Homebrew PCBs

--- In Homebrew_PCBs@yahoogroups.com, "Stefan Trethan" 
<stefan_trethan@...> wrote:
>
> On Tue, 18 Apr 2006 16:30:50 +0200, derekhawkins <eldata@...> wrote:
> 
>
> Sure it is. He has found out that "black" isn't really "black" only 
> > but a  
> > color mixture, so he has done a test of the different colors "by 
> > hand",  
> which is great. I really don't understand what you mean at all. I 
> > don't  
> see the color thing as a hindrance to using this ink at all. IMO it 
> > is the  
> best bet for inkjet printing right now, and it is known working, and 
> > it is  
> relatively cheap and easy to get - i have no desire at all to try  
> something else.
> 
> ST

Are we /really/ sure this is what is happening? Mixing colors to get 
black is not common these days, it used to happen back when printers 
took either black or color cartridges but not both at the same time. 
This would never print anything that looked remotely like black, it 
was more of a sludge green or grey color. Nowadays the only time that 
colors are usually mixed with the black is when you print greyscale, 
which is why most printers cannot print a 'neutral' grey because one 
color always tends to overpower the tint. If you print an all-black 
pattern, whether it's in draft or text or photo mode, it should 
always use just the black ink - the color tanks may be drained 
/slightly/ in order to 'keep the printheads wet' and this will go 
into the waste tank and not onto the paper. I have heard that some 
Canons still do the mix-three to get black if the black is under a 
certain percentage of the entire page, but I'm not sure if that's true 
either. I do know that if it's in text mode it will use pigment black, 
and if it's in photo mode it will use dye, for the Canon models that 
have dual black ink tanks.