Print ( GREY ) without spot color ?

[autoexebat]

Printer = Roland VS-300i
For the life of me I can NOT print a grey , or gradient with grey unless I make the grey a spot color .

I have the 7 color ink setup with the LK . Anytime I print a normal grey without it being a spot color it comes out PINK .

If anyone can help me solve this I will gladly pay as I'm having to turn away orders .

Printer is working now , but in a few I will print a sample .

 

[Joe House]

2 things come to mind...
1. Your profile is designed for viewing outdoors and you're viewing them under fluorescent light. Try viewing your greys outside and see if the change in lighting improves the gray.
2. You need to linearize your profile. This will balance out your CMY levels to be more neutral. This, however requires a spectrophotometer.

 

[autoexebat]

okay , well does it help by saying when my print head was brand new last year it was perfect ?

 

[SignMeUpGraphics]

What does a print head test look like?

 

[autoexebat]

I will do a print test now , standby

here it is as of 30 seconds ago .

 

[SignMeUpGraphics]

Hmm, clean enough for accurate prints.
We used to have this issue a lot with our VS-540, even after multiple profile calibrations.

Can you try doing a test print using Density Control Only and see how that looks?

 

[P Wagner]

View attachment 146144 I will do a print test now , standby

here it is as of 30 seconds ago .

You are missing/ deflecting a fairly significant number of nozzles in the LC. That may be enough to reduce the density of that ink and shift neutrals warm - LC is used extensively when printing gray tones. Re-linearizing might bring you back to neutral. With Roland equipment that task will require an external measurement instrument (spectrophotometer).

 

[autoexebat]

I will do a print test now , standby

Hmm, clean enough for accurate prints.
We used to have this issue a lot with our VS-540, even after multiple profile calibrations.

Can you try doing a test print using Density Control Only and see how that looks?

Hmm, clean enough for accurate prints.
We used to have this issue a lot with our VS-540, even after multiple profile calibrations.

Can you try doing a test print using Density Control Only and see how that looks?

I tried Density Control Only and that's the best I can get it , but still get some pink .

 

[autoexebat]

Update on the test print and file I tried to print .

File i'm trying to print

 

[WYLDGFI]

File is CMYK or RGB? Is there a Limit black to black channel only in the rip software?

 

[autoexebat]

CMYK but I've tried RGB as well . I have been printing the same file over and over since 2013 and nothing has changed. Print head last a little over a year printing this file great , then about 1 year and 3 months the print starts to fail . If it was a new file / print then I could say something different , but it's happening to all grey tone files ( spot color is fine ) but you can't use a spot color of gradient fill .

 

[WYLDGFI]

Because its so warm on your output....I would lean more towards a file or RIP issue vs a mechanical or PH issue. Have you updated the SW recently or changed something in there? Thats all I can come up with....the file being a CMYK build is another.

 

[WYLDGFI]

Why can't you use spot color for gradient? What software are you creating in?

 

[autoexebat]

Spot color will never work on a gradient , it will create a hard line in the middle . I can show you tomorrow . Nothing has changed on my end

 

[WYLDGFI]

How about using PMS Black? That takes the color directly to the Lab side of your rip vs thru the profile you have there I believe. You should also have the ability to override the CMYK values within the rip software to make tweaks of %'s to your CMYKs. I don't see how using a PMS or spot would create a hard line unless you are using raster gradient vs linear vector based.

 

[autoexebat]

I did another print today and I see cyan has a spray all over my prints , can't see it too well with a naked eye but if you use a magnifying glass you can see the cyan overspray .

 

[WYLDGFI]

Cyan doesn't turn prints pink or warm. UNLESS your Cyan or LC PH isnt firing correctly.

 

[autoexebat]

It's all 1 print head , they are not separate print heads .

 

[Jim Hancock]

It appears you have all your nozzles back. The cyan overspray would point to the cyan or light cyan channel is possibly starting to fail. I would suggest printing the fill test in service mode. It is here - service mode-print menu-test pattern-fill. This test prints each channel at a middle setting, i.e., a middle resolution, pass count, speed setting, etc., and works the print head. Carefully watch the entire time it prints, watching for missing areas that may eventually be covered by subsequent passes. Also, watch both sides of the print as it prints, looking for overspray and uneven edges while printing, which may also get covered up by following passes. Immediately after printing this, print the nozzle test print and see if there are any changes. Depending upon the results of this test, I would not rule out a bad damper. Please post your results...

 

[autoexebat]

WOW very good info , I will try this as soon as I get done cutting a few orders . I was temped to taking the head out and sending it for ultrasonic cleaning . Since the head isnt old at all it may be worth it to at least try ?