Model Train Journal

Maybe someone can enlighten as to why a printer needs to use the colored inks in order to print in grayscale/B&W? I changed out ink cartridges about two weeks ago. The only printing that I have done was using Grayscale. I specifically checked Grayscale everywhere that I could in order not to use the color (C,M & Y) ink. A call to the maker says that it is designed that way. Makes no sense to me!

Does your printer have black cartridges available? I think you can use those, for strictly greyscale printing. Of course, you'd have to change out the cartridge, to print in color.

Big Jim wrote:Maybe someone can enlighten as to why a printer needs to use the colored inks in order to print in grayscale/B&W? I changed out ink cartridges about two weeks ago. The only printing that I have done was using Grayscale. I specifically checked Grayscale everywhere that I could in order not to use the color (C,M & Y) ink. A call to the maker says that it is designed that way. Makes no sense to me!

No idea, but have made the same observation. Epson has had their hand in my wallet for years and I've never been able to get a good answer.

My printer has a black cartridge along with the full suite of color cartridges...still torches color when printing black & white.

Having given up, I now have filed this with "Why when I drop a piece of pizza on carpet, does it always land face-down?"

Healey

healey36 wrote:No idea, but have made the same observation. Epson has had their hand in my wallet for years and I've never been able to get a good answer.

My printer has a black cartridge along with the full suite of color cartridges...still torches color when printing black & white.

Can you remove the color cartridge, when printing in greyscale?

healey36 wrote:Having given up, I now have filed this with "Why when I drop a piece of pizza on carpet, does it always land face-down?"

According to Murphy's law, yes.

Unfortunately, no printers today, that I know of, use white ink. ALPS printers did, and folks that like making their own decals often use ALPS printers.

Roy wrote:

healey36 wrote:No idea, but have made the same observation. Epson has had their hand in my wallet for years and I've never been able to get a good answer.

My printer has a black cartridge along with the full suite of color cartridges...still torches color when printing black & white.

Can you remove the color cartridge, when printing in greyscale?

No, if you take out a cartridge the printer goes into 'error' mode.

In my HP printer going to advanced settings gives a "print in grayscale"+ "black ink only" option

Big Jim wrote:Maybe someone can enlighten as to why a printer needs to use the colored inks in order to print in grayscale/B&W? I changed out ink cartridges about two weeks ago. The only printing that I have done was using Grayscale. I specifically checked Grayscale everywhere that I could in order not to use the color (C,M & Y) ink. A call to the maker says that it is designed that way. Makes no sense to me!

Gray is not just a bit of black ink spread thinly - gray is actually made up of a combination of the other primary colors and will still use some of each to create that gray.

"Why when I drop a piece of pizza on carpet, does it always land face-down?"

This is similar to the old buttered toast problem and is related to the rotational rate during descent at the rate of the acceleration due to gravity. Next time you are dropping pizza, try doing it from the top of the step ladder where from a full 360 degree rotation is possible to achieve.

when the ink runs out i buy a new printer.
Pizza will always land face down. Aerodynamics of the crusts lip will not allow it to rotate back to cheese on top. Ladder or no ladder.

robert. wrote:when the ink runs out i buy a new printer.

New ink jet printers are close to disposable particularly if they use those tiny little cartridges.

Pizza will always land face down. Aerodynamics of the crusts lip will not allow it to rotate back to cheese on top. Ladder or no ladder.

Oh, you've tested this out then, have you,

Rufus T. Firefly wrote:

"Why when I drop a piece of pizza on carpet, does it always land face-down?"

This is similar to the old buttered toast problem and is related to the rotational rate during descent at the rate of the acceleration due to gravity. Next time you are dropping pizza, try doing it from the top of the step ladder where from a full 360 degree rotation is possible to achieve.

Or just duct-tape it on the back of a kitten...something’s gotta give. Either the cat lands on its feet or the pizza lands face-down...a challenge of the laws of nature.

If an inkjet printer falls, what is the likelihood it will land top down, and spill all the ink on the carpet?

I have had other printers that would not print well in "Black & White", had to print in "Grayscale", especially if pictures were in with the text.
This particular Brother printer does not have a "B&W" only setting. Just "Color" or "Grayscale".
When I called Brother and explicitly explained that the printer must have been using all of the colors to print in grayscale, she asked me what colors were low! Duh!
When I asked to speak with a supervisor and the supervisor says that all of the colors are used even when printing in grayscale! Well, if that isn't stupid. I guess that is the way they are gouging everyone! Heaven help them that they can't hire someone with enough smarts to make a printer that knows not to use color when black is all that is needed!
I was so livid talking to those people they hung up on me!
Signed,
"Banned from Brother"

Roy wrote:If an inkjet printer falls, what is the likelihood it will land top down, and spill all the ink on the carpet?

Doesn't have to land on its top in order to spill the ink! BTDT!

Ramona, Product Expert, Canon Printers

Ramona says, "Hi Big Jim,"

"You can set your printer to print in grayscale mode to use only the black ink to produce the text and images on your printouts."

Expert Ramona is contradicted by my instruction manuals for Canon MG6300 series and Canon TS6000 series, which say,

"To keep printer's performance, Canon printer performs cleaning automatically according to its condition. When the printer performs cleaning, a small amount of ink is consumed. In this case, all colors of ink may be consumed."

So, no matter if "grayscale" is selected, when the printer feels like cleaning its heads, color ink is consumed.

The manuals also state:

"Black-and-white printing may use ink other than black ink depending on the type of printing paper or the settings of the printer driver. So, color ink is consumed even when printing in black-and-white."

So there, Big Jim, printers are like women and grayscale means color.

Big Jim wrote:When I asked to speak with a supervisor and the supervisor says that all of the colors are used even when printing in grayscale! Well, if that isn't stupid. I guess that is the way they are gouging everyone! Heaven help them that they can't hire someone with enough smarts to make a printer that knows not to use color when black is all that is needed!

Apparently you do not understand that gray is not made from diluted black - all of the colors do get used to create gray.