Printing Black & White with IP4300

[slhawks]

Can anyone HELP with this ??
I have owned a Canon IP4300 for six months and have always had a problem printing B/W from Photoshop.
This prints a sepia type colour. Printing direct using the Windows Picture & Fax viewer has given some good results but for some reason this now does the same.. I have tried all of the obvious settings but only manage to waste paper.
I have seen this question asked before but not any solutions

ANY HELP appreciated

 

[canonfodder]

SLHAWKS,

I am not the one who can really help, but just to start this off properly, please answer some questions.

Are you using original Canon ink, refilling, or using some other company's compatible cartridges?

If not Canon ink, then what brand of ink or cartridge are you using?

What brand and type paper are you using?

Your answers will help, and someone who does black and white will help too.

 

[Grandad35]

slhawks,

There are some very informative posts (I believe by ghwellsjr) showing that Canon prints much of the grayscale using a blend of C/M/Y inks. It is extremely difficult to get accurate grays in this manner, and it requires a custom printer profile to even get close (especially if you aren't using OEM ink). The printers that are designed to print B&W (and which do a good job of it) use separate gray inks to print the lighter grays on B&W prints (http://www.amazon.com/Canon-PGI-9-Gray-Tank-1042B002/dp/B000O9UUUC) - used in (http://www.pictureline.com/products/13546/Canon_Pro_9500_Pixma_Printer_with_Spyder/).

If you are really fussy about your B&W, you may never be happy with the results from your IP4300. Another point to consider is that as your prints fade the C/M/Y inks all fade at different rates, so a even a "perfect" B&W print will develop a color cast over time. Pigment based gray inks don't suffer from this problem.

I have scanned some old B&W prints, and they aren't really a true B&W - more like a sepia color. Is it possible that your driver is trying to emulate what old B&W prints actually look like?

 

[fotofreek]

MIS, in the past, had Epson B/W ink sets that you substitute for the color carts. I believe that they also provided a custom profile for these sets. Check their web site to see if they still have these ink sets. You can contact MIS tech support and ask which Epsons they suggest for the B/W ink sets they sell. Three or four years ago I read posts from someone who, on the advice of MIS, purchased an inexpensive Epson printer with which to use these ink sets. If I did any volume of B/W prints I would consider this route.

 

[ghwellsjr]

There are some very informative posts (I believe by ghwellsjr) showing that Canon prints much of the grayscale using a blend of C/M/Y inks.

That information is available in the Inkjet FAQ's link near the top of this page. Click on the answer to the question: Does grayscale printing use color cartridges to make gray?

 

[slhawks]

I thank you for your quick replys
I would not believe this problem to be paper or ink related when it printed perfectly OK with the picture and fax viewer
When I first purchased this printer I tried every combination of settings possible to print B/W only to get a sepia tint. Curiosity made me try a print with Windows picture and Fax Viewer to find it produced some excellent results and have since done all of my editing in photoshop and printed with this viewer
Papers and inks of any source produce suitable results.
I recently had a a virus problem then formatted and re-installed the system which leads me to assume it must be more to program settings rather than paper or ink
Many Thanks for your suggestions

 

[Simon R.]

I'd just convert the picture to grayscale - surely will print B/W

 

[WhiteDog]

Printing in grayscale is a slippery and mystical process on the Canon dye-ink printers. Good grayscale is not necessarily the absence of color. There are lighting dynamics gamut and saturation issues. Internally Black printing on Canons is accomplished by the print driver laying down a layer of green and overprinting a "black" ink which has a magenta tint. That is why you will see magenta/black when you wash out your black cartridges or syringes. Or put a couple of drops of black into 100 ml. of water.

Also, when the black tank quits you can see the green component.

With all the possible variations you can only print to a level of personal or perceptual approval and make notes of the settings.

Some of the techniques to get grayscale are published here:
http://www.corel.com/servlet/Satellite/us/en/Content/1186757765448?trkid=bd0807tip2

Also, you can extract only the green channel and convert that to grayscale for a pleasing effect.