Pages: [1]   Go Down

Author Topic: Printing on Black Paper  (Read 1309 times)

kencameron

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 840
    • Recent Photographs
Printing on Black Paper
« on: May 10, 2013, 11:03:10 pm »

Has anyone tried it? Tips and tricks?

I did a forum search but it came up with 40 pages and nothing on the first 3 was remotely relevant, so apologies if there it has already been covered.
Logged
Ken Cameron

aaronchan

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 617
Re: Printing on Black Paper
« Reply #1 on: May 10, 2013, 11:56:34 pm »

you need white ink to print on black paper

David Sutton

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1345
    • David Sutton Photography
Re: Printing on Black Paper
« Reply #2 on: May 10, 2013, 11:58:13 pm »

What Aaronchan said. I tried it and saw nothing on the paper.
Logged

deanwork

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2400
Re: Printing on Black Paper
« Reply #3 on: May 11, 2013, 02:03:45 pm »

Why can't you print with light gray?
Logged

framah

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1418
Re: Printing on Black Paper
« Reply #4 on: May 11, 2013, 04:26:17 pm »

Because you need the white between the dots for it to work.
Logged
"It took a  lifetime of suffering and personal sacrifice to develop my keen aesthetic sense."

Bob Smith

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 83
    • http://www.accurateimage.org
Re: Printing on Black Paper
« Reply #5 on: May 11, 2013, 04:40:24 pm »

you need something like an Epson WT7900.  Its essentially a white ink capable 7900 designed for proofing in the packaging market.  Kind of pricy as its a very special purpose thing...
Logged

tsapiano

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 22
    • Pixagent
Re: Printing on Black Paper
« Reply #6 on: May 11, 2013, 04:46:44 pm »

Why can't you print with light gray?

Inks typically work in a subtractive manner rather than an additive one.  That is, an ink simply acts as a filter - absorbing wavelengths outside of the desired colour but depending on the underlying paper to actually reflect the remaining light.  Light grey ink isn't a mixture of white and black, it's simply a black ink with a lower density so it absorbs less light passing through it (ie effectively a semi-transparent black).

A black paper will absorb most of the light hitting it's surface, so there isn't enough light passing through the ink for you to see any descernable colour.  In order to print on a black paper, the printer would need to be able to lay down a white (ie reflective) undercoat on any areas that weren't black so that enough light was reflected for the rest of the inks to function.

Logged

kencameron

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 840
    • Recent Photographs
Re: Printing on Black Paper
« Reply #7 on: May 11, 2013, 06:32:43 pm »

Inks typically work in a subtractive manner rather than an additive one.  That is, an ink simply acts as a filter - absorbing wavelengths outside of the desired colour but depending on the underlying paper to actually reflect the remaining light.  Light grey ink isn't a mixture of white and black, it's simply a black ink with a lower density so it absorbs less light passing through it (ie effectively a semi-transparent black).

A black paper will absorb most of the light hitting it's surface, so there isn't enough light passing through the ink for you to see any descernable colour.  In order to print on a black paper, the printer would need to be able to lay down a white (ie reflective) undercoat on any areas that weren't black so that enough light was reflected for the rest of the inks to function.
Thanks (and to everyone else). This plausibly explains the results of the experiments I have conducted since starting the thread  ;)
Logged
Ken Cameron
Pages: [1]   Go Up