A small print shop owner told me my blacks were too rich

I used to set all my text to 100% K and called it a day. He pointed out that on uncoated stock, 100% K just looks dusty and washed out. Now I do a deep rich black with 60C 30M 30Y under the K and the difference in those matte flyers is night and day. Has anyone else found a solid black formula they swear by?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_lee7h agoMost Upvoted

Ever tried running that 80K 20C combo on a big run and watched it turn green on ya?

gavin_mason319h ago

That whole "deep rich black" thing with all that cyan and magenta under it, I see it differently. I've been down that road and all I got was muddy grays and registration problems on uncoated stock. Those heavy ink loads just sit on top of the paper instead of soaking in, so you get this weird pooling effect that never really dries right. Plus when you're running a thousand flyers and your rich black starts shifting blue or purple because the pressman can't keep the balances straight, you'll wish you stuck with 100% K. I actually get better results with a simple 80K 20C on uncoated, it gives that solid deep look without the headache of trying to keep three colors locked in.