Print all content to "Only Black"

[Peter2]

What is the best way to print a coloured file (Word with coloured text; Drawings with coloured lines) to "only Black"?

I searched the helpfile and found "black" and "grey" only under chapter "Graphics". There are options and a description how to set "Graphics" to black or grayscale. And there is nothing about "text elements" (MS Word ..)

Then I set all graphic-conversions to black - and I got a PDF with black text, created from Word with coloured text ..

So, as written above:
How to print "coloured non-graphics" to black?

Peter

[Tracker Supp-Stefan]

Hello Peter,

On hardware printers you have a "print in greyscale" or "print colours as black" as the ink prices for black and colour printing are different, and it makes sense to have such an option. In our printing drivers no resources (other than a bunch of electrons) are used to produce a colour compared to a Greyscale or B&W PDF, so we have not added such an option.

Word as well is not offering to print in Greyscale or B&W as if you have a Black only printer it will do the convertion - so word is always sending a colour picture for printing.

The solution I can think of while not a straightforward will eventually produce a greyscale PDF - print the file once from word, and then through our PDF XChange Viewer.

Best,
Stefan

[Peter2]

Hello Stefan

...On hardware printers you have a "print in greyscale" or "print colours as black" as the ink prices for black and colour printing are different, and it makes sense to have such an option. In our printing drivers no resources (other than a bunch of electrons) are used to produce a colour compared to a Greyscale or B&W PDF, so we have not added such an option.....

For heavens sake - no. No, no ..
Black versus Colour is not a simple question of the price per paper. It is an important feature of usability, because PDF is also an "end user product" like a "printed sheet of paper". This is why usability and readability is important already on PDF on not later on paper.

The precise reason why I am asking for this feature: (a colleague ask his admin who asked me..)
"How to print a CAD drawing to black PDF?"
Sounds simple, but you have to consider that many CAD-systems use a black background of monitor with bright coloured elements (bright green text, yellow lines). Printing these CAD-elements to paper (or PDF) results in yellow lines on white background - nobody can recognize these prints, yellow on white paper or on white PDF is unusable. So it should already be a black PDF, not depending on print prices.
How to print black from a CAD-system? Different, but not easy at all. And with some old systems it is impossible - they are developed with printers which creates "real and only black".
Old system sends coloured data -> old printers make it black. -> Fine.
Old system sends coloured data -> new printers make it grey and new PDF-drivers make it coloured- -> Useless.

...Word as well is not offering to print in Greyscale or B&W as if you have a Black only printer it will do the convertion - so word is always sending a colour picture for printing....

Many black printers (better: their drivers) have an integrated conversion to gray-scale, and conversion to real black is rather impossible and only few drivers offer it. So it is important to have a "black database" (black PDF) when you want to have a black print on paper.


Conclusion: This is why a print all to black is an important feature

...The solution I can think ...

Please answer my question above, concerning the setting for "conversion of graphics ...".

Peter

[Tracker Supp-Stefan]

Hi Peter,

I outlined one of the most important reasons - the cost of printing IS an important factor, and I have never claimed that this is the only reason for the need of black and white printing. Now we are speaking of old applications that are removing their black background but can't convert their colours correctly - I would say that the "problem" here would be more in the old printing app, and the "printer" being unable to convert those settings to a visible for you colour - as far as the printer is concerned it has done it's job - it has outputted the light yellow line (on a white sheet that makes it invisible but the printer doesn't know that), so is it the printer's fault in this case?

As for your test - setting to convert Monochrome images to B&W actually produces black test from a coloured word file.

I did a test from another application that has coloured text in it - and the result was the same. So I can presume that if you set up everything in the Graphics settings to B & W you will have your pure B&W files.

Regards,
Stefan

[Peter2]

Hi Stefan

...- the cost of printing IS an important factor, ...

Yes, of course. And because the problems that some modern printers and/or modern applications have to make it black it is important that the "source-data" is already black - or better: in its "required colour". Because if you have to print 200 PDF-files in batch mode it is fine when you do not have to select "real black", "real coloured" and "coloured but should be black" files.
(Sorry for my style of writing - translating long, complicated German considerations to bad English in a complicated way. I believe it is not really easy to understand it the first time ...)

...so is it the printer's fault in this case?...

No, of course not. What I wanted to say is that in some cases you have a coloured file and you need a black output. And the challenge for the user is different:
- Sometimes it is possible, but not easy and could be a trap (e.g. modern AutoCAD with its printing system).
- Sometimes it is impossible: e.g. modern MS Word (e.g. you have coloured some text in your draft, but you need a black output) and e.g. old CAD-systems.

...So I can presume that if you set up everything in the Graphics settings to B & W you will have your pure B&W files....

"presume" - now you made me insecure: Is it a real feature which can be documented in your manual and communicated to the users or is it an unexpected side-effect which needs more testing or further requires?

Have a nice day.

Peter

[Paul - Tracker Supp]

HI Peter,

I think Stefan is trying to say that this will work in your case. Have you tried setting the 3 options in the Print Driver 'High Color/Greyscale Images', 'Indexed Images' and 'Monochrome Images' under the Graphics settings category all to "Black and White".

As I understand it this will convert everything to black and white including as Stefan pointed out, the text.

Please let us know if this is the case for you.

regards