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Swiss Q impala color question

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swordguy3222

New Member
This is for anyone who has experience with the Swiss Q printers, especially the Impala 4. We are considering one, but after seeing the sample prints for the stock and files we sent them, we find the colors very washed out. Bright red, 100 magenta and 100 yellow, comes out bland almost like pastel on production speeds, but the same file on Speed comes out brighter. Our Fuji Acuity prints the same file much brighter on the reds. My guess is this is rip issue they are having. Has anyone else had this problem? How bright do your bright reds come out? Feel free to post images please, thank you.
 
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AlsEU

New Member
It's all about the ICC profiles. If it's wrong (or someone choose the wrong profile, not for the specific substrate), colours may be different than they should. Ask the supplier, why red is washed out.
 
JBurton

JBurton

Signtologist
I'd let the sales folks you're speaking with know you are disappointed in the colors, and let them know you're leaning toward an alternative, but you'd still consider them if they hit a brighter red. Odds are it got knocked out quickly, where it may need to be profiled for your material.
I thought Swiss Q was top of the line stuff, never see anybody asking about them except for flatbed printer threads...
 
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ONYXtechtips

New Member
In my personal experience, the swissQprint inks hit red pretty well. I would echo what was said and ask if a profile can be created for your specific material. I would assume the file was run with color management set for your file and the build is not necessarily 100m100y. The swissQprint is definitely worth the look and second chance.
 
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Nibroc99

New Member
swordguy3222 said:
This is for anyone who has experience with the Swiss Q printers, especially the Impala 4. We are considering one, but after seeing the sample prints for the stock and files we sent them, we find the colors very washed out. Bright red, 100 magenta and 100 yellow, comes out bland almost like pastel on production speeds, but the same file on Speed comes out brighter. Our Fuji Acuity prints the same file much brighter on the reds. My guess is this is rip issue they are having. Has anyone else had this problem? How bright do your bright reds come out? Feel free to post images please, thank you.
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Hey there. I run two Impala 4 printers without using ICC profiles and I manually match colors using Adobe Illustrator. We get extremely vibrant colors off of each press - I'm most impressed that these can hit Reflex Blue within 1 delta E whihc is a super vibrant pantone color. We're beyond happy with our presses. Your issue is definitely RIP related.
 
MikePro

MikePro

New Member
swissQ is currently my dream flatbed/hybrid. +1 to discussing color concerns with sales, they'll be certain to impress ...especially at that pricetag.
 
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Nibroc99

New Member
MikePro said:
swissQ is currently my dream flatbed/hybrid. +1 to discussing color concerns with sales, they'll be certain to impress ...especially at that pricetag.
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At tradeshows, even Canon employees call the SwissQ presses the "caddillac of printing." Ease of use, yet extreme quality and color control is extraordinary (like I mentioned, we match our colors within 1ΔE of the target color. Even comparing it to screenprinted inks, we nearly always are able to hit those colors.
 
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swordguy3222

New Member
Then the one making the samples at their end doesn't know what he's doing. Unless we slow down print speeds to something sad, the colours are all washed out. 500K$ for 12 boards an hour is not good.
 
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Nibroc99

New Member
swordguy3222 said:
Then the one making the samples at their end doesn't know what he's doing. Unless we slow down print speeds to something sad, the colours are all washed out. 500K$ for 12 boards an hour is not good.
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We print CMYKcm+a layer of White at 115cm/s and push out 60 12"x18" sheets per hour. That's at 1350x900dpi. It can print even faster though - we can print a full 4ft. x 8ft. board at a lower resolution of 1050x400dpi in about two minutes, or under one minute if it doesn't need white - that would be at 150cm/s which is the maximum horizontal speed. Colors are still vibrant but quality at that speed is slightly degraded. For a board that big though the quality loss is negligible. Typically we print such fine copy and graphics that even the alignment of individual dots can be critical, and with proper calibration and a stable concrete floor, these presses achieve that easily.
 
Christian @ 2CT Media

Christian @ 2CT Media

Active Member
swordguy3222 said:
Then the one making the samples at their end doesn't know what he's doing. Unless we slow down print speeds to something sad, the colours are all washed out. 500K$ for 12 boards an hour is not good.
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It is 100% likely that this is either one or a combination of three things: Printer Profiling (Highly Doubtful), Image build / Color Management, or a RIP issue. Honestly, SwissQ has some of the best printers on the planet, and their Color team is second to none.

I must ask, your 100%M, 100%Y build... what intent and profile are you using?
 
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Nibroc99

New Member
swordguy3222 said:
Then the one making the samples at their end doesn't know what he's doing. Unless we slow down print speeds to something sad, the colours are all washed out. 500K$ for 12 boards an hour is not good.
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How big are the boards you're printing by the way? And do they require white or varnish or both?
 
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swordguy3222

New Member
Nibroc99 said:
How big are the boards you're printing by the way? And do they require white or varnish or both?
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We never ended up getting the printer. The people in Chicago were never able to produce anything that we were satisfied with. On paper the machine looks great, the machine itself is beautiful, but colour wise we went back to Fuji. Aside from EFI and maybe AGFA, Fuji has the brightest inks. SwissQ's inks never came close to them regardless what they tried to do to make it work. My guess was a rip issue but was never able to get my theory tested because would need someone with the machine and the same Rip I use, not many people in US/Canada us Colorgate unless they bought from Fuji in the pasat.
 
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swordguy3222

New Member
Christian @ 2CT Media said:
It is 100% likely that this is either one or a combination of three things: Printer Profiling (Highly Doubtful), Image build / Color Management, or a RIP issue. Honestly, SwissQ has some of the best printers on the planet, and their Color team is second to none.

I must ask, your 100%M, 100%Y build... what intent and profile are you using?
Click to expand...
We never ended up getting the printer. The people in Chicago were never able to produce anything that we were satisfied with. On paper the machine looks great, the machine itself is beautiful, but colour wise we went back to Fuji. Aside from EFI and maybe AGFA, Fuji has the brightest inks. SwissQ's inks never came close to them regardless what they tried to do to make it work. My guess was a rip issue but was never able to get my theory tested because would need someone with the machine and the same Rip I use, not many people in US/Canada us Colorgate unless they bought from Fuji in the pasat.
 
Christian @ 2CT Media

Christian @ 2CT Media

Active Member
Fuji is no where near what the SwissQ can do, but if you are satisfied then that's all that matters, as it's your business purchase and you have to be comfortable with your future.
 
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swordguy3222

New Member
Christian @ 2CT Media said:
You didn't get a good representation. The Impala color gamut is one of the largest out there.
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If I were to send you the same test file we used, could you print me something on coroplast or ABS at a speed matching around 40 boards an hour and send it to me? I can send you our UPS account to ship to us with. We are anticipating the need for more press power within the next year, having the Impala back in the running would not be a bad thing.
 
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