Does Mamaki Print Greys?

[Speeddm]

Hi there every one just wondering if Mamakis have any problems printing greys. I know Roland machines print greeny grey.

 

[tsmith@oracal.com]

It's RIP related

To be quite fair, the RIP has much to do with the ability to print black and gray. Most RIP software supports color replacement which allows you to more tightly control the combination of inks employed to produce a particular color. Versaworks by default uses all four colors to produce black and gray--this can lead to a muddy, often slightly tinted colors.

Likewise, your color profile is critical to this as well. If you're not using a color profile from a media manufacturer, that's a good place to start.

I'd recommend looking into Onyx or Flexi if you're struggling with Versaworks. Roland also just updated Versaworks to include something called "spot color fidelity" which might allow for similar control.

But to answer your question, Mimaki printers offer quite nice grays but you can indeed get decent color out of Roland as well.

Best wishes,
Todd Smith
ORACAL USA

 

[thewood]

I agree with Todd, it is RIP related. Printing greys, especially from a raster image, can be difficult and will expose any flaws in your profile. Common complainta are that "my greys are green" or "my greys are pink". The solution can be as simple as backing off the offending color a bit in the RIP, or as complex as creating a new profile(s).

BTW, my greys print great. Mimaki JV3 using Triangle Inx (6 color) and Flexi RIP.

 

[ChicagoGraphics]

Our Mimaki prints all shades of greys perfectly, even the tech from the Co. we bought the printer from is amazed how great the greys come out. We also use Onyx & colour management software.

 

[Replicator]

Speeddm, haven't you posted this same question like 4-times now ?

You should have gotten plenty of answers that explain your issue at this point !

 

[bigbly]

hehe Rep you stirrer

ok I might give a different answer over on this thread...

just tweak the cmyk levels till you hit a nice neutral grey, at least in one part of the greyscale ramp ..

 

[anthony smith]

When printing vector files and text for simple jobs we have found
that useing the orcal 651 colors and the orcal 3651 profiles no matter the
material our colors match the vinly almost perfectly other files
we have struggle but not just grey

 

[iSign]

I read here that a 6 color inkset will do a much better job then cmyk. I'm running dual cmyk & since I discourage unrealistic "fine art' leven color expectations... my greys are fine for my customers... but I'd be real careful selling prints of fine art, to the artists themselves... not a job for my printer (& current inks) in most cases.

 

[Valentino]

I thought mimaki printers were great at printing gray dingy colors. lol, from my experience with them that is the only color they can hit everytime.

 

[TheSnowman]

On my Mimaki, I have to sometimes tweak the greys, or turn the ICC Profiles off or on, whatever the opposite is. The sucky thing is, sometimes you can't always tell how it's gonna print till' your half done w/ the job, and you get to the grey part. I had a huge banner print green instead, but it wasn't till' toward the end of the graphic that the grey was.

 

[eforer]

I get good grays with my triangle JVS 6 color inkset with WG magenta and light magenta. The triangle inks are also far less murky than the SS2 inks, although the later SS2 inks were far better than there predecessors.

 

[iSign]

I thought mimaki printers were great at printing gray dingy colors. lol, from my experience with them that is the only color they can hit everytime.

spoken by the owner of a Mutoh Valuejet 48"...
...sounds like jealousy to me :Big Laugh

(I guess you just aren't very experienced with Mimaki's then huh?)

 

[Valentino]

actually, I've dabbled with a JV-3 54" at a local franchise which was maintained regularly.

AWFUL print quality at 720. streaky ugly colors and the gradients were a joke.

isign....have you seen the colors on a valuejet, one word. amazing.

 

[iSign]

no, I guess I'll retract my tongue-in-cheek remarks...

I've noticed a lot of praise for the Mimaki by a wide variety of industry professionals. When Barry, the owner of printingdigital.net traded up to one from his Roland, I thought that was a bit of a testimonial of sorts.

I am constantly amazed by the print quality of my JV3 & have a long 2 year string of nothing but satisfied customers... but in fact, I never did see a valuejet print.

My opinions of anything Mutoh has been severely clouded by about 20 times more problems posts then any other printer, along with higher percentages of service calls (compared to the competition) from the dealers I've spoken to. I realize that has no bearing on print quality when your printer is working. I also recall that many Mutoh naysayers were more optimistic for the future about the time the valuejet came out... so I'll keep an open mind.

Although I'm no color expert, I think I know "awful" so your local franchise has just joined my opinion of most franchises... clueless :Big Laugh

 

[eforer]

If you put a blind guy in a Ferrari, he's probably not going to be very fast. In the same vein, you put a moron at the helm of a great machine, its not going to make great prints. I love my Mimaki.

 

[Case]

actually, I've dabbled with a JV-3 54" at a local franchise which was maintained regularly.

AWFUL print quality at 720. streaky ugly colors and the gradients were a joke.

isign....have you seen the colors on a valuejet, one word. amazing.

If you were using a JV3 and getting awful print quality and bad gradients, then you(or the operators) obviously do not know how to use the rip software or use the machine. Perhaps even you had heads out or didn't know how to maintain the machine either. The JV3's are great machines---so I'm going to go with "OPERATOR ERROR" on this one. Hundreds of people haven't gone wrong.

I don't own a JV3 either.

Case

 

[Pro Signs & Graphix]

Mimaki builds a quality machine that lasts and prints great.

 

[hexagram]

Similar Problem, non-uniform color shifts

We have been working with a Mimaki JV4 set up with pigment inks (Lc, Lm) and are having color shifts, however they are not uniform within the greyscale. Some densities appear green, others magenta. I am wondering if this is a common problem as well, most likely with our profiles ?

We have tried compensating using GCR / UCR, and changing RIP software (use mainly Ergosoft PosterPrint, then tested with Wasatch with no luck).

We have used the same profile making standards, software (Monaco) and equipment (EyeOne) on our Epson and Chromira printers without any difficulties.

Thanks,

Andreas

 

[gabagoo]

run samples of greys...lots of them and then take them outside and look closely. I find it almost impossible not to either pick up a slight greenish look or a browny look although they look fine inside.

 

[hexagram]

Thanks, but the problem is not with the way the tests are lit. There are multiple color casts in the printing of any greyscale material. I assure you that they are not slight either.

-andreas