-
Digital Print Problems
Hi guys, first post here, unfortunately its a request for help!
We are using a Roland printer, I’m unsure on exact model, i will check on Monday.
Anyway, we are currently experiencing issues when printing, the prints are showing lines running across the material. The lines appear to alternate between light and dark, almost stripe-like. They are faint, however it looks poor in general.
We have tried loads of things to rectify this; multiple head cleans, various materials, numerous different print profiles, head speeds, quality levels, ink levels, etc… however no joy as yet.
We are now leaning towards one of two options;
1. The material is being stored at a temperature which is too low. It is room temperature, however the room can get very cold through the night! Would the material’s temperature affect the way the ink takes to it?
2. The material has too much heat going into it immediately after print. Our printer has 2 heaters, each are usually set at circa 35C.
Input from more experienced people in the industry would be greatly appreciated, the print quality is fine for overhead fascia signs etc, where they will never be viewed closer that 1000m away etc, however for exhibition stands, pop ups, vehicles etc etc… it just doesn’t cut it.
Thanks again.
Colin.
-
10 Replies
-
Hi Colin
not knowing the roland printers Have you tried both uni and bidirectional printing and is the problem present in both
-
quote KAT:Hi Colin
not knowing the Roland printers Have you tried both uni and bidirectional printing and is the problem present in both
Hi there,
Should have said, we have tried printing uni and bi-directional, and have slowed the head speed down considerably, it does seem to help having it only laying ink in one direction, however it hasn’t cured the problem.
I should note, darker colours show up this problem more, lighter greys etc.. are clear of it. Also, on large solid areas of colour is where it is worst.
-
i have had a similar problem after moving to my new premises which is based in an old mill.
i had an engineer come and look and as soon as he walked in the room he said it was too cold, even without looking at the printer.
I did move the printer into a warmer part of my offices and that did help, and keeping the material as warm as possible helps too.
The marks i was/am experiencing are caused by the material buckling in the printer as it warms up and causing differences in the height so the print gets intermittent flaws in the print.
the only help so far i have found is to keep the material warm and lower the printer heat settings, although it sounds like ur settings are low anyway.
Chris
-
I had this once.
Causes were my heat settings were too low.
I didn’t have enough ink going down. -
I agree with all of this – this was the same fault that I posted about the other week so in a way I’m glad its not just me. Also try using the long media clamps it helps on ours but dont forgot to change the settings on the machine so it disables sheet cutting, makes a right old noise when you forget 😥
Andy
-
Hi Colin,
do the lines appear in the machines print test?
or the calibration test?
I’d say its heat related or not calibrated correctly.
The fact that it gets worse on larger areas indicates to me that the heat is too high.
On my Roland 540ex, if the vinyl is too hot the ink dries too fast leaving faint lines. I had this the other day after printing on reflective and I’d cranked the heat right up. I forgot to reduce it when I printed normal vinyl.
If the heat is too low, the giveaway is that the ink looks ‘flat’ and grainy up close, or the edges of the colour is not clean.
Hope that helps.
I’m assuming of course that you have all pins firing on your heads?
-
i dont have a Roland printer but I would be thinking heat is too low and ink limits of media profile are too high, so it soaks it. Could be wrong.
-
I’d go with Shane on this one, we had a similar problem when we changed the type of material we were using and had to adjust the calibration, all seemed to work fine afterwards.
Jason
-
Thanks for the quick responses folks.
All of your points will be taken on board, i will show the guys this thread and if we get a chance on Monday, will have a play about with the printer trying all the ideas you have highlighted.
Thanks again – its much appreciated 😀 -
i dont have a Roland printer but I would be thinking heat is too low and ink limits of media profile are too high, so it soaks it. Could be wrong.
Log in to reply.