I think I can help with this, because while I waited for a sale on the
Epson r220, I practiced black-only printing on my Canon i550, which
uses the same black cartridge as your ip5000.
Before I get into why, I'll get straight to the point and say the best
solution I can think of for your problem is to print in two passes:
once for the color elements and once for the black and white elements,
using the best settings for each instance. You'll have to figure out
what order works best for you.
As to why this is happening: my printer, and I suspect yours as well,
under certain settings uses the color dye inks to simulate greyscale,
while with other settings it uses the black (probably pigment)
cartridge only, without informing you which method is being used.
With my setup, I've found by trial and error that the black is used
only on the plain paper + greyscale setting, at any resolution
(quality setting). Selecting any photo paper will force the printer to
print with color inks, even if you've selected "greyscale". However,
with the driver set for plain paper, high resolution, and using matte
photo paper, I can get true black-only prints without banding.
The BCI-3eBK cartridge I suspect uses a carbon pigment ink. The
black-only prints have a warm look, not quite sepia (the white paper
isn't toned at all) but in that direction. The color-as-black prints
have a much cooler cast, which on semi-gloss or gloss papers can look
blue-green under certain lighting. For me the color-as-black
becomes much more neutral on matte paper, if you want to try that
route. Also I find that the tone can vary across the first print or
two at a particular setting, starting very greenish before it
"settles" to a more neutral tone.
Another characteristic of the 3e black, which also makes me think it
is carbon, is that it goes on very matte and thick and soft. It is
easy to scratch. Also it will not absorb into gloss finishes, but rubs
right off (which I guess is why the driver tries to prevent that
combination). The color inks, once they dry, will not rub off.
So I suggest you print in two passes, or, if you wish, experiment with
different papers to see if you can get an acceptable BW tone from the
color inks. However, you should expect the color-as-BW prints to take
on different color casts under different lighting.
Maybe someone here with more knowledge can suggest another alternative.
Bob L
--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "FaeryOphelia"
<faeryophelia@b...> wrote:
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>
> Hi everyone,
> I'm so impressed by the massive amount of knowledge that seems to be
> present in this group that I'm worried I might be about to lower the
> tone!
>
> Anyhow, I use a Canon ip5000 to print black and white images
> predominantly only hammered texture greeting cards, however the
> output on the high quality setting is oddly green/yellow tinted.
> This only happens on high quality, oddly it's perfect on standard and
> grayscale settings. I've tried changing the colour balance and it
> doesn't help. If I could I would simply print on standard but can't
> because the image has those annoying 'printhead' lines through it
> (despite having just replaced the printhead after 6 months use!!) and
> I can't print on greyscale because the back of the cards features
> colour and invariable the front will have colour lettering.
>
> It makes no difference whether I change the paper to plain or photo
> paper and seems to have no effect when I print from a different o/s
> or port?! Plus it doesn't change if I use Canon or 3rd party inks?!
> Ooh and I've tried converting all images to CMYK on the offchance
> that that would help and although it produces a slightly better
> effect the tint is still there!
>
> Does anyone have any ideas as to what I might be able to do?! I'm
> losing the will to live on this one!!
>
> I'm so sorry if this kind of issue has been previously covered, I had
> a rummage through messages but didn't manage to find anything!
>
> Wishes & stardust,
> Ophelia
>