Print Modes - Tektronix Phaser 600 Service Manual

5
Theory of Operation
The printhead's ink flow from the supply chamber to the nozzle is significantly
different than aqueous printers. The ink in the Phaser 600's printhead flows past
the piezo crystal and then to the ink jet orifice (nozzle).
Regarding air bubbles, the Phaser 600, by design, draws air into the system
every time you turn it off: as the liquid wax cools, it shrinks, leaving pockets of
air in the printhead.
The surface tension of solid ink (in its liquid state) is considerably lower than the
aqueous systems. Because of this fact, air bubbles pass through the printhead
using a simple vacuum purge cycle. Aqueous systems, on the other hand, use
complex purge cycles (driving the piezos at different frequencies) to move air
bubbles out of the printhead.

Print modes

There are two print modes: Standard and Enhanced.
Standard mode
Standard mode is the fastest of the color modes and is the default printing mode.
It should be used for images with light colors, text and lines, and small areas of
fully saturated colors: saturated colors will exhibit a banding effect. When
printing solid fills, the printhead ejects ink at a 8.5 kHz rate. Standard mode can
print an image on B-size (A3) media in about 2:15 minutes.
During Standard mode printing, the paper is advanced vertically the equivalent
of 31 pixels between each horizontal pass of the printhead across the paper.
Enhanced mode
Enhanced mode provides less banding on fully saturated or non-dithered colors.
It provides a high quality image for most applications. When printing solid fills,
the printhead ejects ink at a 4.25 kHz rate. The printer steps the paper through at
half the rate of Standard mode. An image on B-size (A3) media takes about
4:30 minutes to print.
During Enhanced mode printing, the paper is advanced vertically the equivalent
of 15 pixels between horizontal passes of the printhead across the paper (every
fourth pass is advanced 17 pixels). This minimizes the "banding" that may
otherwise appear during Standard mode printing.
Service Manual 5-5