Black Ink Compensation, also known as BIC increases the use of black ink to maintain dark saturated colors.

One way to determine whether the BIC selection is valid is to print another Ink Limit swatch after setting the ink limits (prior to making a BIC setting). When reviewing this print you will want to look for a point from about 2.3 to 3.0 where the hue suddenly stops getting darker and actually gets lighter before getting darker above 3.0. Its been found that Red and Green (4/5) are typically the easiest areas to observe this. After setting a BIC, you can print the swatch again to see if this lightening of the hue was corrected. Make adjustments as needed.

The following examples are typical of the settings we use in the Profiling Lab based upon the average Ink Limits (1-7):

• 1.5 - 2.0 → BIC = 4-5
• 2.0 - 2.5 → BIC = 3-4
• 2.5 - 3.0 → BIC = 2-3
• 3.0 - 4.0 → BIC = 1-2

See Ink Limits.