Need Help Gradation Banding

[Arch_Graphics]

I am running some sample prints on our Arizona 480XT UV Printer on Lintec E-2100ZC-61 material.

We are running Colour/White/Colour and we are getting what we call gradation banding where the gradient starts to transition from solid to clear.

The file is made in illustrator and its ripped through Thrive 18.5

Anyone have any suggestions on how to smooth this out or get rid of it?

Adam

 

[iPrintStuff]

I don’t run an Arizona and haven’t run into this problem on a wide format personally, but whenever there’s problems with gradients on our digital presses and I’m feeling lazy I just rasterise the gradient and throw it back in. Seems to work fine.

I take it the gradient is vector based?

 

[Arch_Graphics]

I don’t run an Arizona and haven’t run into this problem on a wide format personally, but whenever there’s problems with gradients on our digital presses and I’m feeling lazy I just rasterise the gradient and throw it back in. Seems to work fine.

I take it the gradient is vector based?

yeah it is vector based, only issue with just rasterizing it is the colour shifts and these have been matched.

 

[rjssigns]

If it's only two colors you can try doing a Blend in Illustrator. It's what I do if a canned gradient is giving me grief.

 

[HaleYeah]

Try adding a little noise to the gradient.

 

[iPrintStuff]

Just making sure; are you using your own profiles? I’ve always found that my own profiles handle gradients much better than the canned profiles.

 

[bob]

Try adding a little noise to the gradient.

This. Convert the gradient to a bitmap and add a little noise, <10% or whatever. Since gradients are actually discrete color bands what you're doing is breaking up the transitions between these color bands.

 

[Arch_Graphics]

Try adding a little noise to the gradient.

Cool, I will try that.

 

[Arch_Graphics]

Just making sure; are you using your own profiles? I’ve always found that my own profiles handle gradients much better than the canned profiles.

Yes they are our profiles not canned ones.

 

[Grizzly]

Good luck! Gray is a notorious for showing any flaw in file rip issues and printer issues. And your adding white into the mix so it's hard to isolate where the true problem is.
I'd rasterize as others have said and try that first. Then try without white and see if it's white causing the issue. Or it could be a curing issue that causes slight color shifts between passes.