Anyone have a cheat sheet for Mutoh printers?

[imagep]

if you have been in the sign/graphic/color industry for over 20 years, and you are posting about profiles... eh... hrrm.. maybe things take a bit longer in your neck of the woods.

Yup, we are a little slow in these parts.

But we have not been in the wide format ecosolve business that long - just the other stuff. So far I love digital because it is so much easier than mixing ink and cleaning plates and presses and having to deal with ink/water balance. Fewer chemicals, fewer problems, more profit per man hour.

We were once a novice at screen printing and offset printing and cut vinyl graphics (etc) also. Still are in many respects. I learn something every day. I know we arn't experts at this new fangled stuff, but we are striving to be experts.

 

[bob]

...deletia...

I am sure that it takes a lot of training to become an Astronaught or a Doctor, but it is possible to get a pilots license in just a couple of weeks (really is not that difficult), and I once had an employee to apply for a job as a police woman, all she had to do was to pass the test and do a few pushups and situps. She did eventually get to go to a law enforcement training course, but she initially became a police officer with absolutely no training.

Sometimes we all like to think that we are super highly skilled at we we do, but the reality is that many "high skilled jobs" can be taught or learned in just a few days.

...deletia...

One time, long ago, I was asked just how something worked. I explained at length exactly how it worked. The specimen who asked then said "Well, it can't work that way so come on, how does it work?" To which I replied "It works any way you want it to work." and turned and walked off.

There are no magic beans, there are no algorithms, there is no Wizard of Oz handing out the equivalent of diplomas, medals, and testimonials. Not in digital printing. There is only experience and understanding. Neither of these are conferred, they are earned.

The first step is stop looking for the wizard and accept that, unlike being a cop which only requires that the apparatus call you a cop, or flying a plane which only requires that, in general, you know which way is up and which way isn't. Even that requires time and experience to be any good at it and not a danger to yourself and others. Digital printing requires you put in time and materials, lots of time and materials. Learning the arcanery of large format digital printing is almost entirely empirical. Some never get it.

Can you hand letter? Not make marks on media, I mean do journeyman hand lettering? If so, how long did it take you to become competent? It's a learned skill and not an innate talent. Anybody can learn do it. All it takes is years of practice. There isn't a a book or cheat sheet on the planet that will teach you how, you just have to put in the time. Successfully running a large format digital printer requires much the same effort.

 

[MacDaddy]

Buy the equipment and develop your own profiles based on your machine, the inks you use and the medias you use... That is the right way to do it or, you can use generic profiles developed by others that will most likely produce the results you want to achieve... A good profile takes many hours to develop and some folks make alot of money doing this for others... Buy the equipment and create your own - Purchase the profiles you need from someone who has the equipment and is willing to do this for you - Use the generic profiles out there that are free... These are your choices...

 

[bobbiffxx]

sorry but i have to disagree. the 3M profiles are the WORST profiles of the lot. they dont even work well on 3M media. try the arlon. as far as struggling, well, i guess if your logic held true, i should be able to just go become an astronaught, a pilot, a doctor, and a police man instantly. the only thing i find odd is that you would invest in this equipment with ZERO knowledge of what it takes to learn about color reproduction, and how the machines work.

I totally agree! The newer Oracal profiles work the best for me- even on 3M material!

 

[MacDaddy]

Just my opinion... The 3M profiles are junk... Stick with the Oracal profiles or try the Mutoh-All-In-One... Again, just my opinion... Or, simply pay the money, buy the equipment and build your own profiles for your machine/ink/media... RandyA has the best advice in my humble opinion...

 

[Steve C.]

the only thing i find odd is that you would invest in this equipment with ZERO knowledge of what it takes to learn about color reproduction, and how the machines work.

Ridiculous, Ever pice of equipment or machinery I ever bought was with no
knowledge of how to operate it. Including my first automobile, computer
scanner, printer, plotter, cell phone, vcr. etc, etc.

 

[MacDaddy]

Again I say:

"Buy the equipment and develop your own profiles based on your machine, the inks you use and the medias you use... That is the right way to do it or, you can use generic profiles developed by others that will most likely produce the results you want to achieve... A good profile takes many hours to develop and some folks make alot of money doing this for others... Buy the equipment and create your own - Purchase the profiles you need from someone who has the equipment and is willing to do this for you - Use the generic profiles out there that are free... These are your choices..."