# Versacamm owners- how do I get a nice print



## Kimsie (Oct 5, 2007)

when I print with my versacamm vp300 it looks like the ink is pixelated (it is a bunch of tiny dots) it is worse on light or med colors. What do I need to set my color pallet on? I'm new to this machine and haven't figured out this part yet-frustrating!!!

Thank you in advance
Kimsie


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## amp267 (Oct 11, 2006)

try posting a pic, or the file you are printing


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## Kimsie (Oct 5, 2007)

amp267 said:


> try posting a pic, or the file you are printing


here's an attachment-hopefully it works. i choose my colors at RGB and it is suppose the be a dark navy a dark yellow and white. the back ground back is just a sample of the shirt color.
Thanks again,
Kimsie


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## amp267 (Oct 11, 2006)

not to sure how to print in rgb, everything i print is in cmyk. when i save my file to print, i always use cmyk. not sure if it will help, but its worth a try


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## amp267 (Oct 11, 2006)

what are you printing on, and what icc profile setting are you using


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## Kimsie (Oct 5, 2007)

amp267 said:


> not to sure how to print in rgb, everything i print is in cmyk. when i save my file to print, i always use cmyk. not sure if it will help, but its worth a try


 I have also tried cmyk and I still get the tiny dots. I changed the colors to cmyk-see what you think-I really appreciate your help!!
thank you,


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## amp267 (Oct 11, 2006)

not sure about illustrator, but in corel when i save/export as an eps my setting are format-tiff


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## amp267 (Oct 11, 2006)

it could be something with your printer, do you have a photo of the printed project. have you tried doing a test print


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## Kimsie (Oct 5, 2007)

I've tried printing on Solutions Opaque and Quick Print and Wall Graphics and calendered vinyl and I've gotten the same results with everything. I will have to check the TIFF thing
Thank you,


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## amp267 (Oct 11, 2006)

check the tiff thing, and also make sure you have the right profile set. also make sure to do a test print, might be something with your printer


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## printchic (Apr 3, 2006)

Hi,

Here are the settings i have for printing on Solutions Opaque. Under the QUALITY (Click on the Quality Square on the lefthand side of the page); 

*Media Type:* Solution Opaque 

_NOTE: your profile name may be different depending on if you got the profile for solutions opaque from stahls or imprintable_

*Color Management:*
Preset: MAX Impact

_I found if i let it stay at Pre-Press I got dottiness so this may be where you can try different selections and see what works best for you._

Hope this helps...


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## Kimsie (Oct 5, 2007)

printchic said:


> Hi,
> 
> Here are the settings i have for printing on Solutions Opaque. Under the QUALITY (Click on the Quality Square on the lefthand side of the page);
> 
> ...


Thank you Amp267 & Printchic I will have to try that this morning. I had to leave my computer quickly last night, I had a sick kid and wasn't able to get back to the computer-I appreciate your help!
Thanks again,
Kimsie


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## Kimsie (Oct 5, 2007)

[*Color Management:*
Preset: MAX Impact

_I found if i let it stay at Pre-Press I got dottiness so this may be where you can try different selections and see what works best for you._

Hope this helps...[/quote]


***Printchic-I have the correct media type and I changed the color management to "Max Impact" and it helped but I can still see a few dots. Does it use a lot more ink this way-looks like it does!
Thank you
I put in a call to Imprintables-they are at lunch I'm sure I'll hear from them soon.


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## printchic (Apr 3, 2006)

Hi Kimsie,

Did you get in touch with imprintables? What did they say.

I believe the MAX Impact selection does use more ink.


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## mrbigjack50 (Jun 9, 2008)

I do everything RGB to get brighter colors : )

Can be issue heat not high enough or it being to high

Profiles are Key

In pre press area click on custom and click on color metric absolute for denser color and perpetual for photos

hate to break news but when printing on vinyl, you are bond to get superficial tiny dots that can be seen up close but not further away


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## mike2468 (Mar 11, 2007)

I've got the Roland sp-300 and was using colorrip and had the same issues. The print was ok but I could see the tiny dots in the prints, especially in color blends. I upgraded to Wasatch Softrip and the prints improved 100%. No more dots and the blending from color-to-color is perfect, printing on roland material and also Imprintables opaque.

Mike


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## Kimsie (Oct 5, 2007)

Printchic-I talked with Imprintables and he questioned me in regards to cleanings and I did another set on manual and a medium cleaning cycle. I think the medium to dark colors look a lot better but yellow is my biggest problem

Mrbigjack-I will try the custom & color metric absolute and see what that looks like

also, Imprintables wanted me to take a picture and emial them but I'm not able to zoom in close enough and have it be clear to be able to see on the picture so I will put a few sample pieces in the mail on Monday-bummer that it probably takes 4-5 days to get to Pennsylvania.

I have another question in regards to manual cleaning-do you use a tweezer and go around the printheads like it says in the directions? My training guy didn't show me that part and it somewhat makes me nervous I would hate to ruin parts allready.


