Attractive Printing Is Impossible; Printed Results Are Coarse Or Contain Horizontal Stripes; Colors Are Unstable Or Uneven - Roland VersaART RS-640 User Manual

5-2 Attractive Printing Is Impossible

Printed Results Are Coarse or Contain Horizontal Stripes

Do the print heads show dot drop-out?
Carry out a printing test and make sure no dot drop-out occurs.
If dot drop-out is present, perform head cleaning.

P. 41, "Printing Tests and Cleaning"

P. 49, "When Head Cleaning Is Not Effective"
Is the head height appropriate?
Printing when the [HEAD HEIGHT] menu item is set to "HIGH"
is coarser than when set to "LOW." Keep this set to "LOW"
except when changing it is necessary, such as when you're
using thick media.

P. 67, "Adjusting Head Height to Match Media Thickness"
Have you carried out feed correction?
Large misalignment in the amount of feed of the media may
result in printing that seems coarse or contains horizontal
stripes. Either make the setting on the computer to match the
type of media you're using, or make the setting for correction
on the printer.

P. 71, "Performing Feed Correction to Alleviate Horizontal Bands
and the Like"
Did the media become slack during feed correc-
tion?
Slackness of the media during feed correction makes accurate
correction impossible. Carry out feed correction with the media
pulled taut.

P. 71, "Performing Feed Correction to Alleviate Horizontal Bands
and the Like"
After feed correction, was the media pulled back?
Never pull the media back after carrying out feed correction.
Doing so may cause the correction results not to be applied
properly and result in horizontal stripes.

P. 71, "Performing Feed Correction to Alleviate Horizontal Bands
and the Like"
Have you carried out bidirectional correction?
When you are performing bidirectional printing, use the [AD-
JUST BI-DIR] menu item to carry out correction. The optimal
adjustment value may vary, depending mainly on the thickness
of the media. Set or select an adjustment value that is suited
to the media.

P. 68, "Correcting for Misalignment in Bidirectional Printing"

P. 69, "Correcting for Misalignment in Bidirectional Printing More
Precisely"
Is the print heater at a suitable temperature?
If the ink forms lumps or smudges, raise the temperature. Note,
however, that a temperature that is too high may degrade the
media or cause it to wrinkle.

P. 38, "Settings for the Media Heating System"
Is the temperature of the room too low?
The media heating system may not warm up sufficiently when
the ambient temperature is less than 20°C (68°F). Also, even
when the media heating system reaches its preset tempera-
tures, adequate effectiveness may not be apparent if the media
is thoroughly chilled. Before printing, allow the media to come
to room temperature.
Is the print mode suitable?
If attractive printing is impossible even when the media heat-
ing system is at a high temperature, try using a higher-quality
print mode. Depending on the media, smudging may occur
when using a high-quality print mode, and results may also
vary greatly depending on the settings of your software RIP
(such as the color-profile selection). Make settings suited to
the media you're using.
Is the printer installed in a level and stable loca-
tion?
Never install the machine in a location where it is tilted or where
it may wobble or experience vibration. Also make sure that the
print heads are not exposed to moving air. These factors may
lead to missing dots or reduced printing quality.
Is the media loaded and set up correctly?
If the media is not loaded and set up correctly, media feed may
not be smooth, or printing may be adversely affected. Make
sure the media is loaded and set up correctly.

P. 104, "Media Wrinkles or Shrinks, or Feed Is Unstable"
Are the settings for the [PRESET] menu item ap-
propriate?
If the settings selected with the [PRESET] menu item are not
suitable for the type of media, printing may be adversely af-
fected. Choose settings optimized to the media you're using.

P. 65, "Saving Optimized Media Settings As Preset Values"

P. 66, "Loading a Saved Preset"

Colors Are Unstable or Uneven

Did you shake the ink cartridges gently before in-
stalling them?
If you're using a model that uses ECO-SOL MAX ink, then shake
new cartridges gently before you install them.
Is the media wrinkled?
If the media is wrinkled and comes loose from the platen, colors
may be uneven or printing quality may suffer.

P. 104, "Media Wrinkles or Shrinks, or Feed Is Unstable"
Is the media sagging?
Performing printing using sagging roll media makes uneven
colors more likely.
Chapter 5 What to Do If 101