Learn all the ways you can create and print high-quality black and white photos, find out why HP products produce
superior black and white prints, and get creative ideas for exploring black and white photography.
Why print in black and white?
Shooting or converting your photos to black and white is a great way to heighten drama and add emotion to your photos.
Try leaving color behind and see how it simplifies scenes, brings focus to your subject, eliminates distractions, and gives your pictures a timeless quality.
Most digital cameras have a black and white or monochrome shooting mode, which lets you shoot directly in black and white. This allows you to view your
subject on your camera's LCD screen in black and white, so you can see exactly what you're shooting. Check your camera's manual to see how
to change your shooting modes, then snap away.
Use your PC's photo editing software to convert images to black and white.
Convert color images to black and white right on your digital camera.
HP touchscreen printers have a Color Effect editing tool to convert images to black and white on the spot.
Explore these options for converting your color photographs to black and white.
Use photo editing software Whether editing photos you have uploaded from your digital camera or making changes to scanned images,
your computer’s photo editing software makes it easy to convert to black and white.
Convert to black and white in your camera Many digital cameras allow you to convert your color images to black and white right in your camera. Check your
camera’s manual for color modification options. You can even create a black and white copy of an existing photo, and leave the original intact.
Convert to black and white on your printer Some printers allow you to convert your color images to black and white just before printing. For instance, HP touchscreen printers, such as the
HP Photosmart C8180,
have a Color Effect editing option that can convert your image to black and white right on the printer. Check out this article on
Editing photos with your touchscreen printer to learn more.
HP’s gray photo cartridges contain light gray ink, dark gray ink, and black ink.
With the HP printing system, your black and white photos stay true to their neutral hues.
Use HP products to get black and white photos to enjoy for years to come.
HP ink, paper, and printers work together to give you the best prints possible.
Exclusive ink formulas
HP’s family of gray photo cartridges contains two shades of gray ink (light and dark) plus black photo ink. This unique blend of three exclusive ink formulas produces the deepest
blacks, the brightest whites and 4,097 shades of gray combinations in between, delivering the truest black and white photos possible, with very little grain.
True hues
Sometimes black and white prints take on different hues in different lighting conditions. A print that looks perfectly fine in the sunlight may take on a purplish hue under
fluorescent light or a greenish tint under incandescent light.
HP ink chemists carefully blend and fine-tune the mix for each ink, so the printed grayscale stays neutral in a variety of lighting environments. Blacks stay black, whites stay white,
and grays (all 4,097 of them) will remain gray.
A winning combination
When used together, HP inks, Premium Plus Photo paper, and Photosmart printers produce incredible, lab-quality black and white photos that resist fading for up to 115 years!*
* Display permanence rating based on testing by Wilhelm Imaging Research or HP Image Permanence Lab for HP 100 and HP 102 Graph Photo inkjet print cartridges with Vivera ink.
Black and white lends itself to a variety of subjects. Try out these creative ideas.
Experiment with contrast Contrast the difference between the light and dark areas in a photo—is an essential part of black and
white photography. Higher contrast can add bold dimension to your shots, while low contrast shots, with lots of grays and tones in the mid-range,
can give your photos a dreamy quality. Experiment with bright light and dark shadows for higher contrast, or try shooting in atmospheric weather, such as fog, for lower contrast.
You can also adjust your photo’s brightness and contrast levels in your photo editing software to achieve the look you want.
Shoot portraits and occasions
Portraits and special occasions are ideal opportunities for shooting in black and white. Baby pictures, wedding photos, family portraits—candid or posed—gain a classic,
dramatic quality when shot in black and white. Removing color can eliminate visual distractions, allowing the viewer to focus on the emotion and personality of the subject.
Capture textures and landscapes
Try shooting interesting textures, lines, or patterns in nature. Details that are barely noticeable in color become more prominent and poetic in black and white.
When viewed through a black and white lens, familiar landscapes can grant the viewer a new and unexpected perspective.
For perfect black and white prints, try pairing the HP Photosmart Pro B8850 with an HP 70 Photo Black and Light Gray Printhead and HP Premium Plus Photo Paper.
To get perfect black and white photos, consult your HP printer’s manual to see if it is compatible with HP 59, 100, or 102 Gray Photo Inkjet Print Cartridges or HP 70
Photo Black and Light Gray Printheads with Vivera ink. (You can also
go online and browse by product category to see what kinds of inks are
compatible with your HP printer.) When used with HP Premium Plus photo paper, you’ll get beautiful, fade-resistant prints every time.
If your current printer does not take the specified Vivera inks, or if it’s time to upgrade your printing equipment, consider this product bundle from HP:
Printable version
