Question Roland XR-640 print quality

[LaurisGr]

Hi All,

I'm having issues with print quality on vinyl media on my Roland XR-640. Prints come out a bit blurry and quality does not seem to be great even though I'm using 'high quality' settings in versaworks.

I've adjusted bi-dir and calibration. Test prints are looking good.
Printer and media currently are stored at about 65(F) or 18(C) room.
Printer heaters are set up at 86(F) or 30(C).
Print profiles I'm using are General Vinyl 1 and General Vinyl 1 HD.

Wondering if anyone could have any suggestions please?

many thanks,
Lauris

 

[MikePatterson]

We have no size reference. How big is the lettering?
That could be horrible if it is 24X36 inch or good if its 1x2 inch.

 

[Jim Hancock]

Standard procedure with a print quality issue is to post a nozzle test also please. This is the first thing we need to see in order to start diagnosing your problem.

 

[Joseph44708]

Looks like low res artwork

 

[E Coloney]

Are the droplets around lettering OLD in the artwork OR part of the problem? If NOT in the artwork, seems to me that indicates you need a cleaning around the black printhead (and probably more).

 

[Pewter0000]

Has the printhead been left on the high setting? It only really makes a difference for smaller edges, but I'm not sure the size of this print.
We usually print Gen II if we're not using the proper media profile; however I don't think this is a media profile issue.
Not sure where you live, but are you prone to static? Humidity?

From what I can tell here, the edges of everything look fuzzy. Could you show a screencap of the artwork?

 

[LaurisGr]

We have no size reference. How big is the lettering?
That could be horrible if it is 24X36 inch or good if its 1x2 inch.

Fair Point. Print area is approx. 8in x 8in. To give a bit more perspective word 'OLD' is approx. 1.5in.

 

[LaurisGr]

Standard procedure with a print quality issue is to post a nozzle test also please. This is the first thing we need to see in order to start diagnosing your problem.

Test print is looking fine to me. Black droplets in my first picture are part of the print design, should have clarified that before.

 

[Zoogee World]

This might sound stupid, but have you increased the heat, I've had a similar problem on my VS-300i and it just needed more heat to dry the ink better, for something like that I have to sometimes go to 45 printer / 50 dryer. The test print looks pretty good, so shouldn't be causing any print issues due to missing nozzles.

 

[Jim Hancock]

It looks like ink bleeding from lack of drying fast enough. Try printing a picture and see if it has a watercolor look. If so, it's the heat setting.
Bump your heat settings up as suggested by Zoogee and see if that improves things.

 

[LaurisGr]

Has the printhead been left on the high setting? It only really makes a difference for smaller edges, but I'm not sure the size of this print.
We usually print Gen II if we're not using the proper media profile; however I don't think this is a media profile issue.
Not sure where you live, but are you prone to static? Humidity?

From what I can tell here, the edges of everything look fuzzy. Could you show a screencap of the artwork?

Thanks for advice, I'll try printing on Gen II and see if it makes a difference. Print head is on low setting. I'm based in Latvia (Eastern Europe), humidity should not be an issue, I'm thinking maybe cold is the factor. We've had few days at -20(C) or -4(F) . Office temperature during night time might drop as low as 63(F), so cold or semi-cold (if that's the way to describe it) media is put into the printer which maybe affects print quality. Does that sound like a reasonable theory?

 

[LaurisGr]

Are the droplets around lettering OLD in the artwork OR part of the problem? If NOT in the artwork, seems to me that indicates you need a cleaning around the black printhead (and probably more).

Sorry, I should have clarified that. Black droplets are part of the artwork.

 

[Zoogee World]

As previously mentioned, as long as the image is of good quality, I'm almost 100% certain it's a heating issues. Also what media are you using? Could also need a better profile to suite the media.

 

[LaurisGr]

This might sound stupid, but have you increased the heat, I've had a similar problem on my VS-300i and it just needed more heat to dry the ink better, for something like that I have to sometimes go to 45 printer / 50 dryer. The test print looks pretty good, so shouldn't be causing any print issues due to missing nozzles.

Thanks very much I'll give it a go on suggested heater settings.

 

[LaurisGr]

As previously mentioned, as long as the image is of good quality, I'm almost 100% certain it's a heating issues. Also what media are you using? Could also need a better profile to suite the media.

Image quality is great, I'm currently using Orajet 3164 media. Thanks very much for your input, I'll play around with heating adjustments and hopefully that makes a difference.

 

[Baz]

Just reread your first post and noticed your room and printer temperatures.

Being from Canada i know what it's like printing in a cold shop.
I think 65(F)/18(C) is a little cold for the room temperature. For storing yes, but when printing it seems cold. During the day i bring mine up to 72(F)/22(C) - 77(F)/25(C)
I have a VS-540 and my heater settings are always set to the max. Print and Dry.
Only time i will bring down my temperature is if i am printing either paper or thin banner material.

Even at these temperatures. On cold days, my first 2 feet or so of print i can see a pattern difference in the ink as the whole printer heats up.
Not like your image though. Allot more subtle.

 

[Boudica]

Is your head height set to high? If it is, lower it back down.

 

[Zoogee World]

If you have access to the Roland Profile Centre, they have the profile for that exact media (3164G or M) for your XR-640, depending on which inks and program you use to run it. That might be worth trying too.

 

[ChaseO]

My XR doesn't like the cheaper medias. Have you tried the same file on a better media just to rule that out? And I would also try bumping your heat up a touch.

 

[StikiBiz]

Hi All,

I'm having issues with print quality on vinyl media on my Roland XR-640. Prints come out a bit blurry and quality does not seem to be great even though I'm using 'high quality' settings in versaworks.

I've adjusted bi-dir and calibration. Test prints are looking good.
Printer and media currently are stored at about 65(F) or 18(C) room.
Printer heaters are set up at 86(F) or 30(C).
Print profiles I'm using are General Vinyl 1 and General Vinyl 1 HD.

Wondering if anyone could have any suggestions please? View attachment 151573

many thanks,
Lauris

Print quality on the Roland XR640 can be greatly improved by increasing the room temperature the machine is operating in, the optimal operating temperature is around 22 - 24 degrees C. Also for best results printing on Vinyl you should ensure the Print platen temperature is set to 40 - 42 degrees C and Dryer around 45-50 Degrees C.

One question I have for you is what head height is your head set at ? it looks like it might be on High, that would definitely cause the image quality to be poor.