• I want to thank all the members that have upgraded your accounts. I truly appreciate your support of the site monetarily. Supporting the site keeps this site up and running as a lot of work daily goes on behind the scenes. Click to Support Signs101 ...

Grainy Print Quality

F

Foo

New Member
Hey guys,

I recently bought an Roland SP540i and it seems that the print quality is really grainy (much more noticeable on lighter colors) even when printing using the "high quality" setting". From a couple feet away things look alright but up close you really notice it. Any suggestions for how to improve the quality? It is a brand new machine and has been fully cleaned

Thanks!
 
rushworks graphics

rushworks graphics

New Member
there ara a number of facters to understand....

profile for the madia you are using.
temps and heat settings/head speed/bi and uni etc etc etc
if its a new machine then calibration should be good
enviromental temp/humiditiy will also play a part.

on ink jets like you have, printing on gloss will always be grainy, sometime more than others.

if you can, print on matte, its alot better and you can always lam it with gloss overlam for a glossy look
 
sfr table hockey

sfr table hockey

New Member
I second all the above.

Try some cast media to print the same thing on. Even get some Oracal 751 and do a test print on it or matte finished media.

What rip and what profiles have you tried?
 
Mainframe

Mainframe

New Member
Maybe start with file quality, how are you generating files? Are they vector? If not are you saving in a high enough resolution? Start with file quality and work your way out.
 
J

john1

Guest
You want to try a few different media profiles, Sometimes even a profile for another brand may work better than using a profile for oracal for example with oracal. I personally use generic vinyl 1 profile that Versaworks comes with for 3M IJ35C, General Formulations 203 and Oracal 3651 and it works fine on all of them.

Here is a good tip, Print on matte adhesive vinyl and laminate it with a semi or gloss overlaminate. Matte vinyl prints A TON less grainy than gloss. Heck, you can even print in high speed mode and it doesn't sacrifice the quality in my experiences.

I found that if my heater settings are higher, the less grain i will get on gloss adhesive vinyl. You can do various test prints, in changing the heat settings along the way. My heater is set to 112 on adhesive vinyl and 104 on banner material (prevents curling and headstrikes if it's lower for banners)

Do a bi-directional calibration, Check the manual to find this on your machine settings to adjust it.
 
F

Foo

New Member
Thanks guys, I'll try those suggestions.

I'm currently using Versaworks as my RIP software. The only material I've tried printing on so far has been the Roland ESM Glossy Calendared Vinyl. I've used the ESM-GCVP profile which I thought would be best suited for this product but I'll definitely try some the other ones.

The machine has passed all of the calibration settings so I know that all of those are right. As for images, we've been using both vector and high resolution images.
 
rushworks graphics

rushworks graphics

New Member
remember though....glossy material will always be more or less griany to a degree. sometimes you can find a profile and set the settings up and heat etc so its less grainy, others times you gotta try and try with test prints to see what works and what doesn't........its all a learning curve!

matte material will always print better..period, and you can get a nice gloss overlam so its comes out real nice.

did you do the color charts yet?
 
F

Foo

New Member
I just checked my settings and the heater is set to print at 35degrees C (94F).

speed is set to 30cm/sec

I did print off the colour charts to see how it reacted to all the colours but wasn't sure if there was anything I could do with them.
 
rushworks graphics

rushworks graphics

New Member
with each different brand of material/manufacturer, you should print off a color chart. that way you will be able to see the differences in color etc for each material you will use.
 
sfr table hockey

sfr table hockey

New Member
Foo said:
I just checked my settings and the heater is set to print at 35degrees C (94F).

speed is set to 30cm/sec

I did print off the colour charts to see how it reacted to all the colours but wasn't sure if there was anything I could do with them.
Click to expand...

You may find that you need to be closer to 110F to 120F to get the gloss to print with less grain. I don't think 94 is warm enough but I don't have your printer. Others could chime in.
 
JoshLoring

JoshLoring

New Member
Foo said:
Roland ESM Glossy Calendared Vinyl.
Click to expand...

^^^^
Here's your problem. This vinyl tends to be grainy. Try an Oracal or 3M product. I think Roland's vinyl is "Avery in disguise". Always grainy.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top