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Author Topic: Is it a good practice to re-calibrate the printer after each paper change?  (Read 3369 times)

Justan

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I work primarily with 3 flavors of Hana papers in my Z3100. My HP guide says they are all of the same paper type “fine art paper pearl (less ink).” I typically run about a roll through the printer before switching, but sometimes will do it more frequently.

I have adopted the practice of calibrating the printer after changing papers. The HP color center doesn’t say the current calibration data is obsolete but the unfounded theory is that because the papers are different then re-doing the calibration is a good idea.

Yet I have my doubts about this, so I'm am writing to ask if this really is a good practice or just waste of paper?

Thanks in advance for the feedback!

Ernst Dinkla

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Is it a good practice to re-calibrate the printer after each paper change?
« Reply #1 on: January 08, 2010, 11:13:01 am »

Quote from: Justan
I work primarily with 3 flavors of Hana papers in my Z3100. My HP guide says they are all of the same paper type “fine art paper pearl (less ink).” I typically run about a roll through the printer before switching, but sometimes will do it more frequently.

I have adopted the practice of calibrating the printer after changing papers. The HP color center doesn’t say the current calibration data is obsolete but the unfounded theory is that because the papers are different then re-doing the calibration is a good idea.

Yet I have my doubts about this, so I'm am writing to ask if this really is a good practice or just waste of paper?

Thanks in advance for the feedback!


You can create custom media presets from the "fine art pearl" media preset and calibrate them separately without influencing the original or the other custom ones. Am I missing something here?

Paper boxes, roll or sheet, have batch numbers. If you change from one batch to the other of the same paper quality a calibration is good practice. For large runs of one image it is good practice to do the job within one batch of paper. The two good practices can be in conflict with one another :-)
I would make a proof print on both batches in that case and check differences after drying time.


met vriendelijke groeten, Ernst Dinkla

Try: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Wide_Inkjet_Printers/



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dgberg

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Is it a good practice to re-calibrate the printer after each paper change?
« Reply #2 on: January 08, 2010, 03:44:33 pm »

I am anxious to hear a little more about this. Not sure what Epson says about this process but I have never done a re-calibration to my 7900 or 9900. I think its automatic but really not sure,time to get the book out.
« Last Edit: January 08, 2010, 03:52:05 pm by Dan Berg »
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howseth

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Is it a good practice to re-calibrate the printer after each paper change?
« Reply #3 on: January 08, 2010, 05:40:21 pm »

My experience with my Z-3100 - with the two papers I like to use - is that it is not necessary to re-calibrate after a paper change. But, If you find your prints of the same file noticeably different on the same paper - than I would re-calibrate - to see if that is the cause.

Howard
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Jonathan Wienke

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Is it a good practice to re-calibrate the printer after each paper change?
« Reply #4 on: January 09, 2010, 02:45:25 pm »

Quote from: Justan
Yet I have my doubts about this, so I'm am writing to ask if this really is a good practice or just waste of paper?

Definitely a waste of paper. The only times you need to reprofile are when:
  • You upgrade to a new driver that interprets settings differently than the previous one
  • You start using a new lot of ink that has different color characteristics than the previous lot (rare)
  • The paper characteristics change from one lot to another (rare)
  • The print heads have worn significantly and your prints are lighter or darker as a result

If you're really nitpicky, you may find some small benefit reprofiling every 6-12 months to account for printhead wear, but anything more often than that is a pointless waste of time, paper, and ink. If you truly need to reprofile every time you switch rolls of paper, your printer is defective.
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Ernst Dinkla

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Is it a good practice to re-calibrate the printer after each paper change?
« Reply #5 on: January 09, 2010, 03:15:01 pm »

Quote from: howseth
My experience with my Z-3100 - with the two papers I like to use - is that it is not necessary to re-calibrate after a paper change. But, If you find your prints of the same file noticeably different on the same paper - than I would re-calibrate - to see if that is the cause.

Howard

Two different paper qualities using the same media preset?  With custom profiles for each paper but still relying on one media preset used for both?

The original question was about a HP Z model and three different paper qualities using the same HP media preset. With three different paper qualities and no custom media preset made for each quality it would be necessary to calibrate at every paper quality change. Hence my advice to make 3 custom media presets and only calibrate when a new production batch of a paper quality is used. Of course there is also the regular call of the software to do a calibration. I also observe in practice that the drift in the printer isn't that bad that postponing a calibration creates a disaster but my reply was for the specific question asked.

