Black and White

In CMYK printing, black (the K channel) is really a very dark grey, not the pure black most screens display. If you want a file to print as black and white only, set the document to grayscale color mode so the press uses a single black channel rather than mixing all four inks.

• Use grayscale mode: convert the file to grayscale so blacks and greys print cleanly from the K plate alone.
• Rich black is for large solids: for big black areas that need extra depth, a rich black build adds a small amount of the other inks, but keep it out of fine text.
• Keep small text single-channel: thin type and hairlines look sharpest printed from 100% K only, which avoids any registration blur.
• Check your greys: a true neutral grey should be built from black only, so tints stay clean and free of a color cast.