Expert: Kevin Stohlmeyer - 9/13/2010

Question
QUESTION: I'm very new to AI cs3.  All I need to use AI for is to make photo positives to be printed on transparency film.  I've scanned my art on my HP 8500 all in one.  My problem is when I go to print my image half of the time it prints not completely rich black?  But at times it prints perfectly?  I had to change my image into jpg to send.

ANSWER: Hi Diana,

Illustrator is not the application to be printing scanned images from. It cannot color manage them. You should be printing from Photoshop if it is a scanned image.

If you are tracing this into shapes and filled objects in Illustrator, then you can adjust the fill color to rich black or flat black (100% K only) and print with accurate color.

Thanks

Kevin

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you so much for answering my question.  All of my art is only in black and white.  Some of my scans work and some don't?  Is the way I'm scanning the art?  Or is it the way I'm loading my images into AI?  Mahalo, Diana

Answer
Hi Diana,

The issue is that you are placing scanned images into Illustrator in general.This is the wrong application to use. If you have Photoshop, you can adjust the scans appropriately. Illustrator will not help you with this issue.

Illustrator is designed for Vector art, which is paths, shapes, text created in Illustrator, not scanned and placed.

However, if you go to your printer settings, you may be able to choose "1 color printing" or something similar to override whatever is happening with the scans.

4 color printing black from Illustrator cannot be controlled with a placed/scanned image.

Thanks

Kevin