Pure Black

[bejamshi]

My printer told me to get pure black
i need to have C40 & B100

I noticed other printer told me
20 20 20 100

Does this differ from printer to printer?

Also I do not wish for my black to be muddy or look brown

[jimking]

Yes, printers use different formulas for rich black. If you were to build using equal percentages such as 20c 20m 20y-that would give you a gray color. Add 100% black to the build then you have a rich black.

[DesignVHL]

Every printer has their favorite black. I consider the C40, B100 formula a rich black, and it prints very nicely. Its my fav black combination to use. :)

It really is a subjective issue more than anything. Your default black in the adobe software generally prints a bit flat, so I like to avoid it.

*If you use the c40, b100, you won't get the brown mud at all....its the yellow and magenta that would make it a bit muddy...as well as using all the CMYK inks.....just using the cyan % gives a nice rich clean tone black imo...

using all the inks can sometimes cause registration problems - especially when your using small type - this is because the ink is being printed 4 times...most printers will suggest you limit your black formulas....

Here is some reading on this:

http://www.typophile.com/node/13795
http://marvin.mrtoads.com/richblack_vs_plainblack.html

[bejamshi]

Thanks gang

[budafist]

Yup we use c40/k100 for offset too for rich black. But for small black text (8pt or less) we prefer k100 only. Digital is a bit different though - our copy centre recommends c20/m20/y20/k100.

Also keep in mind costs. I was sent a booklet the other day a 2 spot colour job (black and spot blue) where the designer had set all the photgraphs to CMYK black. Why? Because she wanted rich blacks. I had to explain to her that it would cost an extra 3 plates per page and my boss gave her a quote of and additional $1200 over her initial 2 colour job. She quickly revised the file to print 2 colours only.