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## mrbigjack50 (Jun 9, 2008)

cleaning is a breeze, I do it like once a monthif even that because machine does great job cleaning itself
You should of got swabs in a plastic bag, use a little cleaning solution on it, and gently clean around the heads.. than clean around capping station area


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## mrbigjack50 (Jun 9, 2008)

this may help

Roland Printer Maintenance Guide


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## Kimsie (Oct 5, 2007)

Thanks for the link-and that is how I am doing my cleaning.


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## mrbigjack50 (Jun 9, 2008)

Mhm.. it pretty easy and I barley ever need to do it : )


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## skdave (Apr 11, 2008)

Here is is large print off of our SP540


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## mrbigjack50 (Jun 9, 2008)

Canvas I am assuming ... who are you using for material?
Bulldog media got sale for 30" rolls at 130 for 75' rolls


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## skdave (Apr 11, 2008)

skdave said:


> Here is is large print off of our SP540


 
Yes Bull Dog


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## mrbigjack50 (Jun 9, 2008)

smart man Ha : )

I think it is better than Roland because its a little thicker


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## scuba_steve2699 (Nov 15, 2006)

When you are creating and sending graphics to Versaworks you should have vector data in CMYK and raster in RGB. It is very important to ensure that your raster data is not being converted to CMYK in the design software that you are using or the colors will be forced into the smaller color space of CMYK and look washed out. The file you have looks to be all vector so you are fine to export it into an eps as CMYK and then import that into Versaworks to print. For opaque solutions I agree that you will use Opaque solutions profile and max impact. Max impact does not put any more ink down but shifts the saturation curve a bit to increase saturation of the print creating a more vibrant and "punchy" print color. This works great with vector data and I use it consistantly in my shop. However, it will oversaturate raster images and cause them to look bad. It is a push pull situation and you must evaluate every job you are doing to ensure the final output is what you are targeting for.
With all of that being said, are you using color matching from versaworks? You can print out a color swatch file in versaworks and use that to get CMYK values for your design to ensue the output is consistant with what you are looking for. It is a must have tool in any shop and is easy to print right from versaworks. Let me know if you need directions on how to do this. 
Color matching is a very tricky thing with any printer. In the classes I teach on the Versacamm, we spend a lot of time on the subject. Yesterday in the 102 course we spent almost half a day going over all of the controls you have available in versaworks and how to ensure the output is what you are looking for. Keep asking questions and looking for resources and trying different settings for jobs. You will be amazed at what you can get out of your machine!

I hope this all helps!


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## amp267 (Oct 11, 2006)

scuba_steve2699 said:


> When you are creating and sending graphics to Versaworks you should have vector data in CMYK and raster in RGB. It is very important to ensure that your raster data is not being converted to CMYK in the design software that you are using or the colors will be forced into the smaller color space of CMYK and look washed out. The file you have looks to be all vector so you are fine to export it into an eps as CMYK and then import that into Versaworks to print. For opaque solutions I agree that you will use Opaque solutions profile and max impact. Max impact does not put any more ink down but shifts the saturation curve a bit to increase saturation of the print creating a more vibrant and "punchy" print color. This works great with vector data and I use it consistantly in my shop. However, it will oversaturate raster images and cause them to look bad. It is a push pull situation and you must evaluate every job you are doing to ensure the final output is what you are targeting for.
> With all of that being said, are you using color matching from versaworks? You can print out a color swatch file in versaworks and use that to get CMYK values for your design to ensue the output is consistant with what you are looking for. It is a must have tool in any shop and is easy to print right from versaworks. Let me know if you need directions on how to do this.
> Color matching is a very tricky thing with any printer. In the classes I teach on the Versacamm, we spend a lot of time on the subject. Yesterday in the 102 course we spent almost half a day going over all of the controls you have available in versaworks and how to ensure the output is what you are looking for. Keep asking questions and looking for resources and trying different settings for jobs. You will be amazed at what you can get out of your machine!
> 
> I hope this all helps!


im interested on how to print out a color swatch file in versaworks and use that to get CMYK values.


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## mrbigjack50 (Jun 9, 2008)

Only thing with Versaworks color thing is that you use "there" spot color it in preference thing on top or something..pretty easy : )

Just print a pantone color chart on media you will be using... 
I personally get my colors to match up pretty good for most part, as long as everything is profiled correctly, from screen to printer, you will be A-Ok


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## scuba_steve2699 (Nov 15, 2006)

Amp - to print the color chart, in Versaworks go to the media menu, then click on color selector. Hit ok and the color selector chart will be added to your print queue. Load the media you want the color chart to be on and send it to print. I used the most common material in use at my shop as it is an easy comparison for reference or for the customers to pick out what color they want. It is important to note that if you need it to be exact, then you would have to print the specific color value on the specific type of media the customer wants as there are different white points from different media (opaque solutions white is different from oracal 3651 glossy vinyl). When selecting a color from it you will have the CMYK values on the chart and then plug them in for your color in whatever design software you are using. Let me know if this makes sense to you.

