The first inkjet colour printer I had - many many years ago - produced a much denser black than later ones. Noticeable when producing transparencies.
Of course that same black ink would run if it got wet - even after drying fully. And tended to go brown with age.
Modern inks seem more waterproof when dry - so would seem to be different in some way.
Is it possible to still get that nice dense black?
Have you tried the "photo black" ink cartridges (if they're available for your printer)?
I think there are two types of ink: pigment-based and dye-based. Perhaps the type generally used for black ink has changed over time?
Yes - I'd got that far. Searching on pigment types suggested they may not be suitable for all printers.
Yes, with a laser printer :-)
Owain
Not with the cheap one I've got here.
Not for transparencies, Laser printers produce a not very dark gray.
There may be a difference between inkjet printing (ultrasonically squirt ink at paper) and bubblejet (boiling ink to steam ejects it) - I could imagine that the squirting method is better for inks with pigments in. Canon and HP use(d) bubblejet, while Epson use inkjet.
Epson used to be the go-to manufacturer for squirting things-other-than-ink. I would have expected Epson to be better at pigmented inks, but you state elsewhere the problem printer is an Epson. Maybe you have the wrong cartridge?
Theo
Possibly oil based, rather than water based. It is a while since I sold printer inks and I forget which makers used which.
Pigment based inks give a denser colour but are also more expensive. Hence, even if the manufacturer has decided to use pigment based inks, some compatibles may use the cheaper dye based inks.
Would there not also be a danger that pigment-based inks would be more likely to dry out and block the jets than dye-based inks, i.e. a pigment suspension versus a dye solution?
It's a four cartridge type. But then so was the one which worked well. I am using none genuine ones now - but it was no better with the originals.
Are you printing monochrome? This any help?
In message , Chris Hogg writes
I suppose there is no chance this is a printer setting issue? When you include paper type/quality, this adds up to about 10 options on my Epson inkjet.
>
Think I've tried them all. But there aren't as many choices as on my previous Canon - that did have one for transparencies. But still didn't give as dense a black as the one before that.
I was told that many recent inks actually look purple which is an issue we used to get back in the days of inked ribbons.
I should not say back in the day, as it seems NHS still uses quite a lot of dot matrix prinnters!
Brian
Have something to add? Share your thoughts — no account required.
Ask the community — no account required