Canon ipf8300 printing too short!?

[Streetwise]

I am printing a 12.1 x 40.1 360dpi image on canvas via the export plugin. I have the media set to 24 x 44. Every time, the image prints out 12 x 39.5!? What in the world is going on?I finally gave up and resized it to 40.6 long and it came out at exactly 40 which is what I wanted. But I wasted so much stinkin material in the process. I haven't run into this before. Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance.

Dave

[abiggs]

In the media configuration tool you can have the 8300 calibrate itself to make sure that 1 foot of a given media is actually 1 foot. I suspect it has to do with the differences in tension between rolls of different media.

[tim wolcott]

Are you seeing any banding.  Its nearly impossible to print long or short without causing defects in the banding.  Are you printing on 44 inch material.  If so, then the image is being manipulated in the transfer.  The .1 inch off will cause a little banding but if its a busy image you may not see it.  You can adjust the the setting on the printer, both auto and manually.  T

[dgberg]

Canvas shrinkage lengthwise is well documented here.
A quick search on this site should give you plenty of info.
"how do people deal with canvas shrinkage" is a good thread to start with.

[Streetwise]

Thanks all. Plenty to look over here. The next step for me is to print the same piece on paper to see if I can rule out the shrinkage possibility with the canvas. Its 24" wide material, so it's hard to believe it would shrink 1/2" in only 40 inches. But who knows...    btw - absolutely no banding on this. Looks perfect.

Dave

[Shawn]

I have had as much as 3/8 inch shrinkage, on some canvas, on a 30" length print..so what you describe is quite possible: canvas shrinkage. I now have a standard practise of enlarging the image on the "long" side feed to accomodate this.

It is especially a pain when cutting stretcher bars to fit..I now wait until after the print is completed and coated before measuring for the stretcher bars...

[Streetwise]

I have had as much as 3/8 inch shrinkage, on some canvas, on a 30" length print..so what you describe is quite possible: canvas shrinkage. I now have a standard practise of enlarging the image on the "long" side feed to accomodate this.

Yeah, but can this happen right out of the printer? It would make more sense if it happened as the ink dried.

[Shawn]

Yes...When I first started printing a few years ago I was trying to make sure the image was the exact same dimensions as my artwork.(I'm an artist doing mainly canvas repos) Photoshop dim was exactly 16" x 24". When it came out of the printer, an Epson 9880, the image was closer to 16" x 23 13/16...I  had precut my stretchers to 24" and had to recut them to fit the print. The differance was not noticable on other media.

As I stated earlier, I now have it built into my workflow to accomodate for this shrinkage. When I'm doing a larger print job I always check and double check the first print out; before setting up for the stretcher bars. My first "large" print job was for 72,  16" x 24" canvas wraps and I learned my lesson on the shrinkage problem; only after precutting the first 10 strecther bar sets!

Now..I'm always checking the print dimensions after printing, after coating, and before setting up for framing etc.

It is important to note that I have noticed quite a variance in shrinkage depending on the brand of canvas...I'm using Breathing Colour, with Glamour II.

[Light Seeker]

In the media configuration tool you can have the 8300 calibrate itself to make sure that 1 foot of a given media is actually 1 foot. I suspect it has to do with the differences in tension between rolls of different media.

My experience mirrors what Andy has said. In fact, I've found that I need to run through the customer media setup process for each new roll of Lyve. There seems to be enough variation in roll tension to matter. The good news is that adjustment process is simple and works really well. The 8300 prints a series of lines, measures them, and sets up a compensation table in the custom media type. A bit of media is wasted, but not much. Once done I print at the size I want in Photoshop using the Canon Print Plug-in and the final print length is correct.

Terry.

[Streetwise]

Very interesting indeed. I just made a print on paper with the canvas media type that I used, and sure enough, no issues.  I have always used LexJet's Sunset canvas, but just switched over to Breathing Color Lyve as a personal preference. I didn't realize that there could be *that* much of a difference between brands. wow.

So in the Media Configuration Tool for the ipf8300, I see that you can choose "Add Genuine Paper" and "Add Custom Paper". When you say (Light Seeker) that you run through the "customer media setup process", did you mean "custom media setup process" and is this the tool you use?

