VRHD - Summer Phase Pigmentation Detail From a distance, the residual dark pigment on this Summer Phase appears more or less black. But when we zoom in with a macro lens we find that the "black" is actually purple/blue. Areas with some depth to the pigment appear the most black, areas with more thinly applied pigment appear the most purple/blue. A common technique among inkjet printer manufacturers, ostensibly to make their blacks appear even darker to the eye, is to add in colors like blue. This sells more color ink cartridges of course but more importantly it hints at the possibility (probability) that nature, as usual, is one step ahead of us yet again.