How to use black ink instead of color, for black print

[Micky]

Do I understand the quoted text below correctly:

Does Brother make me change the preference every time I switch from a
color to a black&white original, and vice versa, if I want it to use
only black ink for black?

Do all printer makes work like this?

If it can tell which color ink to use, I figured the printer software
could tell the original was all black and then use nothing but black
ink. Is that too much to ask?

http://support.brother.com/g/b/faqend.aspx?c=us&lang=en&prod=mfcj625dw_all&ftype3=1977&faqid=faq00000038_008
For my all-in-one inkject printer, Brother says:

"Another factor that could be affecting your color ink consumption is
the amount of printing from a computer, even if the print jobs are
black only. Because this machine offers full color printing, the
default setting in the print driver is COLOR. This means the machine
will automatically mix ALL the colors to produce a selected color,
even black.

"If you would like to print from the computer using the black ink
only, you need to change the printing preferences to GRAY SCALE, and
also select "Plain Paper" at Media Type."

I don't mind setting it say I'm using plain paper -- even though I
thought I should buy inkject paper instead? -- but I know I will
forget to change the driver from gray scale to color every time I
preint color, and back again every other time.

If it can tell which color ink to use, I figured it could tell the
original was all black and then use nothing but black ink. Is that
too much to ask?


I have it set for color but I've been printing black and white
crossword puzzles. I can't see a trace of any color but black. How
can that be? Does it mix the 3 inks before it sprays it on; does it
have perfect spray location so that there is no penumbra of a color;
or is it really using black ink despite what the FAQ says.


I know the ink level monitor is not that precise, but I've only
printed a few pages, all black, and so far I haven't seen either a
black or a color ink level go down.


>If you select other Media Type than "Plain Paper", color inks are used. In detail, please refer to the Related FAQ which is located in the end of this page:
>"When selecting grayscale printing in the printer driver,does this use only the black ink or all the ink cartridges to produce the grayscale image?"

Here is the "related FAQ":

"When selecting grayscale printing in the printer driver, does this
use only the black ink or all the ink cartridges to produce the
grayscale image?

It depends on the following conditions:
Paper Type Setting and Machine Operation Mode

B/W PC Printing Mode
Plain Paper Black
Inkjet Paper Cyan + Magenta + Yellow + Black
Brother BP71 Photo Paper/
Brother BP61 Photo Paper/
Other Photo Paper Cyan + Magenta + Yellow
Transparencies Cyan + Magenta + Yellow
Slow Drying Paper Cyan + Magenta + Yellow + Black
2-Sided(Duplex) Cyan + Magenta + Yellow + Black

B/W Copy Mode
Plain Paper Black
Inkjet Paper Cyan + Magenta + Yellow + Black
Brother BP71 Photo Paper/
Brother BP61 Photo Paper/
Other Photo Paper Cyan + Magenta + Yellow
Transparencies Cyan + Magenta + Yellow
2-Sided(Duplex) Cyan + Magenta + Yellow + Black


B/W Fax Reception Mode
Plain Paper Black
Inkjet Paper Black
Brother BP71 Photo Paper/
Brother BP61 Photo Paper/
Other Photo Paper Cyan + Magenta + Yellow

[Unknown]

Many colour inkjets mix colour with black to produce a really good black,
otherwise the blacks can look a little washed out (not usually true of
pigmented inks). There are exceptions to this but I am sure that the FAQ is
correct. Some other manufacturers do similar things. Fear not the ink levels
will go down.
Tony

[Gernot Hassenpflug]

Micky <NONONO...@bigfoot.com> writes:

> Do I understand the quoted text below correctly:
>
> Does Brother make me change the preference every time I switch from a
> color to a black&white original, and vice versa, if I want it to use
> only black ink for black?

Yes and no. Answered in the FAQ for you.

Note that there is the issue of which black you are talking about. From
the context it is clear that you are talking about pigment black, and
not photo black (I hope I chose the right words here, I am more used to
the Japanese terms these days).

> Do all printer makes work like this?

Most inkjets work like this, yes.

I think you have started to read the manual more deeply, so you can see
how different media affect the possible selections. You should remember
this as part of your "situational awareness".

Perfectly straightforward:

1. Only plain non-photo media use black ink, i.e. plain paper,
envelopes, postcards (obviously not inkjet postcards which is a photo
media).

2. So if you select one of the above, you can switch off colour inks
entirely by selecting black. On the other hand, if you have different
media selected, then choosing black will have no effect
whatsoever. Black will never be used with photo media unless it is
photo black.

