is there a better colour to print onto pnp blue with?

[darron]

hmm... i'm wondering if there's any mojorific colour to use to print onto pnp blue with? i'm going to print up a batch tonight... black seems traditional. why not? otherwise it would have to be a solid CMYK colour so that there's no dithering. i'm attempting something REALLY detailed and need all the luck i can get!

suggestions?

[Pushtone]

I'm in the habit of maxing out the black levels when working with gif and jpg layouts/images.
Often the blacks can be made "blacker" by adjusting the levels in PS and other apps.
This can help get more toner density onto the PnP with bitmap files.

This would not apply to a pdf layout or art your doing in a vector drawing app (and you have selected 100% black for the geometry).

For that I think the only thing left is to double check the printer control/options to ensure the max amount of toner is fused onto the PnP.
Do not use the printers econo-mode, adjust it for max contrast if it gives you those controls, things like that.
On a photocopier increase the "darkness" or "contrast "controls.

An old offset printing trick used by pressmen to get deep blacks was to lay down dark purple ink and then print black over it.
This effect can be recreated in PS using layers and layer modes.
Not sure if this can help get more toner density but it does get blacker blacks from color laser output.

[darron]

I'm in the habit of maxing out the black levels when working with gif and jpg layouts/images.
Often the blacks can be made "blacker" by adjusting the levels in PS and other apps.
This can help get more toner density onto the PnP with bitmap files.

This would not apply to a pdf layout or art your doing in a vector drawing app (and you have selected 100% black for the geometry).

For that I think the only thing left is to double check the printer control/options to ensure the max amount of toner is fused onto the PnP.
Do not use the printers econo-mode, adjust it for max contrast if it gives you those controls, things like that.
On a photocopier increase the "darkness" or "contrast "controls.

An old offset printing trick used by pressmen to get deep blacks was to lay down dark purple ink and then print black over it.
This effect can be recreated in PS using layers and layer modes.
Not sure if this can help get more toner density but it does get blacker blacks from color laser output.

i've got my own vector artwork made from pure black, as in #000000. i think it will be funny/interesting is people start suggesting colours that they find transfer best. i'd definitely be willing to give them a shot!

[Paul Perry (Frostwave)]

Ironically, the toner that would adhere best, would be the toner wiht the most resin and the least pigment.
I don't have any idea what that means for a color laser copier..... but here's a thought: at least with a laser color copier there is a chance to get more than one layer of toner in the one place... or is there? Anyone know what's happening at the toner level in these babies??

[darron]

Ironically, the toner that would adhere best, would be the toner wiht the most resin and the least pigment.
I don't have any idea what that means for a color laser copier..... but here's a thought: at least with a laser color copier there is a chance to get more than one layer of toner in the one place... or is there? Anyone know what's happening at the toner level in these babies??

that's a good point paul. i was thinking that the colour with the least pigment would be best, because it should have as much of whatever it needs to stick as possible. maybe the yellow toner? i can't put the paper through twice on my printer because it can't align perfectly, especially under this detail. people say to put the most amount on, at highest contrast etc, which i do, but i've also read not to over do it.

i wanted to ask to avoid the tedious (and expensive) tests, but i might try some different colours and see if there's a difference in quality. or in my case, see if they are more likely to stick properly!

[rockgardenlove]

Seems like yellow would be the way to go...Dunno.

[Paul Perry (Frostwave)]

It isn't obvious that yellow has less toner. Some pigments have way more colouring power. If I had a color laser printer I wouldn't be wating it on PCBs

[Peter Snowberg]

Many color printers will print a series of yellow dots all over the page which can be decoded to find the print time/date and the serial number of the printer. This is an anti-counterfeiting measure to help identify the source.

These dots may get in the way of  your board art.

http://www.eff.org/Privacy/printers/docucolor/

[darron]

Many color printers will print a series of yellow dots all over the page which can be decoded to find the print time/date and the serial number of the printer. This is an anti-counterfeiting measure to help identify the source.

These dots may get in the way of  your board art.

http://www.eff.org/Privacy/printers/docucolor/

that's absolutely amazing! horrible for privacy. i have a canon printer and not a xerox though. i tried out the new laser printer yesterday (replacing a lexmark) and it didn't work at all. using black toner, i printed up on white a4 and it was great. no spots. the ni tried on pnp blue ($5 a sheet too...) and the toner just didn't take well. there was light toner where it was supposed to be black and smudged (dusted looking) toner where there was meant to be none. funnily enough, though it was light i cut out the best one to try and it transfered better than my lexmark prints! it was the best transfer ever if you excluded the bits the stuffed up on the prints. i might have to take this printer back.