Switching from RasterLink 2 to OnyxRIP

[Lindquist]

I have a Mimaki JV3 that came with RasterLink Pro 2 in 2006. In 2014, we purchased a new computer and a copy of OnyxRIP to power a Scitex flatbed. At the time, we planned to move the Mimaki over to Onyx as well (to use only the new computer and eliminate a Windows XP machine), but we've never fully implemented the switch. We're in the middle of a lot of upgrades and remodeling, so I'm trying to actually implement the change and remove the old hardware.

I have the Mimaki JV3 operating on OnyxRIP; setting it up was pretty simple. However, I'm missing a lot of print settings and all the terminology is different. The sample prints I've done all seem to be low quality settings.

RasterLink's terminology always separated the (gloss vinyl) prints as 720x720 or 1440x1440. I was then able to select 8 pass or 16 pass; sometimes lower pass settings depending on the material selected (I don't normally run lower than 8 pass except to use 4 pass for some banners).

Onyx repopulated a list of materials that is far more specific than what I'm used to working with (e.g. the list specific shows different brands/types of Avery, 3M, Mactac, etc. products). The list in RasterLink is much more generic.

Does anyone have any idea what I'm missing? I'm completely lost how to decipher the settings to print higher quality. The highest I've seen is 720 8 pass on a few materials. How do I get the higher print qualities in Onyx?

EDIT (Update): I've been playing around in the settings more. When I configure the printer, I can look at all the media types. When I look in the options for each media type, all of the settings I'm looking for are listed! I can see several different print settings ranging from very high to very low. But when I open a job to send to the printer, the options are still reduced to only 2 low quality options.

 

[genericname]

The RIP resolution is tied to whatever print profile you're using at any given time. While you can change the variants of that resolution on the fly (number of passes, travel speed), you can only change the resolution by changing the profile.

If none of the supplied profiles offer you the resolution and media pairing you're looking for, you'll have to make a custom profile. If colour matching isn't actually a big deal to you, you can just modify one of the existing profiles to use a different resolution. This will throw colour matching out the window though.

 

[Correct Color]

If I could say...

Basically whatever capabilities -- including available resolutions -- any printer has are built into the printer, and can be profiled on any RIP that will drive -- has an available driver for -- the printer.

However, that does not mean that every stock profile made for every printer uses every capability -- again including resolutions -- that printer has. Stock profiles are only whatever capabilities whoever made them used.

And that's particularly true of Mimaki, since they have invested so heavily of late in promoting RasterLink as the only RIP to use with their printers, and since base RasterLink has no available functions to allow the ability to create even the RIP-created parts of any media profile -- something which I feel is a huge mistake, but at present, they're not paying me any consulting fees, si what can you do?


Anyway, the fact is that in this business profiles truly are everything. If you'd like to have your machine profiled in your environment to do exactly what you want it to do on the media you use and to get the best possible print first time, every time.. that is what I do for a living.

I'm also an Onyx dealer and can get you up to speed very quickly on getting all out of Onyx that it's got to offer.

 

[AF]

Get a spectro and learn to profile your media. You can then be free to work rather than fight the canned profiles you are trying to use.

 

[Lindquist]

An update: I did figure out how to adjust the profiles to add more passes and higher resolutions, but I haven't tested it thoroughly.

I don't actually use the Mimaki JV3 very much anymore. It's primary job at this point is printing screen printing films (which might only be once or twice a week, sometimes less). My only test print was on the film, and it didn't turn out great. It seemed to just put down too much ink. It wasn't remotely dry and when it came off the printer and some of the ink had smudged while it was still on the printer. Beyond that, the print was splotchy (which could simply be because there was too much ink).

I haven't tried printing on vinyl or banner yet; I was fiddling with it in spare time. I'm not at all familiar with working with ICC profiles extensively. I was a rookie when the JV3 was purchased 10 years ago, and was just taught to always use the same generic 2 generic gloss vinyl profiles in RasterLink (one for 720x720 and second for 1440x1440).

We've had Onyx for a couple of years for the Scitex, but we've still just been working with stock profiles. It's never really been a problem for us. Even so, I'm certainly willing to learn if anyone knows some resources where I can read up on it.