3. Non-plain media (usually photo media) will never use pigment black,
only photo black. So on printers without photo black, photo media use
only cyan, magenta, yellow (if there are other colors then photo
black will generall be the first among them, followed by photo cyan,
photo magenta, and even photo yellow, gray and other colours for
high-end printers).

4. If you are changing between media to a photo media, you will encounter
incompatibilities in the settings, so the driver will still use color
even though you have selected black only. Sure you can print in
grayscale, but the grey will be made up of cyan, magenta, yellow.

Hope this is clear.
--
NNTP on Emacs 24.3 from Windows 7

[Charlie]

The answer to the original question varies based on the make and model
of a printer, and the driver software. All are not equal!

[Wolf K]

On 2016-01-25 04:20, Charlie wrote:
[...]

> The answer to the original question varies based on the make and model
> of a printer, and the driver software. All are not equal!

Yup. As Gernot pointed out:

"Yes and no. Answered in the FAQ for you."

Have a good day,

--
Best,
Wolf K
kirkwood40.blogspot.ca

[NY]

"Gernot Hassenpflug" <gernot.ha...@asahinet.com> wrote in message
news:yolr3h6...@asahi-net.or.jp...

> Micky <NONONO...@bigfoot.com> writes:
>
>> Do I understand the quoted text below correctly:
>>
>> Does Brother make me change the preference every time I switch from a
>> color to a black&white original, and vice versa, if I want it to use
>> only black ink for black?
>
> Yes and no. Answered in the FAQ for you.
>
> Note that there is the issue of which black you are talking about. From
> the context it is clear that you are talking about pigment black, and
> not photo black (I hope I chose the right words here, I am more used to
> the Japanese terms these days).

Some printers (my old HP) are able to print using the black cartridge alone
if you only want to print text. Some (my newer Epson) require the colour
cartridge to be present and none of the colours to have run out, even to
print black text.

Shame that it's so difficult to tell what rules a given printer uses. The
moral is always to have a supply of all the coloured cartridges available,
even if you only want to print a letter in black text :-(

Even if a combination of colours plus black gives a blacker black, IMHO it
should always be possible for a printer to work in limp-home mode using
black only. That's what I'd require all printer manufacturers to do if I was
God :-)

[Gernot Hassenpflug]

The only way to know for a particular prinjter really is from the
manual, so it should be explained there.
Usually for plain media lower quality will be able to use K only, higher
quality probably not. If you select black-only cartridge, possibly only
lower-quality printing will become available in the driver settings.

Analysing printjobs can help to some degree. For example, in the
gutenprint project (linux/MacOSX mostly inkjet printer drivers) I
analyse Canon printer printjobs which contain colour information for
each pixel (not the actual printhead colours, since the firmware on
Canon printers does that final translation). From experience, if the
metadata only contains K (black) then it is almost (no exceptions found
so far) certain that the printer will use black only in the actual
print.

[Unknown]

As a general rule, and ignoring the question of mixing colour with black for
enhancement purposes, all printers with fixed print heads will refuse to print
if any ink tank runs out. This is to protect the head regardless of what the
cynical amongst us might think. Depending on whether the fixed printhead is
piezo or heat driven the ink is needed to either lubricate or cool the head, in
both cases absence of ink damages the head.
For printers that use cartridges that have built in heads, so that the head is
replaced when the cartridge is replaced, it is a matter of design whether the
printer will work with some ink missing and that design may be to allow
enhanced black printing or (rarely) to force people to buy more ink they do not
yet need!
There is plenty of criticism of printer manufacturers for various reasons -
this reason is more imaginary than real. To allow limp ho,e would need a brand
new design for printheads, as yet not seen.
Tony

[NY]

"Tony" <lizandtony at orcon dot net dot nz> wrote in message
news:part1of1.1.U...@ue.ph...

> As a general rule, and ignoring the question of mixing colour with black
> for
> enhancement purposes, all printers with fixed print heads will refuse to
> print
> if any ink tank runs out. This is to protect the head regardless of what
> the
> cynical amongst us might think. Depending on whether the fixed printhead
> is
> piezo or heat driven the ink is needed to either lubricate or cool the
> head, in
> both cases absence of ink damages the head.
> For printers that use cartridges that have built in heads, so that the
> head is
> replaced when the cartridge is replaced, it is a matter of design whether
> the
> printer will work with some ink missing and that design may be to allow
> enhanced black printing or (rarely) to force people to buy more ink they
> do not
> yet need!

Interesting. I hadn't realised that there was a technical reason for it, as
opposed to a sales one. Come to think of it, my HP which would carry on
printing had the head in the cartridge whereas the Epson which won't has a
head that is not replaced when the cartridges are replaced.

