Why not use the large black ink? (MG 5300)

[mkolber]

I did a search before asking and saw plenty of posts asking about the use of black ink but did not read one with an answer to my question.

WHY do the Canon InkJet printers not use the large black in cartridge except when printing B&W text?

In my set-up I only use it for color printing. Since black is common to all print jobs, color or B&W, and most of the color jobs have extensive black (text at the very least), the result is that the small black cartridge is depletd long before any of the color cartridges, while the large black ink stands alone and unused.

It's hard to belive the printer can't be set up to use the large black ink cartridge when black is required. Is this just a way to sell more ink cartridges?

[Ramona · Accepted solution]

Hi mkolber,

The larger black tank is pigment-based, and is used for standard black printing only on plain paper.  The pigment black ink is not meant to be used with photo paper, as it is a heavier type of ink and may not dry on that type of media.

The smaller black ink tank is dye-based like the other color inks, and is used for photo and graphics output photos on media types other than plain paper.  The dye-based black ink works along with the other color inks to improve color contrast and image stabilization along with producing outstanding black-and-white photography.  

The inks are designed to complement each other, allowing the printer to produce the best possible black text output or photo quality as appropriate. 

Hope this helps!

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[FixMacs]

Okay, thanks for that information. I have a follow-up question. 

Why does my Canon printer only use the small black cartridge when I am printing a letter containing only black text while printed on plain paper? Why is my printer using only the photo ink cartridge when I am not printing a photo? Do I have a setting to configure? Thank you.