I am using Quad4880 ink jet Piezo DN to print negatives for printing engraved and letterpress.
I’ve already printed negatives and the difference in the ink is incredible.
I’d still like to get the type as sharp as possible. I am printing a pdf placed in an inDesign document.
I’ve tried RGB and Gray output set at 2880 dpi.
I was wondering if one of the curves would improve the jagged edges.
Thanks.
John Cotter
Thornwillow Press
What I suggest you do is actually set the type to a very dark grey. This will ensure that you are printing with 5 channels of ink.
You also need to do a very good alignment (uni-direction manual mode) of your print head.
If this is a pro printer I also suggest you do both a CR and PF alignment as per the field repair guide for that printer.
Also make sure you are printing with the correct platen gap (narrow) and suction (if it’s a pro printer) of -1 and the thickness number set to the least with the print-feed-speed set up to about +30. (All of this is if it’s a pro printer).
All these little tweaks combine to make very high quality text.
best,
Walker
Hi Walker,
Thanks for your quick response and advice for 4880 Piezo printer.
I tried alignment of print heads and setting the platen gap and and thickness to custom.
I saved the paper setting on the printer. I also did a status check.
When I send the jobs from the printer they type is still jagged. I’ve tried printing both positives and negatives.
I’ve tried Adobe PhotoShop and Illustrator as well as inDesign. While the black is good there still are pixels.
I’ve attached a detail of the type I have printed.
I notice that the print head alignment printed much better.
Thanks for you help.
John
This may be an issue with the amount of ink and gloss optimizer writing in the darkest area around the txt (a lot of ink!).
I may need to make a different kind of PiezoDN curve to do properly edge-masked txt.
-W
I am having difficulty printing with PiezoDN inks on our office Pro 4880.
It began printing completely blank one day. The printing head was moving and film advanced. I tried a Power clean cycle which seemed to work. I was able to print a negative.
I tried doing a nozzle check and another power cleaning after.
The printer has an error message on the LCD screen MNT REQ. 0040. I tried clearing the counter and also replaced the maintenance tank. The message won’t go away and the printer is back to printing blank.
I’d like to clear the message on the screen. I also want to try doing another power cleaning. I know this uses alot of ink and fills the maintenance tank.
Thank you for your help.
John Cotter
The problem with the 0040 is an End of Life error for the cleaning unit.
You need to boot the machine into maintenance mode and reset the parameters.
Here’s the field repair guide. Do a search for the error and also for “Maintenance Mode”
Best,
Walker
Also, make sure the ink inlet holes on the top-back of the cartridges are not plugged! Air has to enter the carts to let the ink get through the printer and printhead.
Walker
Thanks Walker.
I cleared the counter for the cleaner which I found in Maintenance Mode 3.
The 0040 message is gone and the printer is ready. I’m unable to do a power cleaning cycle.
Is there a way to set to printer so it will be able to use a Power cleaning?
Did clearing the counter of the cleaner remove option of power cleaning?
I though about doing black ink change but I don’t have black conversion cartridges.
I tried printing a negative and it is still blank.
Are you saying that when you turn the printer off and back on into regular mode, you can’t find the Power Cleaning menu item anymore?
Walker
Hi Walker.
I did a PWR CLEANING and it ran through its cycle as it had before.
The PWR CLEANING doesn’t solve the problem of the inks not printing.
I’ve tried running a Nozzle Check through the print utility on the computer.
There are spots of print but it is not printing entire test page.
Is there anything I can do to flush the ink? It’s seems to be the print heads. It may need more ink in the cartridges. Cartridges are about half full. I may try resetting the cart chips next.
The best way to test if the ink pump unit is actually working (it may actually be dead) is to put a sharpie line where the ink is on the carts and run 2 maintenance cleanings.
See if the ink goes down at all with those cleanings by looking at the sharpie line where the ink was and seeing if the ink has gone below that line.
If the ink hasn’t gone below the line, most likely the cleaning assembly (vacuum motor, flushing box) is dead as demonstrated by the error code.
-Walker
