What is rich black?

Rich black is a deeper, more saturated black made by printing cyan, magenta, and yellow underneath the black ink instead of using black alone. It keeps large dark areas looking solid and dense rather than flat or washed-out gray.

• A common recipe is C60 M40 Y40 K100 for a deep, neutral black.
• Best reserved for large fills and backgrounds, not small body text.
• Small text stays sharper with 100 percent black only, which avoids registration blur.
• Watch total ink limits so heavy areas still dry properly.