Onyx PosterShop - Color issues between two nearly identical printers (HP FB550 & FB700)

[MarkH42]

We have an HP FB700 and an FB550. We use Onyx RIP software for both. Lately on the 700, our greys are olive green. I am confused about the RIP software because in some places within the software "(info", for example), it says "Output: 4 colors" even though the printer is a 6 color machine. In some places it does correctly say "CMYKcm" but I'm wondering if this is the problem. The settings seem to be the same for the 550, so that wouldn't explain the difference between the two.

I just printed a full sheet of all PMS colors on both printers and the Greys on the 700 look like a collection of greens. On the 550 they look great and all of the RIP and machine settings seem to be the same. Again, the 700 is firing all jets - no problems there.

Could the problem be in the RIP software? This problem just starting occuring a few weeks ago and on some colors it still looks fine and is the same as the other printer. Any ideas? Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[netsol]

sounds like the problem is you need to get an xrite I1 and build profiles

canned profiles can not compensate for the variables in your machines, only you can do that.

 

[FrankW]

Even printers of the same type can differ in colors, even if using the same profiles and settings. There are much more possible causes for problems on the machines or inks than in the software.

 

[greysquirrel]

no two printers will print identically without proper calibration or at least linearization of identical profiles. I1 is the way to go. And yes you would need the same 4/c r 6/c profile n each printer of the rip for them to even get close. If you have white ink in one printer and not the other, that is also going to be an issue.

 

[Terrance the Deuce]

These guys are right. You need to grab an I1 and learn about color management thru onyx. A good place to start would be their YouTube channel (onyxtv, i think). They have a lot of helpful training videos. To get those two printers to match you need to create new medias on the machines themselves with all the same settings on the machine, import those medias to onyx, and then go through the profile creation process in onyx. You will need to use all the same settings on both profiles, and then at least once a month you will need to recalibrate the profiles or they will slowly drift apart.

 

[MarkH42]

This is great information. Most of what we do is industrial and colors weren't an issue, but we have bought more printers and we are doing more jobs where color is a factor. We actually have an XWRITE i1 Profiler. It is pretty old and none of us have ever used it. I was able to go to the XWRITE website and download what I think is the correct software (i1Profiler (iPublish) v3.6.1). I have watched a few videos and when we plug the profiler in, the software does seem to recognize it.

I downloaded it on my office computer and the only printers it recognizes are my desktop printer and a network office printer. If I download it on the RIP computer, I assume it will recognize the 4 printers I would like to sync up (2 HP flatbeds, 2 HP Latex roll to roll). Is the process for calibrating pretty self-explanatory? I know you have to print a sheet of colors, and move the profiler over each one and click to confirm. Any other tips/tricks or videos that I should watch? I appreciate the help!

 

[Terrance the Deuce]

This is great information. Most of what we do is industrial and colors weren't an issue, but we have bought more printers and we are doing more jobs where color is a factor. We actually have an XWRITE i1 Profiler. It is pretty old and none of us have ever used it. I was able to go to the XWRITE website and download what I think is the correct software (i1Profiler (iPublish) v3.6.1). I have watched a few videos and when we plug the profiler in, the software does seem to recognize it.

I downloaded it on my office computer and the only printers it recognizes are my desktop printer and a network office printer. If I download it on the RIP computer, I assume it will recognize the 4 printers I would like to sync up (2 HP flatbeds, 2 HP Latex roll to roll). Is the process for calibrating pretty self-explanatory? I know you have to print a sheet of colors, and move the profiler over each one and click to confirm. Any other tips/tricks or videos that I should watch? I appreciate the help!

Since you are using onyx, I would recommend just creating the profiles thru onyx rather than a separate program. The I1 is compatible with onyx. The onyx videos should walk you thru the entire process.

 

[Rohit Prasad]

We’ve run into color issues in the past where they have run great on all 3 of our machines and then all of a sudden greys and blacks start printing green…we flew a hp applications guy out who spent 2 days trying to figure out what was going on. it was never resolved. We started running caldera instead of onyx and the last 5 years have had NO color issues. I would suggest switching rips to caldera.

 

[Pauly]

We’ve run into color issues in the past where they have run great on all 3 of our machines and then all of a sudden greys and blacks start printing green…we flew a hp applications guy out who spent 2 days trying to figure out what was going on. it was never resolved. We started running caldera instead of onyx and the last 5 years have had NO color issues. I would suggest switching rips to caldera.

this has to be the worst advice.

create media profiles both both machines on your RIP Software. this 90% of the time solves all colour consistency issues between 2 printers.
the other 10% is being HP and their consumable heads.