mg5320:Two black inks but only only one counter

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adrian
Posts: 13
Joined: Mon Jun 11, 2012 12:03 pm

mg5320:Two black inks but only only one counter

Post by adrian »

I just replaced my old printer with a Canon MG5320 and using my (registered) version of turbo print, which I upgraded to 2.25-1 under ubuntu, I have been testing the features of turbo print. But I'm confused about one thing. This new printer has two types of black ink, it has a large pigment ink cartridge and a small dye ink cartridge. There are 5 inks. And yet the ink counters show only 4 counters. I can' t tell what is happening with the blank ink. Am I using the cheaper pigment ink or the more expensive dye ink? It would be nice to know.

I also can't tell what settings to change to control the type of ink. How can I ensure that text documents are printed using pigment ink? There does not seem to be a setting available where I can select "black and white". On the "main" settings tab it says "color" and I cannot change it to any other options (when using "medium" quality with "plain paper"). One the "colors" tab I can select some gray scale options, but I can't tell what kind of black ink will be used. (If I had ink counters I could at least tell the effect of the settings.)
zedonet
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Joined: Fri Oct 06, 2006 8:02 am

Re: mg5320:Two black inks but only only one counter

Post by zedonet »

Hello,

the Canon MG5320 printer uses pigment black (the larger cartridge) for plain paper and dye black for all other types of paper. This is controlled by the printer firmware.

There are two ink level displays in TurboPrint Monitor for the two cartridges. However, currently there is only one ink usage counter.

If you want to make sure that only black ink is used, you can switch to "Grayscale" on the "Color" tab in the printer configuration of TurboPrint Control. The "Cartridge" selector on tab "Main" is only for printers that have two different print heads that can be exchanged like some older Canon and HP printers.
adrian
Posts: 13
Joined: Mon Jun 11, 2012 12:03 pm

Re: mg5320:Two black inks but only only one counter

Post by adrian »

So if I switch to "grayscale" on the "color" tab then that will use only black ink---the pigment ink if "plain paper" is selected and the dye ink otherwise?

And if I select "plain paper" then the pigment ink will be the only black ink used (even if printing color). But if I select any other paper type the dye ink is the only black used. Is that correct?

The cheap paper I bought in 500 sheet reams says it is "inkjet paper". But I'm guessing I should still select "plain paper" when using this paper. For what sort of paper would I want to select the paper type "inkjet paper"?
zedonet
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Re: mg5320:Two black inks but only only one counter

Post by zedonet »

adrian wrote:So if I switch to "grayscale" on the "color" tab then that will use only black ink---the pigment ink if "plain paper" is selected and the dye ink otherwise?
Exactly.
adrian wrote:And if I select "plain paper" then the pigment ink will be the only black ink used (even if printing color). But if I select any other paper type the dye ink is the only black used. Is that correct?
Yes.
adrian wrote:The cheap paper I bought in 500 sheet reams says it is "inkjet paper". But I'm guessing I should still select "plain paper" when using this paper. For what sort of paper would I want to select the paper type "inkjet paper"?
Yes, just try if the setting "plain paper" produces a goot result.

"Inkjet paper" means coated paper. Usually the front side of the paper looks different compared to the back. On most coated papers black pigment ink is not scratch resistant.
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