Whatever Epson users do is their concern. As far as I know they have no custom media preset creation function in the printer utilities with the normal Epson driver. My reply was for a Z model.



met vriendelijke groeten, Ernst Dinkla

Try: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Wide_Inkjet_Printers/
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Justan

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Is it a good practice to re-calibrate the printer after each paper change?
« Reply #6 on: January 11, 2010, 12:25:16 pm »

Thanks for the replies! I'm sure that Ernst has it in the use of the custom media presets.

I did not know that Hana papers (at least) have batch numbers and this is a very useful bit of information!

So taking the hint from Ernst, I went to work with the “Manage Papers” section of the HP color center, any time I try to open the add, delete or update papers, the interface hangs and after a while tells me that the device is unavailable. I've tried restarting the printer, restarting the printer and then restarting the computer, and get the same result. The other parts of the Color Center appear to be working fine.

So…….i’m not sure what to do next. Do I reinstall the HP Color Center software? If I do, does this cause me to lose the presets and profiles in place at this point of time?

Xanthor

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Is it a good practice to re-calibrate the printer after each paper change?
« Reply #7 on: January 12, 2010, 03:02:07 am »

TEMP & HUMIDITY!

I beg to differ here.  I think there is one other reason to re-calibrate and that is enviornment.  Humidity is everything!  If its hot and humid that ink is not going to react with that paper in the same way as if its cold and dry ... or even warm and dry.
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Ernst Dinkla

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Is it a good practice to re-calibrate the printer after each paper change?
« Reply #8 on: January 12, 2010, 03:37:21 am »

Quote from: Xanthor
TEMP & HUMIDITY!

I beg to differ here.  I think there is one other reason to re-calibrate and that is enviornment.  Humidity is everything!  If its hot and humid that ink is not going to react with that paper in the same way as if its cold and dry ... or even warm and dry.


Calibrating the climate conditions in your printshop 24/7 is the better idea. That includes the storage of your media. 55% humidity is the norm.


met vriendelijke groeten, Ernst Dinkla

Try: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Wide_Inkjet_Printers/




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Ernst Dinkla

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Is it a good practice to re-calibrate the printer after each paper change?
« Reply #9 on: January 12, 2010, 03:49:06 am »

Quote from: Justan
So…….i’m not sure what to do next. Do I reinstall the HP Color Center software? If I do, does this cause me to lose the presets and profiles in place at this point of time?


Hard to tell. Usually powering down and up is the remedy for correct status backfeed.

Did you have paper loaded in the printer?


met vriendelijke groeten, Ernst Dinkla

Dinkla Gallery Canvas Wrap Actions for Photoshop
http://www.pigment-print.com/dinklacanvaswraps/index.html

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jorm

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Is it a good practice to re-calibrate the printer after each paper change?
« Reply #10 on: January 12, 2010, 08:02:57 am »

Quote from: Justan
Thanks for the replies! I'm sure that Ernst has it in the use of the custom media presets.

I did not know that Hana papers (at least) have batch numbers and this is a very useful bit of information!

So taking the hint from Ernst, I went to work with the “Manage Papers” section of the HP color center, any time I try to open the add, delete or update papers, the interface hangs and after a while tells me that the device is unavailable. I've tried restarting the printer, restarting the printer and then restarting the computer, and get the same result. The other parts of the Color Center appear to be working fine.

So…….i’m not sure what to do next. Do I reinstall the HP Color Center software? If I do, does this cause me to lose the presets and profiles in place at this point of time?

Turn the machine off over night and unplug the ethernet as well, next morning restart everything and it should be OK after that, happen to me frequently as well.

jorm

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Justan

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Is it a good practice to re-calibrate the printer after each paper change?
« Reply #11 on: January 12, 2010, 11:47:56 am »

Quote from: Ernst Dinkla
Hard to tell. Usually powering down and up is the remedy for correct status backfeed.

Did you have paper loaded in the printer?


met vriendelijke groeten, Ernst Dinkla

Dinkla Gallery Canvas Wrap Actions for Photoshop
http://www.pigment-print.com/dinklacanvaswraps/index.html

There was paper loaded.

After more work I found that this was a creeping paralysis. First I couldn’t get to the Manage Papers section, and a little while later (after putting in another kind of paper) I found I couldn’t get to the section to calibrate.

I did another power cycle of printer then computer, which made for no difference. Since that was the 3rd or 4th time I tried this recently, I decided on another approach. I went to HP’s web site and got the latest revision of their Color Center sw. Installing that not only solved the problem but they’ve changed the layout so that now the process of calibrating the printer is wrapped up in a section designed to make a new preset. Of course, in doing this it used paper to calibrate and then to make a new preset, but the good news is that due to this preset I won’t have to do it again for the next roll.

Also, it didn’t lose anything as a result of the updated software.

Thanks - to all - for the feedback!
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