Setting Description If too low If too high
Input tension Tension is applied to the substrate
from the input spindle. It needs to
be constant over the full width of
the substrate, thus substrate load
is a critical operation.
The substrate skews and may
become increasingly wrinkled in
the printing zone. Also, substrate
advance may be irregular,
resulting in horizontal banding.
The substrate may be
permanently deformed or
damaged. Substrate advance
problems may appear in extreme
cases.
Vacuum The vacuum applied to the
substrate at the printing zone
helps to hold the substrate down
on the print platen, keeping the
distance to the printheads
constant.
The substrate may lift up off the
platen and touch the printheads.
This can smear the printed image,
cause vertical banding, cause a
substrate jam or even damage the
printheads.
For sticky substrates, friction
could be too high and substrate
advance irregular, resulting in
horizontal banding or irregular
grainy patches.
Bidirectional Specifies whether printheads print
in both directions, when moving
from left to right and from right to
left.
If Bidirectional is selected, the
amount of ink fired per unit of
time is larger, and therefore print
quality defects such as
coalescence and banding may
occur, especially at the sides of
the plot. However, printing speed
is high.
If Bidirectional is unchecked then
the printing is unidirectional and
the speed is relatively low.
TIP: You are recommended to
keep Bidirectional selected in all
cases, increasing the number of
passes if necessary to avoid
coalescence and banding.
High ink level The maximum quantity of ink will
be laid on the substrate (the High
ink level option available only
when the number of passes is 10
or more). The ink quantity may be
reduced by the RIP color profile.
If not selected, colors may look
washed-out.
If selected, there can be excess of
ink and some problems related to
poor drying and curing.
TIP: Select High ink level for
backlit and some textile
applications, or if you want high
color saturation.
Cutter The printer's built-in cutter can cut
the substrate automatically
between each print.
Disable the cutter in the following cases:
●
You want to increase the speed of printing.
●
You want to use the take-up reel.
●
You want to cut the substrate manually.
●
The leading edge of the substrate tends to curl and cause
substrate jams.
In some cases, the cutter is automatically disabled.
Auto tracking (OMAS) The substrate-advance sensor
(also known as the Optical Media
Advance Sensor, OMAS) is located
under the print platen; it can track
the substrate advance
automatically.
Disable the sensor in the following cases:
●
The substrate allows ink to pass through to the platen. Clean the
sensor after using this substrate.
●
You are instructed to do so by the front panel, because the sensor
is dirty or unable to track this particular substrate.
Load the substrate and print the diagnostic plot
1. Load the substrate in the normal way, paying particular attention to the following points.
44 Chapter 5 Substrate settings ENWW
To Next Page
Loading...