Rich Black in CMYK Printing

[@camillatubertini6322]

Thank you SO much! My blacks were so transparent you could see what was beneath them in my print PDF. I changed the values to rich black and they don't come off as transparent anymore! :D Also, I'd like to say that I really appreciate your style - straightforward and informative - short and sweet! You just got yourself a new subscriber.

[@purebuttonsmedia]

Thanks! Glad you found our video helpful!

[@SnowKnowBu]

¡Muchas gracias! You have no idea how long it took me and I was getting desperate because I couldn't find a clear answer as to why my K: 100% was different when exporting it. I even left work two hours after my scheduled time to correct this. 😂 ¡Muchas gracias, amigo!

[@purebuttonsmedia]

Happy to help! Glad you found our video.

[@mordavian]

Is there a way to get perfect circular gradient from 100K black to 30K black on a background? When i give these values to a CMYK document and print it i get purplish background. What am i doing wrong?

[@purebuttonsmedia]

If I was creating a strictly gray gradient I would probably only use the K slider. Unfortunately you're going to have colors start to come through with various blends of these values at different opacities. The reason it works best for rich black is because the eye can't see anything other than the heavily layered pigment. You'll have more prominent halftone without a blend of values but you just have to pick what's best for your project and printer. Thanks for the question.

[@mordavian]

@@purebuttonsmedia I tried 60-40-40-100 and only K for the background in two files. I matched the results. Rich black gave more accurate gradient and contrast.

[@purebuttonsmedia]

@@mordavian Glad to hear you found a satisfactory solution! Thanks!

[@mordavian]

@@purebuttonsmedia 😉

[@miku4936]

Thanks for the clarification at the end! I have a file with a bunch of small text and I can't imagine what I'd do if the colors would be missaligned. I was ready to send it to the printer with rich black values 😂

[@purebuttonsmedia]

Happy to help, thanks!

[@trevormadsen]

Thank you for the video. What if we have small sized white text on black part of a picture as back ground?

[@purebuttonsmedia]

Depending on the print method, printer, materials, and the size of the white text your results may vary. When I say small text i mean in the 3-4pt range. Rather than adjusting your black I would recommend choosing a slightly bolder typeface and a bit wider tracking (letters spaced apart) to give it enhanced legibility. When in doubt order a physical proof before running a full quantity. Thanks!

[@ClubNoiseband]

Nice information. I wish my printer could have explained this as my project is trying to achieve the trendy “Black on Black” look: Can you use Rich Black on small (7 point) text using a K100% background? I understand Rich Black cannot be used on small text, but how small? Is there a cut off say below 7 Point ??

[@purebuttonsmedia]

The small text on a white background tip is for very small text, like 3-4pt, or any text on white background that the extra darkness won't be noticeable. That being said I'm not sure how readable rich black would be against 0/0/0/100 at 7pt text. I wouldn't recommend it and I would want to get hard proofs before running a full production quantity. It will vary from printer to printer and based on the material printed on. If its a small amount of text you might even be able to use 100/100/100/100 and get a better visual result. Honestly I would look into a spot gloss to do black on black. Hope this is helpful.

[@blacktubbootlegs5037]

I have some RGB scans and I really want the black to pop. When converting to CYMK from RGB my black value is not close to rich black at all. I try to adjust selective colors to tweak the CYMK values, but it doesn't do anything. How do you color correct black values on scans/rasterized images?

[@purebuttonsmedia]

It depends on the image or design. If its a simple flat graphic you could go in Photoshop to Image > Adjustments > Levels > Channel > Black and pull the bottom slider up a bit to where the chart begins showing data. This would at least get you to 100 in K with unknown values in the CMY. On a photograph this would have a drastic consequence but on a flat graphic design it shouldn't mess with other colors too much if at all. As Long as your numbers are more than 240 total you should look fine. Just be careful its not too close to 100/100/100/100. Hope this helps!

[@natthakornsooksawad2781]

it's not change in my Ai. at the first time i changed the setting it's work fine, but my Ai are crash and when I open it, the black color is show as the rich black. I tried to change the setting again and re-install the program but not work.

[@purebuttonsmedia]

Sorry this may be a bug in the program. The Appearance of Black options should work as depicted. Good luck!

[@leversandpulleys9274]

Thank you for the tutorial, I'll try it. It's so depressing seeing my design turned into greenish black

[@purebuttonsmedia]

Thank you for watching!

[@xzapata3224]

what would be the specifications for a matte black printed look?

[@purebuttonsmedia]

Matte would likely be a finish added on top of your printed artwork, or material option. We offer a soft-touch matte finish at www.purebuttons.com but this is a laminate that goes over the printed material. You also may choose coated vs uncoated stock for some printing which uncoated would give more of a matte look. It all depends on the project. Thanks for watching!

