Bijou Funnies #6 cover tell

[50Cent #II (1st print)]

I've got a couple first prints and a second print and thought I would post a tell I've noticed on the cover for BF #6.  The letters at the bottom of the cover "NARD 'N' PAT  THE KISS-OFF" on the 1st print is black with red background frame, the 2nd print shows the black letters completely covered over with red ink.  It appears to me that it may be that the first print had the black printed over/after the reds and on the second print the blacks were printed first and then the reds were printed afterwards.  Don't know if this would apply to the whole print run, but guessing it might?  Also, I think a different black ink was used, as the 1st prints I have both have glossy blacks, while the 2nd print has very muted/faded blacks?

I'll post scans soon...  (hope it shows up on the scans).

[50Cent #II (1st print)]

Also book size is about the same and the top staple is at the same location, but the lower staple on the 2nd print is much higher.

You can use these scans for the Wiki.
(Same scanner, same settings)

1st print



2nd print

[zonker]

Sorry, i can't see the diffrence in your scans.

In "4 color process" printing, yellow is always printed first, and black is always printed last.
Especially on a 4 color press. It's SOP.
I've heard this order reproduces colors more true-to-life.
But going from lighter to darker inks, also safegards against dark inks getting into the lighter ones, muddying them.
Printing red last is a little more plausable on a single color press.
Yes, If red was last (for whatever reason), it would be last for the entire pressrun.
But my gut reaction is "Are you sure?" Maybe the muted/faded black just looks like it's under the red. And i would find it hard to explain how to spot this, and impossable to scan.
Just go by the  Printing number 5 4 3 2
 

[50Cent #II (1st print)]

1st print above, 2nd print below.
Definitely looks like the red is on the black on the lower one to me.  But, I guess, could also be that a different type of black ink that is thinner could soak up the red?  I don't know...

This is just a cover tell to help identify listings on eBay, for those looking for first prints...

[over40artist]

Expanding on what zonker already said, I can confirm that black is almost always printed last in 4-color printing, even on a one or two color press. Also, there is no true "red" ink in CMYK (4 color) printing. The closest thing to "red" ink is actually magenta ink. It is almost red-purple in color, as any Google search would show you. The red hue referenced in the Bijou #6 cover was produced by a combination of magenta and yellow inks. Probably about 70% magenta ink overprinted on 100% yellow, which produces a "fire red."

In any case, if the magenta (or red) ink was printed last (on top of the black ink), there would be a "ghost" image of black underneath the red, which would appear brown. This is due to trapping (overlapping of different color inks), which was a major concern in all color printing in the '60s and '70s (and for decades before and after). Today, with direct-to-plate technology, trapping is set by computer software instead of manually, and therefore is less easy to detect.

If you study the most recent post by 50Cent, it is apparent that the primary change in appearance is in the density of the black ink, which is controlled by the press man and can vary widely within one press run. The second most notable change is in the registration, which is also susceptible to wide variation within one run. This registration difference appears to be what caught 50Cent's notice in his attempt to define a cover tell.

I have three firsts and one second of #6 and the black ink does match the ink densities that 50Cent has shown above. If anything is a cover tell, it is that the black ink on the first printings is generally darker than the black ink on the second printings. While I wouldn't bank on that every time, it is a reasonably good tell if you really know what you are looking for.