Mutoh just not getting it done with the reds

[Flame]

So I have been a loyal Mutoh fan for many years, but I am just struggling with the red output. I haven't looked at a new printer in a few years, so what are our choices. Anyone seen a eco sol or pigment printer lay down a good red yet? I have been trying to get a sample of the new Roland TrueVis but struggling to get one sent to me. Curious if anyone has some solid suggestions as it's getting frustrating.

 

[TDFcustomSL]

The only way I have every gotten a good, solid, red from my 1204 is with a double pass. of course it uses twice the amount of ink and really saturates the vinyl, BUT, it was a beautiful red. I let it dry a couple days before laminating.

 

[Flame]

The only way I have every gotten a good, solid, red from my 1204 is with a double pass. of course it uses twice the amount of ink and really saturates the vinyl, BUT, it was a beautiful red. I let it dry a couple days before laminating.

I got horrible results trying to double pass. It streaks heavily and can't really do detail.

I've pretty well accepted this printer just won't get it done. Hoping someone can share some knowledge on what else is available, short of going thermal

 

[Solventinkjet]

If you have your machine professionally profiled, it will print vibrant red. Mutohs, Rolands, Epsons and Mimakis all use the same technology and extremely similar ink so comparing brands based on color output is hard to do. The difference is in how the printers are setup, how the software handles color, how your design software/designer handles color and how good the boxed profiles are. I have a customer who does some of the Red Bull helicopter wraps and he hit's that red all day long on his Mutohs. Each of his machines have been individually profiled for all of the different, specific types vinyl he uses. It cost him a pretty penny to get it done but he outputs perfect prints every time.

 

[ChrisN]

We switched from Mutoh to Epson SC80600 printers. Those printers have orange & red inks, so they can do awesome reds & oranges (of course!) So, if you really want bright reds, look for a printer with red or orange inks. I think there are a few besides Epson that offer those colors.

 

[Correct Color]

Anyone seen a eco sol or pigment printer lay down a good red yet?

Your printer is capable. Your profiles are not.

It's just as simple as that.

 

[gabagoo]

This might sound weird, but when my machine was relatively new and I had no knowledge of what the hell I was doing, I always would say that the printer could print these great colors when it was a photograph. I examined the brilliant reds and blues and wondered why could I not get that from a spot color and when you look closely at photo, you realize it is made of continually changing pixel colors that when blended all together gives you the brightest reds and blues and just about any other color.

Would be great if someone invented software that could reproduce varying shades that when out all together give you the brightest most brilliant colors.

I mean I could be wrong all together on that and maybe I was on mushrooms at the time....lol

 

[Flame]

Your printer is capable. Your profiles are not.

It's just as simple as that.

Slightly debatable. Ever try to hit a true cherry red? A Honda red? I've had both tech and dealer tell me that it is not happening, and I accept that. I simply want to find the next solution.

 

[Solventinkjet]

Slightly debatable. Ever try to hit a true cherry red? A Honda red? I've had both tech and dealer tell me that it is not happening, and I accept that. I simply want to find the next solution.

Your dealer and tech are wrong. They most likely told you that you can't hit the red because they don't know how to do it. And believe me, just because someone says they are tech doesn't mean much these days. I have met techs from Bell and Howell, who Mutoh contracts out to do their service work, and they tell me they haven't even seen some of the models they say they "work" on. The Mutoh training is literally 3 days and they teach you nothing about color. Not trying to be snarky or anything but just trying to save you from making the mistake of spending $$$$$ on a new printer thinking that your old printer can't do the same exact thing when it absolutely can.

 

[Correct Color]

Well, true, there are always some colors that are out of the gamut of any printer. So you could debate on those grounds. And it's also true that some single-dot eco-solvent printers just flat run out of enough ink at 720x720 resolution to get the reds most people are after.

But all that aside, the capability is in your machine to get reds comparable to other machines in the industry. However, if your profiles are not built to take advantage of that capability, it won't use that capability.

And it is just as simple as that.