Oki bad colors

Thanks for taking the time Lnfortun
Have attached the following:
- paper.jpg printet on paper, with the same settings as i did on the above paper(Neenah laser light)
- colorPerceptualSettings.jpg the settings you suggested i tryed.
- paper+perceptualColor.jpg the result i got, with the above settings. Made a red arrow, which show what i noticed a lot on the t-shirt, is that the print becomes very green.

@Lnfortun
The image in #1 is the Neenah Imageclip Laser light paper, that im using, which is this image:
[media]http://www.t-shirtforums.com/attachments/84234d1398271731-oki-bad-colors-img052.jpg[/media]It doesnt use the settings you suggested, but i tryed with a normal paper, with and without your suggesting, and it does the same, so i guess the ICLL will do the same.
They all tend to become greenish(might be bad at other colors as well), and that doesnt matter if its in the photo area of the above picture or in the solid colors.

Edit: Attached a comparison with the original(lowest)

dkdesign said:

Will look into that Have you printet this image? if yes, how do you get the bottom colors in the image. I have just calibrated my printer with Color munki and problem remains. If i only look at the bottom colors, then you see a big switch in the colors, when you look in the file, but when i print it out, the first 4+(black) colors from the left, is very close to each other and the last two(white) is very close to ecah other, which they arent in the file.

What is you thoughts on:
1) Getting darker black for inkjet(epson + jpss)/laser(oki + ICLL)?
2) What transfer papers do you use at the moment(i use 3G, jpss and ICLL)?
3) How is the white ink printers, with the papers out there? the future..
4) What brands/specific products do you use? what should i look for, in the cloth description. There is is something about the "finish" of the product. ring spun, interlock or something?

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Like I said it may not match even calibrating with color management or third party system. You may want to send PM to mgparish. He might be able to help you.

dkdesign said:

1) Getting darker black for inkjet(epson + jpss)/laser(oki + ICLL)?

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I get darker black with third party inkjet ink (Inkjetcarts.us]. I get darker black with laser if I convert the image to RGB.

dkdesign said:

2) What transfer papers do you use at the moment(i use 3G, jpss and ICLL)?

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I only use ICLL. I sometimes use Cooler Concept laser soft. All four of my inkjet printers clogged and failed. Wound up in the dumpsters.

dkdesign said:

3) How is the white ink printers, with the papers out there? the future..

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Not too promising. I am evaluating white drum/toner interchangeable with black drum/toner system using ICLD. So far I am having problem with it. I was trying Forever Laser Dark No CUT. I was having problem printing on the transfer. The toner does fuse no matter what settings I used. Wasted 4 sheets. You know how expensive that can get. I can't even get to a point of marrying the A and B sheets. Very disappointed and upset. I quit trying.

dkdesign said:

What brands/specific products do you use? what should i look for, in the cloth description. There is is something about the "finish" of the product. ring spun, interlock or something?

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Beefy T and Fruit of the Loom 50/50. The best to use is very tight knit fabric so image does not crack. If you want 100% cotton with tight knit fabric Fruit of the Loom makes a new product. It is called Heavy Cotton HD https://www.ssactivewear.com/ShopNow/Item.aspx?ID=12&ColorStyleID=0. Gildan and Anvil are known to have loose lint. So lint need to be removed before pressing.

No matter which brand I use I still pre-stretch the shirt with stretcher frame I made to minimize cracking.

I see some things that are problematic.

1. First and foremost non-postscript OKI printers are not designed to for professional level final graphics output, they are office printers. You can get some OKI's that have postscript built in and in those cases they can be adjusted (via utility) to give decent "proofing" output, then the idea there is you send out the production documents to a high end printer that is very expensive.

So of course for heat transfer we intend to use the OKI as the final output for the graphic.

2. Adobe Illustrator is really designed for output to postscript output. This means the printer has postscript built in (like the C830) or you use a RIP software program to emulate Postscript.

Adobe explains that concept here and offers a workaround.

http://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/kb/troubleshoot-problems-printing-non-postscript.html

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"Adobe Illustrator is optimized for PostScript printing. In fact, many of the Illustrator advanced features can only be described using the PostScript page description language. Non PostScript printers (for example, Hewlett-Packard LaserJets, Canon BubbleJets, or Epson Stylus) use printer description languages that are not full programming languages (for example, PCL or QuickDraw) and are unable to describe all of the objects and attributes in Illustrator artwork. Most non PostScript printers rely on display information, host computer resources, and proprietary printer drivers to relay print information to the printer.
When you print from Illustrator to a non PostScript printer, objects may not print, or may print incorrectly. The behavior may vary with different printers and with different versions of the printer software. Non PostScript printing problems can manifest themselves in many different ways, including (but not limited to) the following:

• Text or other objects are partially or completely missing from the page.
• A system error or freeze occurs."

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Having said all that I have never been able to get AI to accurately print that PDI target file accurately no matter how I set it. I can get it to print accurately using Photoshop or Corel Draw, even using sublimation inks and toners.



