only black ink, not a CMYK blend.

Printing only black letters or monochrome images seems to almost always use CMYK black instead of just black ink. This is not always the case, but in our experience we don't seem to be able to force the use of black only, or to predict when it will happen by itself. It seems a waste of the CMY inks.

Does anyone know how to force the printer (or perhaps FastRIP) to use only real black ink? Are we missing something obvious in the RIP setup? We usually use a Photoshop --> FastArtist --> FastRIP sequence.

Do we require some sort of Black Magic??? .


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## cavedave (Dec 5, 2006)

No, you dont need black magic

If you are printing from FastARTIST, use the SF - Black in your palette and this will print just black only.
Or from FastARTIST and any program, use CMYK to define you color and just use black, then in FastRIP copy a print mode and change it (Printer - manage print mode), edit the new print mode and goto ICC tab, click on the down arrow and select pure black check box.
Then if you use this print mode black in CMYK comes out unaltered.

Best regards

-David


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## cavedave (Dec 5, 2006)

One other thing, black on its own isnt as black as CMYK black, just so you know before hand.

Best regards

-David


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## Sunro (Apr 19, 2008)

Thanks so much Dave. We had used the technique before but had forgotten to document it, so your response was a good refresher. Much appreciated. And ... it just works!


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## Don-ColDesi (Oct 18, 2006)

If you are using RIP Pro or one of it's cousins - you simply choose "Generate Pure Blacks" in the advanced tab.


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## Sunro (Apr 19, 2008)

Thanks Don,

I'm not sure if the FastRIP software that came with the BlazerPro is one of the "cousins", but I'll pass this info on to James, who will know.


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## cavedave (Dec 5, 2006)

It isnt.

Best regards

-David


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## JeridHill (Feb 8, 2006)

cavedave said:


> One other thing, black on its own isnt as black as CMYK black, just so you know before hand.
> 
> Best regards
> 
> -David


Exactly......

You will get much richer blacks when using CMYK. I would print something in only black and then something black using CMYK and you may find you like the CMYK black better. Besides, to add the CMY to the print, you may only be adding $0.15 - $0.20. Hardly justifiable if you can achieve much better blacks with CMYK.

To really get a rich black, when you do your formula, you can try printing a little more cyan in the black. It will most likely depend on the profiles for your printer, but we had an image that had 76% C, 69% M, 61% Y and 76% K that was much richer in look and depth than a black that was more evened out on numbers. You may want to play around with it, but I would use the same percentages (or close) on the Cyan and Black and lower your M and Y. On screen the second black looked better, but on a shirt, the first was above and beyond.


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## Sunro (Apr 19, 2008)

JeridHill said:


> ....... You may want to play around with it, but I would use the same percentages (or close) on the Cyan and Black and lower your M and Y. On screen the second black looked better, but on a shirt, the first was above and beyond.


Very interesting! Thanks for the tip. It's beginning to look like we had better stick with CMYK black and forget about saving a few pennies. 

Actually, the original question was prompted by the appearance of a very slightly colored fringe around the black, which does not always happen but which can be noticeable on a white shirt once in a while. Maybe it's time to do a head alignment.


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