Shame that if you select black-only, power to the colour head isn't disabled
so as to remove the need to lubricate/cool it.

[Wolf K]

On 2016-01-27 10:41, NY wrote:
[...]

> Shame that if you select black-only, power to the colour head isn't disabled
> so as to remove the need to lubricate/cool it.

???

The ink is squirted from the printhead when that colour is activated, so
AFAIK the only time a printhead warms up is when it's being used.

[NY]

"Wolf K" <wol...@sympatico.ca> wrote in message
news:C26qy.331977$Cg1.2...@fx10.iad...

> On 2016-01-27 10:41, NY wrote:
> [...]
>> Shame that if you select black-only, power to the colour head isn't
>> disabled
>> so as to remove the need to lubricate/cool it.
>
> ???
>
> The ink is squirted from the printhead when that colour is activated, so
> AFAIK the only time a printhead warms up is when it's being used.

Exactly my point. So if the print head isn't used (eg by turning it off or
by making sure there is no signal to send ink to the nozzles of any of the
colours) those nozzles won't warm up and therefore they won't need ink to
cool/lubricate them. Therefore you can continue printing in black without
the need for all the coloured inks to be present.

Since you and I seem to be saying the same thing, I'm not sure why you are
mystified by my statement.

[Unknown]

In most cases cleaning cycles take place when powering on the printer (I don't
know of any exceptions). That indicates that cleaning is needed after a period
of power off. In any event I am convinced that any manufacturer that could
design a head that didn't need ink to cool or lubricate would get a lot of
customers so the technical reasons are obviously powerful.
Tony

[GSalisbury]

"Tony" <lizandtony at orcon dot net dot nz> wrote in message

news:part1of1.1.yvImdcb1$Tt...@ue.ph...
> "NY" <m...@privacy.net> wrote:
[snip]

> In most cases cleaning cycles take place when powering on the printer (I
> don't
> know of any exceptions). That indicates that cleaning is needed after a
> period
> of power off. In any event I am convinced that any manufacturer that could
> design a head that didn't need ink to cool or lubricate would get a lot of
> customers so the technical reasons are obviously powerful.
> Tony
>

FWIW for info only ...
I have a Brother MFC-5460CN (an AOI) that is always plugged-in but mostly
turned-off.
It will periodically "wake itself up" and run through some cleaning cycles
automagically.
I also have a Canon iP3000 (had an i560 for a long time till I killed it).
I think the Canon's clean when I tell them to.
Geo. S.

[Unknown]

Fair enough, there is different beaviour for different printers.
My ip4000 which I use rarely cleans every time I turn it on.
My experiences with Brother inkjets have not been great but I do like their
laser or LED printers.
Tony

[GSalisbury]

"Tony" <lizandtony at orcon dot net dot nz> wrote in message

news:part1of1.1.pJsxp2p$jel...@ue.ph...

===========
I guess you could be right about the Canon's and cleaning on power-up.
When I send something to be printed they turn on (if off) and there is a lot
of whirring and clucking and latency and what have you.
True of the i560 and now of the iP3000.
I never gave it much thought.
It is what it is.
Geo.

[Micky]

On Thu, 28 Jan 2016 17:54:19 -0500, "GSalisbury" <No...@Domain.Net>
wrote:

>"Tony" <lizandtony at orcon dot net dot nz> wrote in message
>news:part1of1.1.yvImdcb1$Tt...@ue.ph...
>> "NY" <m...@privacy.net> wrote:
>[snip]
>> In most cases cleaning cycles take place when powering on the printer (I
>> don't
>> know of any exceptions). That indicates that cleaning is needed after a
>> period
>> of power off. In any event I am convinced that any manufacturer that could
>> design a head that didn't need ink to cool or lubricate would get a lot of
>> customers so the technical reasons are obviously powerful.
>> Tony
>>
>FWIW for info only ...
>I have a Brother MFC-5460CN (an AOI) that is always plugged-in but mostly
>turned-off.
>It will periodically "wake itself up" and run through some cleaning cycles
>automagically.

Yes, I have a Brother MFC-J625DW AOI (AIO). Inkjet. I don't turn it
off. I don't think it has a switch. But it has no sign of life when
I look at it. Not a single glowing light. But the manual said it
turns on, every 2 days iirc, to clean itself.

With the Epson aio inkjet, I was determined to not clog the jets so I
printed something every two months, for two years, and that seemed to
be enough. Brother's policy of every two days seems excessive. Maybe
that's why I found the printer on the curb (and talked to the previous
owner, who lived there and answered the door when I knocked, who
really did throw it away (not that it was stolen and then dumped). I
didnt' ask why.)