Curated CMYK blacks and rich blacks
Flat 100K is not black , it is dark grey with a sheen. A rich black carries supporting ink under it. These are the builds that stay black and still hold small type.
Close, not exact. Each swatch is simulated for a standard coated or uncoated sheet, but a screen makes colour with light and paper reflects it. For the real thing, use the printed reference card.
Previews simulate a standard coated or uncoated sheet. A screen can't show ink exactly; the printed card can.
4 tonal runs · 28 builds
Dark → light, left to rightPPC-127
PPC-118
PPC-126
PPC-119
Every value
What to know before you specify one
- The same build is not the same colour on two stocks. Coated seals the surface, so the ink sits on top: denser, brighter, sharper. Uncoated absorbs it and the dots gain, so the identical numbers come back darker, duller and lower in contrast. Flip the switch above to see the difference, and judge the final colour on paper, not on a screen.
- 100K on its own is not black on paper. It reads as a dark warm grey, especially over a large area. A rich black carries supporting ink beneath it. But keep rich black away from small type and hairlines: any register error and the type furs at the edges.
- Process is right for photographic work, for anything with many colours in it, and for jobs where the colour needs to be close rather than exact. A spot ink is right when the colour is the brand and has to be identical on every run, and when the colour sits outside what four inks can reach at all.
Builds with a full write-up
Pairs beautifully with
Three combinations that hold up on press. Open one and the Studio starts with the stock, the foil and the ink already locked in.
PPC-127 on Copper metal
PPC-127 on Copper metal is uncoated, so the dots gain: the same 40/30/30/100 build prints a step darker and duller than it looks on screen. That softness is usually the reason to choose this sheet. The raw copper, warm orange-brown ground shows through a translucent build — the printed colour shifts toward the sheet, so sign off against a printed sample.
Compatibility matrix
Start this combinationPPC-127 on Wild Brown
PPC-127 on Wild Brown is uncoated, so the dots gain: the same 40/30/30/100 build prints a step darker and duller than it looks on screen. That softness is usually the reason to choose this sheet. The warm chocolate brown ground shows through a translucent build — the printed colour shifts toward the sheet, so sign off against a printed sample.
Compatibility matrix
Start this combinationPPC-127 on Acquerello Avorio
PPC-127 on Acquerello Avorio is uncoated, so the dots gain: the same 40/30/30/100 build prints a step darker and duller than it looks on screen. That softness is usually the reason to choose this sheet. The avorio, uncoated, felt-marked on both sides (watercolour-style felt texture) ground shows through a translucent build — the printed colour shifts toward the sheet, so sign off against a printed sample.
Compatibility matrix
Start this combinationCommon questions
- Do these blacks and rich blacks shift on uncoated stock?
- Yes, every one of them. Uncoated fibres absorb the ink and the dots gain, so the identical build comes back darker, duller and lower in contrast than the coated version. It is not a fault, it is what that sheet does to process ink. Check it on the printed reference card in our sample kit, and approve your digital proof before anything prints.
- Can you match a brand colour with one of these blacks and rich blacks?
- Often, yes, and where a build stops short of the brand colour we say so and quote the spot alternative instead of quietly printing something near it.
- How are the tonal steps built?
- Each run starts from one tested base. The shades add 25%, 50% and 75% black to it; the tints drop the ink to 75%, 50% and 25%. That gives you seven values that belong together, so hierarchy inside one hue never needs a second colour.
- Are these an official colour standard?
- These are our own house recommendations, set for the papers we print on. They are not a published colour standard and are not affiliated with any colour system.