Help with which black Indesign

Joined
Jul 24, 2009
Messages
98
Reaction score
0
Points
6
Hi When specifying a black background for a flyer which will be both on web and as printed flyer I am getting really confused. My flyer background is C0M0 Y0K100 in indesign ( indesign standard swatch, in preferences display of black overprint unticked. In the flyer placed is a photoshop image with black background filled with black,edit-fill-black, double click this black swatch thumb and it confirms C0M0Y0K100 in PS. When i export to PDF my flyer background looks grey compared to the black image BG from the placed PSD image. Why is this? I went on a google search about which black to use but am still confused about all the blacks, I have the following to choose from..

RGB Black | R/0 G/0 B/0...this is for the web flyer
PhotoShop® Black | C86 M85 Y79 K100
Neutral Rich Black (also known as Rich Black) | C40 M30 Y30 K100
Flat Black | C0 M0 Y0 K100
Designer Black | C70 M50 Y30 K100
help ! which black generally for my print design work and is it a case of inputting the numbers to specify it in PS,Illustrator,Indesign and all will display the same black? Many thanks. Sam
 
Joined
Sep 14, 2009
Messages
3
Reaction score
0
Points
1
I always use Registration Black in indesign.

I always had the same problem(black looking gray when printed and exported as a pdf) and I don't know why it happens.
 
Joined
Oct 22, 2007
Messages
8,967
Reaction score
287
Points
83
Location
London
Your Mac's Specs
Mac Mini Core i7 2012 | White 2009 MacBook 2 Ghz | 733 Mhz G4 Quicksilver
You need what is called a rich black - black is just that and uses 100% black ink - which is what you want if you have black text on a white background.

Create a separate swatch, dont go overboard like 100% of all 4 inks, that will create problems on printing presses

A typical rich black that will look blacker would be 30C 30M 30Y 100K

Notice that if you add the numbers up you get 190 - many printing presses do not like more that 200 to 250% ink coverage so that rich black keeps the press from putting too much ink down (which can soak the paper and cause it to warp).
 
Joined
Apr 2, 2009
Messages
139
Reaction score
16
Points
18
Location
Southern Illinois, Born in England.
Your Mac's Specs
HOME: imac 24", 2.66GHZ INTEL CORE 2 DUO, 4GB ram, 640GB HD.WORK:G5 Dual 2.7 GHz, 8GB ram
For print we use a rich black of C45 M35 Y35 K100. Make sure the text is not rich black though, registration problems will stick out like a sore thumb.
Web presses should keep total ink density under 280% for coated stock and under 260% for uncoated stock.
 

Shop Amazon


Shop for your Apple, Mac, iPhone and other computer products on Amazon.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Top