I also have almost the same problem with my Canon printer. It prints perfectly (somewhat high quality) from web page including the black text. The print quality especially the black prints getting worse when I print documents from M. Office. And even worse when I print documents from M. Work.
That's why I plan to buy a new printer since the above scenario doesn't make any sense to me. I tried to adjust the print quality from the menu and it still does the same thing.
My Canon S600 printer will not print in black ink in Windows 98; however, it does print in black ink in Windows 2000. So the printer is fine. The problem seems to be Windows 98. Any suggestions how I can get it to print with black ink in Windows 98?

Chowhound
Comic Vine
GameFAQs
GameSpot
Giant Bomb
TechRepublic