Printer Tips & Tricks

How to Print Postage without Black Ink (eBay)

In this Video I'll show how I print Postage without using black Ink. Some Printers will allow the User to choose the Color they'd like to print in. If that's the Case, just make sure to print in any Colors other than Red, Yellow or any very light Color.

Once the Postage has been purchased, open the Postage in a Print Window, if that Option is available. The Reason for doing this is so the Postage can be captured by saving the actual Web Page with minimal attached asset Files (files that make-up the Web Page). In order to save the Web Page goto the Menu and (select\click) "Save Page as" (Google Chrome). Make sure the complete Web Page is being captured. Navigate to where the Web Page was saved and look for the Folder that contains the separate Files that make-up the Web Page. Once there, look for any .gif Files. One or more of those will be the actual Picture of the Postage. Open it in an Image Manipulation Program that will allow the User to select by Color, I use GIMP. Understand, this is Federal Postage and it may be illegal to change any of the Information contained in the Postage. I called and asked a Post Master if it was OK to change the color of the Postage. The Post Master told me, "its OK as long as no Information is change".

With the Postage Picture opened in GIMP, (select\click) the "Select" Heading then (select\click) "By Color" and use that Tool to select all of the White Color of the Postage. With all of the White selected, (select\click) the "Select" Heading again and (select\click) "Invert". That will change the Selection from the Color White to all the rest of the Colors in the Picture, which in this Case should only be Black. Next, choose any hard-edged Tool and make sure it's Color is the Color to be printed with. Use that Tool to paint a new Color for all of the Black on the Picture. (select\click) the "Select" Heading, one more Time, and (select\click) "None" to de-select everything that had been previously selected. Check the Picture to ensure only the Color has been changed.

The User can print the File from inside GIMP or save it to be moved to a Printer later. If the File is saved, make sure there is as little Compression as possible and\or the File isn't change when saved. If the Printer prints a blank Page, it may be necessary to remove the Alpha Channel before exporting the Picture File. In GIMP (select\click) the "Layer" Heading, then (select\click) "Transparency", then (select\click) "Remove Alpha Channel".

Requirements :
A color Ink Cartridge with Ink other than Red or Yellow, An Image Manipulation Program, A modern Web Browser