Thanks for your patience everyone. Just never run into anything like this before.

Dave

[BAB]

just curios doesn't the printer supply enough paper by the roll for any job it gets until the image is finished printing, in other words the printer doesn't measure the output of the paper it just measures the image size and prints correct.

[Streetwise]

Here's a great tutorial on how to create a custom media type for Lyve Canvas on a Canon ipf8300 printer. I'm giving it a whirl now!  As someone mentioned, I may have to tweak the Feed Rate to +47 for the Lyve product. We'll see how everything works.

[Light Seeker]

So in the Media Configuration Tool for the ipf8300, I see that you can choose "Add Genuine Paper" and "Add Custom Paper". When you say (Light Seeker) that you run through the "customer media setup process", did you mean "custom media setup process" and is this the tool you use?

That's correct. You would choose "Add Custom Media". The process allows you to set a number of parameters such as the media, ink load, automatic cutting, etc. One of those choices will print a test pattern and measure it, and then write a table so your canvas prints will be the correct length. There's no need to fiddle; it's all automatic.

Your new custom media type, with a name of your choosing, is then available within the the Photoshop Print Plug-in and on the front panel of the printer. You select it on the printer when you load your roll, and in the Print Plug-in when you print. You MUST do both!

It's slick!

Terry.

[Nigel Johnson]

just curios doesn't the printer supply enough paper by the roll for any job it gets until the image is finished printing, in other words the printer doesn't measure the output of the paper it just measures the image size and prints correct.

Bab

You have misunderstood the question - the problem is not that the whole image is not printed, rather it is that the image is slightly shrunk along the length of the roll. This shrinkage is a result of the wet ink causing the canvas to shrink along its length, whilst causing minimal or no shrinking across its width and is largely a consequence of how the canvas is woven. The characteristics of the weave, the way the canvas is coated with its ink receiving layers, how tightly it is wound on the roll, how much tension is used in the feed system of the printer, and what type of coating is applied after printing can all affect how great the shrinkage is. Most roll fed printers allow the feed to be adjusted to compensate for this effect.

Because of its structure, paper does not suffer significant differential shrinkage, although the feed system can still cause slight distortion which is usually corrected as part of the printer set-up process.

Regards
Nigel

[Johnny_Boy]

a few tips.

1. BC has asm file for Canon iPF8300 printer. Download and install it rather than calibrating the media feed and thickness yourself
2. BC told me to add 0.8% to the overall length (re-size the image), as that is how much it shrinks length wise. My Canon canvas shrinks more like 1%.
3. Use 300 dpi on Canon. 360 dpi is for Epson

[Jeff Magidson]

a few tips.

1. BC has asm file for Canon iPF8300 printer. Download and install it rather than calibrating the media feed and thickness yourself
2. BC told me to add 0.8% to the overall length (re-size the image), as that is how much it shrinks length wise. My Canon canvas shrinks more like 1%.
3. Use 300 dpi on Canon. 360 dpi is for Epson

Johnny: I would have thought that the .8% compensation would be built in to the BC asm file? no?

~ Jeff

[Light Seeker]

1. BC has asm file for Canon iPF8300 printer. Download and install it rather than calibrating the media feed and thickness yourself
2. BC told me to add 0.8% to the overall length (re-size the image), as that is how much it shrinks length wise. My Canon canvas shrinks more like 1%.

Johnny: I would have thought that the .8% compensation would be built in to the BC asm file? no?

Why not let the printer determine the compensation, which will be specific to the roll of canvas at hand and to your printer? It really is not difficult to do. You will avoid wasting a print (or two) trying to determine the compensation on your own, and it will be more accurate.

Load up the media file that BC provided. You can then "edit" their media file to see the settings they choose. In fact, these settings are all summarized on the first screen after you hit <Edit>. Document these and then use them in the custom media file you create. When you create you own media file you simply click on the check box that instructs the printer to determine the required media compensation. It will print the test pattern on the canvas you loaded, roll it back and then read the location of each test pattern element. Based on this it writes the compensation required into your custom media file. You're set!

Terry.