NatureScapes.net Forums

Hi everyone. I've been trying to figure this problem for the past half year and don't seem to be any closer to it. The issue is that when I print my files (16 bit TIFFs), they come out horribly noisy and with faint, thinly-spaced lines running in the same direction as the print head...but only in the background areas where there is no detail. The spacing is much closer together (maybe a few millimetres) to be a print head issue, and I have done nozzle checks, cleanings, and alignments just to be sure. I have also tried several different printers, files from different cameras, different computers, paper, the whole 9 yards, and although matte paper usually mitigates the problem somewhat, as soon as I use lustre paper, it looks absolutely horrible. Logic would dictate that the problem is in the file, but I don't do anything destructive or lossy in post processing, and when I look at the file up close, even zoomed in at 200%, there is no noise, no lines, no nothing, at least, nothing on the scale that you can see in the printed image. If it's the file, which it seems to be since the problem is reproduced on different computers and printers, what could it possibly be that's going wrong? Does anyone have any ideas at all? To clarify, the lines and noise only ever appear in detail-free, background areas, never in the subject of the photo (some kind of bird or another). I really appreciate any insights that you might have.
Thanks!

Artifacts in the same direction as the printhead travels are normally one of several things (in terms of the printer):
1. Missing nozzle, note: yellow is very hard to review, the simplest method is to photograph the nozzle check with your phone and then YW shows easily
2. Paper Feed adjustment. If the stepper motor is advancing to much = white gap, not enough dark line

Since it's happening on multiple printers and computers from different cameras it's more likely something in the file.
Seeing an example file and knowing your workflow would help.

Regards,
Larry

Some longshots:
- check your cabling to the printer, If its usb switch to ethernet
- make sure the printhead is not set to maximum height
- run a solar curve on the top layer of your file. Zoom in and out a little, there should be no sign of banding.
David

You didn't say what printer but this is highly indicative of a clogged or partially clogged nozzle. If it's an Epson, it's almost certainly that.. Run a nozzle check in your printer driver and my bet is that one color isn't printing consistently. If so, run a clean cycle and then rerun the nozzle check, keep doing that until it prints the test pattern perfectly. It is not unusual to primarily see this in smooth areas and not as much in detail areas.