My recently acquired HP Photosmart C6380 All-in One Printer has 5 inkjets. One is “Photo Black” and the other black. What is the difference between these two? When is Photo Black used?
HP Printers and Ink Cartridges
HP printers come in several different configurations as far as ink cartridges go. At one end of the scale, you have printers requiring just two cartridges: a black ink cartridge and a tri-color ink cartridge. In the middle are printers with four cartridges: black, cyan, yellow, and magenta. At the other end are printers like your HP PhotoSmart printer with five ink cartridges: black, cyan, yellow, magenta, and “photo black.” HP also offers extremely high-end printers with eight ink cartridges.
The Difference between Black and Photo Black Inks
Before getting into the difference between the two types of inks, it’s important to note that these two ink cartridges are not interchangeable. You can’t use one in place of the other. The ink in each of these cartridges is different. With a black ink cartridge, the ink is black whereas the ink in a Photo Black cartridge is actually gray. If your printer uses HP Vivera
Which HP Black Ink Cartridge is used for what Purpose?
HP and other manufacturers offer printers with various print cartridge setups to address different printing needs. For users who primarily print documents that are heavy on text with the occasional need for photo and color printing, a printer with a black cartridge and a tri-color cartridge is fine. A tri-color cartridge has three chambers containing cyan, yellow, and magenta. When one of those colors is empty, the entire cartridge needs to be replaced, even if the other two chambers are full. The four cartridge printers allow users to replace individual colors as needed, thus eliminating waste. For example, if you tend to use yellow ink more than the other two colors, you can replace just the yellow cartridge.
Printers that include the Photo Black cartridge are ideal for users who want exceptional photographs. Photo Black ink, which is really gray, allows for deeper blacks in the shadows and better tonal balances overall in your photographs.