Sean - not to be mean but I do not understand why you would ever even try to print a pantone color chart from a CMYK printer. Not only is it impossible (pantone colors are spot colors and the entire gamut cannot be accuratly or even closely reproduced on a CMYK printer) but the reference gained from it would be off color and fairly useless. If you are trying to match pantone colors to CMYK you need to use a color bridge. even with the bridge you will find colors that just cannot be reproduced as they are outside of the CMYK color range. Your screen is a SRGB device and has a different gamut from one device to the next. Also what your customers screen and your screen look like are totally different unless they have been both color calibrated using a huey device or some similar method. I prefer the printed chart for color matching and if it is crucial to match for the customer, I have them pick from the color selector chart to ensure the output is accurate. Just my 2 cents but I think that it is important to understand the different color types and how they are reproduced!


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## mrbigjack50 (Jun 9, 2008)

I understand the Pantone color chart won;t be same colors as true Pantone color chart, What I meant was, it would be a reference how color will turn out in my world when designing.
My screen is actually 14bit screen so its an RGB screen compared to 6 bit home screens.
One thing i learned after spending 5 or 6 grand in color management alone is, you will never, ever get exact colors but ones that are pretty darn close : )

i understand why people say "send CMKY" format because it is only way to get client to see colors they want on there monitor which may have to high or low contrast ratio 

I personally work in RGB world and hate using CMKY because won't get me lime green or bright reds that I love to work with

I like to break the rules lol. what can i say : ) I took what you said not mean at all and I can see you are very nologable in color


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## Kimsie (Oct 5, 2007)

I'm still dealing with this. I just got my samples mailed to Imprintables yesterday-so I'll have to wait a few days before I hear back from them. My question is should I be able to print a solid color (i'm going to use an example of althletic gold) should it look like the same as buying a roll of solid althletic gold material (completely smooth -no dots just solid gold)?

I was wondering if someone would mind creating something very simple maybe just a few squares of different colors and attach it to see what it would look like when I print it? Thank you very much.
Kimsie


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## amp267 (Oct 11, 2006)

Kimsie said:


> I'm still dealing with this. I just got my samples mailed to Imprintables yesterday-so I'll have to wait a few days before I hear back from them. My question is should I be able to print a solid color (i'm going to use an example of althletic gold) should it look like the same as buying a roll of solid althletic gold material (completely smooth -no dots just solid gold)?
> 
> I was wondering if someone would mind creating something very simple maybe just a few squares of different colors and attach it to see what it would look like when I print it? Thank you very much.
> Kimsie


i would have to say no, transfer paper is spot color. your printer prints with cmyk, to make different colors. you might be able to come close, but it will never match spot colors. cmyk can mimic many pantone spot colors, but it also has problems with alot of them.


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## GSSATerry (Feb 29, 2008)

Profiles are key to getting the right color. They control the amount of ink and the heat which play a key role in color. 


With the Solution material there are some custom settings you to make. See attached PDF which gives you step by step instuctions.


Please feel free to contact me if you have more questions.

Happy Printing!


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## scuba_steve2699 (Nov 15, 2006)

Terry - I could not get the PDF to open. It says it is corrupt. Do you have another file you can post?


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## GSSATerry (Feb 29, 2008)

I only have the PDF, I spoke with one other and she could open it... I will see if I can get a diferent form.


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## scuba_steve2699 (Nov 15, 2006)

Terry - I got it to open using a different computer. Thanks!


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## printchic (Apr 3, 2006)

Have you hear anything from Imprintables about the pixelation?

Is this what you are talking about?

I seem to have dottiness when i print clipart. I have tried different settings and still get similar results. This i scanned in so that you can see the dots. Doesn't matter if i print "720 x 720 dpi" or "720 x 1440", etc. Art is 300dpi and exported as EPS. I printed on some mactac 8300pro that was left by the installer of my machine. I changed the color settings to max impact, display & sign, etc.


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## mrbigjack50 (Jun 9, 2008)

Heat may be to high or low... I get dots either way on vinyl material... just way it is.. I got spectrometer which helps a tad when I redid linearization but ya


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## printchic (Apr 3, 2006)

mrbigjack50 said:


> Heat may be to high or low... I get dots either way on vinyl material... just way it is.. I got spectrometer which helps a tad when I redid linearization but ya


Ok, i haven't a clue about the heat settings. I have only used my machine for t-shirts. Guess i have some major research to do on sign printing.


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## mrbigjack50 (Jun 9, 2008)

Heat setting is on Versaworks setting or you can do from menu board on printer.. usually you printer is set at 35 to 40c but some material need to be heated more so ink absorb better in material


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## scuba_steve2699 (Nov 15, 2006)

heat settings should always be set to default for the profile being used. If you deviate from the default settings, it will make the ink not properly dry on the material and can lead to pixelation or dottiness.


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## Kimsie (Oct 5, 2007)

I talked w/ Imprintables and they had me change some settings (different than the default) I'll have to look them up what they had me change and get back with you, I was gone for a day, so I'm trying to catch up


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