HP L260 grainy print, maybe..?

[jpena9137]

Hey, I am new to printing in general and I have a L260. I was printing some product labels and noticed that when you look real close the print seems a little grainy. Most noticed in solid blocks of color. I must admit that it is slight, as when you look at the label from a normal viewing distance it is not really noticeable. I am just wondering if some amount of grain is normal or if there is something I can do to dial in a setting, etc. to avoid that. I was told by some that eco-solvents and solvents, in general can achieve a crisper prints, so I am wondering if I am perhaps being too critical. Does anyone else notice a slight grain on their prints?

Thanks!

 

[Commando]

Hey, I am new to printing in general and I have a L260. I was printing some product labels and noticed that when you look real close the print seems a little grainy. Most noticed in solid blocks of color. I must admit that it is slight, as when you look at the label from a normal viewing distance it is not really noticeable. I am just wondering if some amount of grain is normal or if there is something I can do to dial in a setting, etc. to avoid that. I was told by some that eco-solvents and solvents, in general can achieve a crisper prints, so I am wondering if I am perhaps being too critical. Does anyone else notice a slight grain on their prints?

Thanks!

Sounds like your material

 

[P Wagner]

Hey, I am new to printing in general and I have a L260. I was printing some product labels and noticed that when you look real close the print seems a little grainy. Most noticed in solid blocks of color. I must admit that it is slight, as when you look at the label from a normal viewing distance it is not really noticeable. I am just wondering if some amount of grain is normal or if there is something I can do to dial in a setting, etc. to avoid that. I was told by some that eco-solvents and solvents, in general can achieve a crisper prints, so I am wondering if I am perhaps being too critical. Does anyone else notice a slight grain on their prints?

Thanks!

In my estimation, the HP Latex machines are able to produce more uniform and consistent solid colors than most solvent machines. If you are getting grain in the output, I would:

1. Perform a bi-directional calibration (either automated or manual). This is to re-align the heads to get the ink dots to be more accurately positioned. This can be performed from the printer's front panel or the EWS (browser-based embedded web server).
2. Re-Linearize the printer from your RIP. You can use the on-board i1 for this, or better yet use an external device if you have one (saves on media).

 

[Commando]

I never got a "grain" look from my directional being off. It made a blur, I guess?
I ordered some cheap ORACAL sheeting(non reflective) and it printed grainy as heck. I put in another series, and it was fine. 2 feet away, it looked perfect. Up close it was grainy.

 

[HulkSmash]

In my estimation, the HP Latex machines are able to produce more uniform and consistent solid colors than most solvent machines. If you are getting grain in the output, I would:

1. Perform a bi-directional calibration (either automated or manual). This is to re-align the heads to get the ink dots to be more accurately positioned. This can be performed from the printer's front panel or the EWS (browser-based embedded web server).
2. Re-Linearize the printer from your RIP. You can use the on-board i1 for this, or better yet use an external device if you have one (saves on media).

100% not accurate. I have VERY extensive experience with Both. The HP Latex prints are grainy. All of them are. It gets worse as your printer ages. Solvents gave a much better solid color lay then the latex ever would. Latex has better blues, solvents have better reds. Nature of the game.

 

[neobruo]

100% not accurate. I have VERY extensive experience with Both. The HP Latex prints are grainy. All of them are. It gets worse as your printer ages. Solvents gave a much better solid color lay then the latex ever would. Latex has better blues, solvents have better reds. Nature of the game.

Sorry friend, but i do not agree.

Try to adjust curing temp in profile, and decrease the amount of ink too!

 

[Timothy Mitchell]

Hey, I am new to printing in general and I have a L260. I was printing some product labels and noticed that when you look real close the print seems a little grainy. Most noticed in solid blocks of color. I must admit that it is slight, as when you look at the label from a normal viewing distance it is not really noticeable. I am just wondering if some amount of grain is normal or if there is something I can do to dial in a setting, etc. to avoid that. I was told by some that eco-solvents and solvents, in general can achieve a crisper prints, so I am wondering if I am perhaps being too critical. Does anyone else notice a slight grain on their prints?

Thanks!

First, as has been suggested, run a print-head alignment, use the manual alignment just to make sure everything is perfect.

Some SAV prints sharper than others, check against other brands to make sure you don't have a sub-standard SAV.

Choose a media preset from the HP Media Locator that matches your media; lining up the right preset can make a real difference.

Calibrate the preset for your machine by running a color calibration for your media.

You should be able to get very sharp, exceedingly crisp prints on the 260, but I'd need a little more info to be more specific with the reply: what RIP, what media? What preset are you using?

Best,

Timothy

 

[craftladies]

I had the same problem as you. I did everything that everyone is suggesting. I then ran the light green colour I was trying to get, and ran it with a darker green. The darker green came out perfect, and the light green was super grainy. I think it is because not as much ink is being laid down, and it is using the white from the vinyl as your background. This is my best guess. But it looks good a foot away from the print.

 

[AF]

The L260 is basically a CMYK device so if you are using an FM screen, you will get "mud dots" with certain colors. Since it is a large format printer, the dots are not noticeable from 24" away which is well within the intended viewing distance of its output. If you are designing something from scratch, you can work around the "graininess" by choosing alternate colors that render better on the substrate. Your rip may also be substituting pure colors for adjacent colors, i.e. C0 M0 Y100 K0 -> C0 M0 Y100 K1 so check the settings in your rip.

The L260 can produce incredible reds if profiled correctly.

 

[Bly]

How many passes? Anything less than 10 on most media will be grainy.

 

[kanini]

At about 8 passes our L260 is at the same level as the Rolands regarding graininess imo, 10+ passes it gives better output regarding the graininess than the eco-solvents on uniform colors. That's just my. 02.

 

[Ditchmiester]

The hardest color I have an issue with is large solid sections of dark yellows.