I have a and use AI, but only to send out jobs to printing companies that have high end equipment.

There are also some issues with your setup which I detail below, but I doubt printing output using AI you are to get anything better than what you have.

The workaround really if you use AI is to export out to tif or pdf format and print from another application like PS or Corel Draw.

http://www.adobe.com/print/features/psvspdf/


3. You have AI set to manage colors, but then you are also setting your OKI to manage colors, it should be only one adjusts the colors, not both. As you can see in the screen shot I attached AI doesn't offer an option so your non-postscript printer can manage the colors by itself. Corel and Photoshop will allow that.

You mentioned

"I have just calibrated my printer with Color munki and problem remains."

In order for that to happen you must let Illustrator handle the colors, then you set the ICC profile in the "Printer Profile" dialog in the AI print panel just below the "Color Handling" selection.

Your printing profile from your screen shot is using Adobe RGB 1998, that is not your ICC you made. You point to the ICC profile that you made there.

In that case AI would handle the color, you point to the ICC profile you made AND you turn off color management in the OKI driver, see the OKI driver screenshot for that.

Having said that I cannot get AI to print color accurate even if I have an ICC and turn off color management in the printer driver as you are supposed to. So AI could be useful to you for composing, then export out the file into a program like Photoshop for example.

Just FYI on all OKIs, especially for heat transfer you should force K toner only for 100% black, it won't fix grayscale issues but it will make sure pure black is not synthetic and making a composite black from CMY toners.

Also, a couple of key points ...

* You would need a profile made for each unique transfer paper.

* You would also make your ICC target(s) from actual transfers, not optically scanned from paper. There is some loss of "pop" usually using laser transfers once it is on the t-shirt, so there must be compensation also for that. I think Luis made that point in one his posts in this thread.

So you should try your actual printing from a different program then I can help you better there.

@mgparrish
Thanks!
The did use the icc color munki made(The picture is from before i calibrated it, for that paper).
I switched over to photoshop and it gave the same results with:
- Color munki profile set
- "printer manages colors"(no icc can be chosen)
- Checked the following: Job Options -> Advanced -> "Always create 100% black(K) toner"

But this made a big difference:
"printer manages colors" + true_black.jpg (Attached image).
True Black(K) is the one, that really makes the difference(only works for me in ps).
Color Matching seems to work best with "Perceptual" i think.

@mgparrish & @Lnfortun
Im pretty happy with the result. Here is a couble of additional questions, for you guys, if you dont mind
1) Do you have a picture of PDI_Target_AdobeRGB.jpg ?

2) Mind sharing some ICLL & JPSS, that has a decent amount of washed?

3) I read, that ink shouldnt be heatpress until 10-15 or so after it has been printed, so it could dry/get into the transfer paper. Is there a trick, so it will be less minutes? maybe place it under the heatpress(i have a clamp press).

4) What pressure(1-9), should the Red Grid and ICLL "marrying the two papers"?
ICLL: "Imageclip Laser Light tips.pdf" it say low pressure, so is that 1, 2 or 3 you guys use?
Red grid: coastalbusiness say medium, so is that 4,5,6 or 7 you use?

dkdesign said:

@mgparrish & @Lnfortun
Im pretty happy with the result. Here is a couble of additional questions, for you guys, if you dont mind
1) Do you have a picture of PDI_Target_AdobeRGB.jpg ?

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Yes I do but don' t have a need for it. I try not to waste my time figuring out why the monitor does not match with the hard copy. I just accept what result I get as long as it it close enough.

dkdesign said:

2) Mind sharing some ICLL & JPSS, that has a decent amount of washed?

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I can't find my old shirts that had decent amount of washes. My wife gave away my old shirts. I will post when I find some.

dkdesign said:

3) I read, that ink shouldnt be heatpress until 10-15 or so after it has been printed, so it could dry/get into the transfer paper. Is there a trick, so it will be less minutes? maybe place it under the heatpress(i have a clamp press).

Click to expand...

I don't do inkjet any more. Some people dry them in the oven with heater OFF and light bulb ON. Or you could dry it under the heat press. Since you have a clamp shell place something like a piece of wood or metal to keep the the press from closing all the way while you are drying the transfer. Place a teflon sheet over the transfer keep from curling up. As far as timing make multiple of same image in a sheet then can cut up the transfer. Use each piece to test what time gives you the best result. You can also put it under an incandescent spotlight which will do the same as putting it under the heat press. Don't use a florescent spot light. It does not give out heat.

dkdesign said:

4) What pressure(1-9), should the Red Grid and ICLL "marrying the two papers"?
ICLL: "Imageclip Laser Light tips.pdf" it say low pressure, so is that 1, 2 or 3 you guys use?
Red grid: coastalbusiness say medium, so is that 4,5,6 or 7 you use?

Click to expand...

Low pressure is 1 or 2 with my heat press. Medium is too high which is 4 or 5 with my heat press. The trick with marrying the red and green sheet is using the silicon mat mentioned in the PDF file.