[@MeckLords]

THANK YOU SO MUCH I've been trying to fix this for a long time, and my teachers would get mad at me cause the black was dull and I didn't find a way to change it so it was all rich black so... really, thank you a lot

[@purebuttonsmedia]

Happy to help! Good luck with future projects!

[@rafidmursalin7161]

This vid really did help me with the issue

[@purebuttonsmedia]

Excellent, happy to help!

[@ayangaming4845]

What is your name

[@toomanybees8418]

The clicks in the music were distracting.. but the information was important and presented nice enough that I watched the video twice!

[@purebuttonsmedia]

Thanks for the kind words and constructive criticism. We will consider this in future videos!

[@Him493]

your comment is a distracting so stfu...

[@honestly1970]

omg - this shit drive me crazy!!!! Thank you!! Wish I had found this video earlier

[@purebuttonsmedia]

Glad you found it, thanks for watching!

[@Rarsjckfnebelcofuwbsjxkfkriric]

Thank you so much for this tutorial!

[@purebuttonsmedia]

You're very welcome!

[@ronasoka2663]

What about photoshop??

[@purebuttonsmedia]

Photoshop does not have an "Appearance of Black" option so all blacks are displayed accurately. We recommend a mix of 60/40/40/100 for rich black at purebuttons.com and standoutstickers.com but other printers may have their own recommended mix. Thanks for the question!

[@Dpixtion]

well this is only comment # 2 so, not sure how many will see this, but.... As I'm a Printer working in the industry since 1994, the best black, Contact your print house. they likely have the RIP set up to do a conversion for you. they may have it set for 100K will automatically be converted to the best deep right black THEY can product... so contact your print house and ask. Also ask what .ICC they use, US WEB(Swop) or the new XCMYK..

[@purebuttonsmedia]

Thank you for your comment. It is indeed best to follow the recommendations of your printer. We are providing setup suggestions for custom buttons and promotional products purchased at www.purebuttons.com

[@mari-liislink730]

Thanks! Very useful! :)

[@purebuttonsmedia]

Thanks to you!

[@alanjohnson4541]

AWESOME

[@daliovic24]

Thanks ❤️

[@purebuttonsmedia]

Thank you!

[@tonestones9445]

ALERT! ALERT! I've been a machine printer all my career and it's an absolute nightmare, even with modern machines to print a solid black as described in this tutorial. It's fine for designers who dream these ideas up but in reality it is so difficult to keep a consistent colour throughout the print run. If one of the inks drifts a little low, it's very difficult to decide which colour has changed and you end up chasing your tail trying to get if right. The other thing of course is that the 4 layers of ink invariably set off or certainy have a potential to. Therfore a lot of printers who would worry about that problem, then pile too much anti set off spray on the job even with modern drying units. When printing the 2nd side the press has to be stopped over and over to clean the dust build up from the blankets. Mark my words a good machine printer can run a single black solid heavy enough to look Black especially if a sceen of maybe 15% cyan is run behind the black. We used to send artwork back to the designer if they designed Rich blacks. It was totally counter productive. I hope this message gets through. It's like saying Oh we need a strong cyan colour and putting an extra layer of cyan on another colour unit.... It wouldn't be done. Designers! avoid Rich Black's at all cost.. Maybe just maybe a cyan (15% shinner) plate to help cover up and hickeys that may appear in the black solid. I hope this info is useful and taken of board👍

[@tonestones9445]

Further to my first comment I notice you do at least state not to use Rich blacks with text which is of course a nightmare due to having to register up each colour of fine text. So well done there👍 As I said I was a good printer and always, always managed to produce a strong enough black from 100% back only with perhaps a small % of cyan behind it. The other thing to consider as well is that using the suggested percentages on the yellow magenta and cyan would significantly increase the cost of the printing job, especially of a massive print run. Modern pricing tools calculate the ink usage and so the end client may well just prefer a good strong single black rather than forking out for extra ink . One could argue it's more 'Green' to use less Rich Black 😊 Have you considered this facet before? A designer should be considering the cost to their client when designing print and certainly on large run work that drinks ink. What do you think?

[@purebuttonsmedia]

Thank you for your comments. We are providing recommendations for custom buttons and promotional products printed at www.purebuttons.com but we do agree that wherever you decide to order custom printing, you consult the website of the printing company for setup recommendations. We will make sure to include this note in any future videos. Thanks again!

[@vighnesh.acharya]

@@tonestones9445 agreed

[@jessygeorge4471]

Thank you very much

[@laurencevolquardsen6477]

Perfect!

[@purebuttonsmedia]

Thanks!

[@ayangaming4845]

Your name is ayat

[@ayangaming4845]

My name is ayan