Have you ever seen gold ornaments on a black jewelry case?
There is a reason why they choose this color combination. It looks downright exquisite. The same applies to gold ink. If you are printing black cardstock or papers for invitations or any other purposes, going with gold color ink will make it pop even more.
However, getting gold lettering is not as easy as it may sound. You need to know the exact color combination to get the proper color.
Even after that, it might not come out as good as you hope unless you know the proper way to print gold on black paper. And that is where we come in.
In this guide, we will give you step-by-step instructions on how to properly print gold on black paper to make sure you get the desired effect easily.
What Need to Know about Printers and Printer Ink?
For your home printer, you either have an inkjet printer or a laser printer. Regardless of the choice of printer, the ink in those printers is in liquid form. However, some printers use toner cartridge which uses powdered ink. The ink from cartridges is usually a bit better in quality.
Toner cartridges are mostly used by laser printers, whereas inkjet printers traditionally use pigmented or dye-based ink. If you want to print-colored images, you need a printer that can print colors. So, a monochrome printer will not give you colored images.
In addition, a printer does not have a separate link for each color. Most printers use three different colors, which they combine to get any other color in the spectrum. The three colors in printers are Cyan, Yellow, and Magenta.
So how do you get gold?
To get gold-colored inks, you need to learn how to mix the colors in the right ratio. If you are using a CMYK printer, you can get gold color by mixing the colors in this combination, C:0, M:17, Y:64, and K:17. This mixture will get you very close to the color you are looking for.
Some printers also use RGB color combination, which uses the three primary colors, Red, Green, and Blue, to create any other colors you might need.
If you are using this type of printer, then the mixture ratio would be R:255, G:215, and B:0. However, these printers are pretty rare these days.
How to Print Gold on Black Paper?
Now that you have an idea about how ink works and the two different types of printers, let us head on to how you can actually print gold on black paper. The steps are pretty simple, and we will keep things easy so that you can follow along without any issues.
Step 1
The first step is to replace the current ink cartridge that you have in your printer. Yes, you can use liquid-form ink for gold lettering, but it does not look that good. For a better effect, you want to use metallic ink cartridges that you should be able to find in any stores near you.
Metallic ink cartridges can come in chrome, silver, or even gold shades. So, getting the right color with this type of cartridge is much easier.
In addition, since it has a metallic finish, your letters will look much more highlighted with this type of cartridge. Make sure you get a cartridge that is compatible with your specific printer.
Step 2
For the paper, you want to go with cardstock. With normal papers, the gold lettering is not that optimal. And since you are using metallic colors, the ink will be thicker and have a decent weight to it. With cardstock papers, your print will be perfect, and the result will be quite stunning.
Go to the Printer Preference option on your computer to access the different settings for your printer. Select the proper paper type and change the Print Quality to Best available. If you are using a special paper size, then you also need to adjust it in the settings.
Step 3
You also need to make sure there are enough papers in the printer before you start printing. Not every printer operates the same way. With some units, you can simply use cardstock papers on the input feed, whereas other models come with a separate tray for special papers.
Make sure you place the cardstock paper on the required slot depending on the model of your printer. Once it is in the tray, push it inside until you feel resistance.
Do not force the paper past this point as it will bend it on end. Now your printer is ready to pull it through when you start printing.
Step 4
Now is the time you want to make final adjustments to your print or text. Open the document file on your computer and check for adjustments. If you are using a metallic gold ink cartridge, anything you print will come out with that color. So, there is nothing much to change in that case.
However, if you are putting the color manually using CMYK or RGB printer, you need to select the output print color. You need to readjust the font’s color to match the color that you want, which in this case is gold.
We have already given you the color combination for both CMYK or RGB printers above.
Step 5
If everything looks good, click the Print Preview option. This will take you to a window where you can view how your page will look after printing. If everything seems okay, you can start printing by clicking the Print button. All you have to do is wait for the printer to do its job.
However, if you see any issues that you want to fix, close the window and make the required adjustments.
If you are printing large volumes of cardstock, make sure you start off with just one print. That way, you can catch any issues before you start printing the rest.
Using Gold Foil to Print Gold on Black Paper
Another neat trick to print gold on black paper is to use gold foil paper. Foil papers come in all different colors, and you can find shiny gold foils at quite an affordable price. The best part about this method is that you can do this even using a monochrome printer.
However, this only works with laser printers. So, if you have an inkjet printer at home, unfortunately, this will not work for you. The working mechanism of a laser printer makes this method a viable option. Do not worry; the trick we are about to show you does not require a laminating machine.
- You want to first get all your gears in check. First, you need your laser printer. Even if it is a monochrome printer, it is not a problem.
- Secondly, see if you have enough cardstock papers and load them onto the printer. Also, make sure your design is ready to print whenever you want it.
- Also, see if you have enough gold foil papers with you for this project. You need to cover the portion of the cardstock where you want to do the lettering or design with the foil paper for this to work.
- Cut out the appropriate portion of the gold foil paper and attach it to the cardstock paper using a piece of tape. Make sure you cover the entire area.
- Then place the paper with the foil paper attached on the input tray of the printer.
- Select Print to start printing.
- After the cardstock comes out through the printer, gently remove the foil paper by taking off the tape.
- The foils from the foil paper will now be etched in the black paper.
What Type of Paper is Best for Printing Gold?
If you are printing normal black texts on white paper, you can go with any type of paper available to you. However, printing gold on black paper is not that simple. Since gold is not a very commonly used color, you need to think carefully about the type of paper you want to use for the best effect.
In our experience, we found that this works best when you are working with cardstock papers. Thanks to the extra thickness of the cardstock, gold ink seems to pop a lot more after printing. It will give you a luxurious look after you print it out on black cardstock paper.
Final Thoughts
Done correctly, gold inks on black paper can give you a very cool effect. It looks stunning on invitation papers or business cards. And since it does not cost too much, you should definitely try it out.
Our guide on how to print gold on black paper should give you all the information you need to take on this type of project.
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