Black vs rich black - printing question

So, you only had 100 copies printed? In that case, it was probably printed digitally. It would be toner, not ink (which also explains the shininess). The RIPs (Raster Image Processor - the hardware/software that converts your PDF to the dots on the printed page) for digital presses have lots of options on how to deal with black, including the conversion of pure blacks to rich ones and vice-versa. It's quite likely that the look of your original print run is a result of those settings, and that the new printer needs to experiment with theirs to match it.

Cally,

There's a lot of talk in this thread about so-called "rich black," but you said:

I designed a book in illustrator- completely black and white.

Do you understand that the term "rich black" generally assumes process color? Do you understand that (assuming you're having it printed on an offset press) your "completely black and white" document would normally be printed with just one ink, and that by setting it up with so-called "rich black" swatches, you are effectively asking for it to be color-separated, involving up to four inks?

JET

"I am under the impression that what was printed should be the same if it is the same paper. Am I correct? I do not want to go and change my book. Can anyone help?"

Believe it or not, paper is one of the most important parts of print quality.  However, many factors affect quality. When you met your first print vendor you should have taken note of how it was printed.  Some small quantity vendors will use a digital press and may even use a color copier.  Also, that print vendor should have given you the specific name and weight of that paper.  I see no reason why, because they made a blem on some of the original prints, they would not give you that information.  Other variables such as ink density and blanket life on the press all affect quality.  Even humidity can affect quality.  Given the mix up in the Black vs. Rich Black, the printer can RIP the file as Grayscale = every element is 100% Black.  So, technically, you should not have to do anything with the file(s).  And, because you gave the vendors a heads-up regarding the mix match, they are able to fix it in their workflow.  The fact remains that no printer can match exactly, especially two different vendors.

One more thing: you talk about rich black like it is one thing. Rich black is a mixture of inks chosen for THAT press, THAT job, THAT paper. One person's "beautiful rich black" is another person's "too much ink, paper falls apart". Be cautious with rich black and avoid it on body text.

Cally,

CMYK rich black

There are countless rick blacks (ranging from warm to cool/cold), and it is possible to optimize for overall impression/feel and/or to go with whichever colours/inks are on the cover.

And what Test Screen Name said about loss.

Cally,

This printer is saying I may need to go throgh and change all my blacks to CMYK rich black which is going to take me FOREVER

This ought to be extremely simple, just select one 100%K fill/stroke object, then Select>Same>Fill/Stroke Color (Fill then Stroke, or Fill & Stroke).

If it is the same paper, the same inks, the same printing technology and the same setup, it might print the same. Otherwise you're pinning a lot of hope on the paper part and not enough on the ink part. Different printers use different inks. It's also perfectly true that some print shops will print a test page, and if the colours don't look right, fiddle with things until they do. This is actually a very valuable service if they did that - you may have argued yourself out of a premium service into one where you have to get everything right yourself.

This is why we have colour management. Have your new printers supplied you with a CMYK profile to use in your designs and proofing? Any good printer will.

I thought it would all come down to how this had been designed. .... I am under the impression that what was printed should be the same if it is the same paper. Am I correct?

No and no. Both statements show a ack of understanding how the actual physical printing works and what color management is for, no offense. Nothing stops a printer from duplicating an ink/ plate to print the same bits in a different color just like without any color management and thus a predetermined density of the pigments/ ink black is not automatically black. Of course an experienced printer has ways of fixing these issues on the fly directly on the machine, but most facilities will require proper print-ready files in the first place. and therein lies your problem. Due to your muddling up rich black and regular black you are bumping into issues with overall ink/ pigment  density, which no doubt is the real issue for the print shop here. If you have Acrobat, you could try fixing it with the ink manager there and/ or possibly assigning the facility's color profiles as per their requirements, but otherwise you won't be able to avoid going through all your files and cleaning them up.

Mylenium

Yes, it is possible that the printer put a darker black in their machine. But for a book it's not highly likely. It's more likely that your current printer has a process running in their prepress that corrects a muddy black.

Using edit >edit color > recolor artwork you should be able to change your blacks quickly, but I doubt that it will lead to the result you hope for.