8 Pass vs 16 Pass etc

[fresh]

I know this is a newb question, but we can't figure out what the difference is between various pass modes.

Does the higher pass rate use more ink? Is it higher resolution? Or does it just take longer to print?

We just got a CJV30-130 and we can't get it to print poorly. The difference between pass rate is almost unnoticeable.

Also, we've searched around to find this answer but keep coming up blank.


Thank you!

 

[Robert Boyd]

I was told by our Advantage Sign supply tech that it does not use more ink.
We were having a problem with our cyan printhead and he suggest using 16 pass
while waiting for the printhead to be replaced. It did improve the quality of the print
but took way longer to print. We use 16 pass when printing very small text and
for certain background colors. It really helps in those situations. We are printing on a JV3.

 

[Matt-Tastic]

pass modes control the amount of ink put down with each pass of the print head. The same profile switched from 4 pass to 8 pass will use no more ink, because the ink restrictions are designed in the profile and resolution settings of the file. That being said, an 8 pass profile may use more ink than a 4 pass profile, if they are 2 different profiles.

For example:
in 4 pass mode, each pass of the print head lays down 25% of the ink, from 25% of the head. The second pass puts down another 25%, along with a fresh pass of 25% next to it. after 4 passes, that first area is covered with its full ink coverage.

In 8 pass mode, it puts down 12.5% ink per pass, and takes 8 passes for the first pass to be completely covered.

additional passes allow for 2 main things: additional time for ink to blend together (for medias that can't accept a large amount of ink at once) and allows more nozzles to fire at the same location (to mask missing nozzles). in 4 pass, there are up to 4 different nozzles printing the same area, so if one is missing, it becomes more noticeable. In 8 pass, there are 8 different nozzles, meaning a single nozzle out can be masked easier.

more passes also allows for medias that don't take heat as well to be run slower over a lower heat setting, allowing them to dry better.

finally, smaller passes mask overlap/underlap banding easier.

 

[Robert Boyd]

very nice explanation - thank you

 

[fresh]

pass modes control the amount of ink put down with each pass of the print head. The same profile switched from 4 pass to 8 pass will use no more ink, because the ink restrictions are designed in the profile and resolution settings of the file. That being said, an 8 pass profile may use more ink than a 4 pass profile, if they are 2 different profiles.

For example:
in 4 pass mode, each pass of the print head lays down 25% of the ink, from 25% of the head. The second pass puts down another 25%, along with a fresh pass of 25% next to it. after 4 passes, that first area is covered with its full ink coverage.

In 8 pass mode, it puts down 12.5% ink per pass, and takes 8 passes for the first pass to be completely covered.

additional passes allow for 2 main things: additional time for ink to blend together (for medias that can't accept a large amount of ink at once) and allows more nozzles to fire at the same location (to mask missing nozzles). in 4 pass, there are up to 4 different nozzles printing the same area, so if one is missing, it becomes more noticeable. In 8 pass, there are 8 different nozzles, meaning a single nozzle out can be masked easier.

more passes also allows for medias that don't take heat as well to be run slower over a lower heat setting, allowing them to dry better.

finally, smaller passes mask overlap/underlap banding easier.

Awesome. Thank you for explaining this. I actually thought this was the reason, but I didn't really know why.

Thank you again.