Test Page with One Word of Black Text Comes out Grey

[Dabeed]

Hi All -- Subject says it all. I've checked everything I can think of. Under Color & Effects Black is 100%. Couldn't find anything in the Print dialog that seemed suspect. Tried both Color and Greyscale.

Everything is very "default." I'm using Scribus 1.5.8, and just opened up a blank file, put some text there, and printed.

Hm, under About Scribus, it says
Scribus Version 1.5.8
23 January 2022
Build ID: C--T-F-C1.17.4-Mac-64bit
No Ghostscript version available

Could that last line be a clue of some sort?

[AdmFubar]

Could that last line be a clue of some sort?

Yes, I'd start by installing ghostscript. Also check and make sure your printer isn't set to toner save ,if using a laser type printer, or draft mode, of a lower dpi setting for the print.

[utnik]

hi dabeed

if something goes wrong by direct printing from scribus, i would always export a .pdf file and print it with a .pdf reader. (that's what scribus is built for...)

...under About Scribus, it says
Scribus Version 1.5.8
23 January 2022
Build ID: C--T-F-C1.17.4-Mac-64bit
No Ghostscript version available

Could that last line be a clue of some sort?

no! ghostscript is not in use for your described file.
but i recommend installing ghostscript anyway. if you use scribus in different projects, the need for ghostscript will arrive sooner or later. (i.e. when you use .eps or .pdf files as parts of your scribus project...)

utnik

[Nermander]

Not all blacks are the same.

First there is a difference between RGB black and CMYK black. Your printer uses CMYK inks, so if you are using RGB black in your document there has to be a conversion somewhere.

Then we have the issue that the black in i a CMYK printer is not really that black. Due to this there is something called rich black, where the printer does not only use the black ink, but also the Cyan, Magenta and Yellow inks.

So I would suspect the issue is rather with your printer and printer driver. For example many printers have "economy mode" where they reduce the ink consumption (and I would guess this makes black brighter).

Do other programs manage to print black as black?

[Dabeed]

Could that last line be a clue of some sort?

Yes, I'd start by installing ghostscript. Also check and make sure your printer isn't set to toner save ,if using a laser type printer, or draft mode, of a lower dpi setting for the print.

Done!

hi dabeed

if something goes wrong by direct printing from scribus, i would always export a .pdf file and print it with a .pdf reader. (that's what scribus is built for...)

...under About Scribus, it says
Scribus Version 1.5.8
23 January 2022
Build ID: C--T-F-C1.17.4-Mac-64bit
No Ghostscript version available

Could that last line be a clue of some sort?

no! ghostscript is not in use for your described file.
but i recommend installing ghostscript anyway. if you use scribus in different projects, the need for ghostscript will arrive sooner or later. (i.e. when you use .eps or .pdf files as parts of your scribus project...)

utnik

But utnik, to your point, no, installing this didn't help. But, exporting to PDF and printing from there DID work. Hmmm. Also in Scribus the print preview looks fine.

Not all blacks are the same.

First there is a difference between RGB black and CMYK black. Your printer uses CMYK inks, so if you are using RGB black in your document there has to be a conversion somewhere.

Then we have the issue that the black in i a CMYK printer is not really that black. Due to this there is something called rich black, where the printer does not only use the black ink, but also the Cyan, Magenta and Yellow inks.

So I would suspect the issue is rather with your printer and printer driver. For example many printers have "economy mode" where they reduce the ink consumption (and I would guess this makes black brighter).

Do other programs manage to print black as black?

It's not the printer, because the printer prints everything else just fine. Also, I can recreate my Scribus test file with Microsoft Word, and that prints fine. 

So, creating a PDF is an ok workaround, but I'd still like to crack this very basic puzzle. I'll look into RGB vs CMYK, but if anyone has any other ideas, I'm all ears. Thanks!   

[Nermander]

Printing directly from Scribus has unfortunately always had issues. There have even been suggestions to remove the function because it is difficult to implement a printing function that works well on all operating systems.

The general recommendation is to export to PDF and print the PDF, because PDF viewers usually print well (but there are exceptions!).

[Dabeed]

Printing directly from Scribus has unfortunately always had issues. There have even been suggestions to remove the function because it is difficult to implement a printing function that works well on all operating systems.

The general recommendation is to export to PDF and print the PDF, because PDF viewers usually print well (but there are exceptions!).

Ok thank you! : )

[MrB]

I think its likely your settings related to RGB vs CMYK, the specific black chosen from the colour list, and maybe you turned on colour management. Any one of those combinations of things could make this go wrong. Exporting to PDF may fix it but there's another potential clue there - you can export for print or display. Print will be CMYK, display RGB as defaults... then there's your printer and if its laser or not, CMYK or not.