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Author Topic: Question about platten gap  (Read 1451 times)

huguito

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Question about platten gap
« on: August 07, 2014, 02:47:28 pm »

I print on a Epson 9600, always trying to improve the output by fully understand cause and effect in every step I take in the process of making a print.

This part is not really clear to me,maybe someone can shed some light on it.

When I choose betwen different platten gaps: Wide,wider, standard or narrow.

What I am doing exactly?

Raising the distance from the head to the paper?
Opening the gap between paper rolls?

Is the different gap settings, on a given paper, has an effect on sharpnes and or saturation?
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hugowolf

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Re: Question about platten gap
« Reply #1 on: August 07, 2014, 10:05:55 pm »

I print on a Epson 9600, always trying to improve the output by fully understand cause and effect in every step I take in the process of making a print.
This part is not really clear to me,maybe someone can shed some light on it.

When I choose betwen different platten gaps: Wide,wider, standard or narrow.

What I am doing exactly?

Raising the distance from the head to the paper?

Effectively, yes. Technically you increasing or decreasing the distance between the print head and the bed on which the paper lies.

Opening the gap between paper rolls?

At least on recent Epson printers, that is separated (but related) and is set by the paper thickness parameter.

Is the different gap settings, on a given paper, has an effect on sharpnes and or saturation?

Definately sharpness: the larger the gap between the head and the paper, the larger and more diffuse the individual dots of ink. And that could in some circumstances affect the saturation a little.

Brian A
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Wayne Fox

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Re: Question about platten gap
« Reply #2 on: August 07, 2014, 10:28:59 pm »

Often I see people trying to correct problems using platen gap instead of paper thickness. It's important to be sure the thickness is set correctly.  This puts the distance from the head and transport system at the optimal position.  If there are still issues such as head strikes, increasing the platen gap can be helpful, which moves the head further from the paper as well ( and thus increases the space between the transport system and the head assembly.)  Increasing the gap can result in a slight loss of quality. For some papers it's not a big deal (thick matt papers or canvas) but for others it may be noticeable if compared side by side.  I sometimes see very fine scratches in EFP when printing from rolls and widening the platen usually resolves it.
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huguito

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Re: Question about platten gap
« Reply #3 on: August 08, 2014, 02:57:37 pm »

So it looks like, for image quality's sake, it would make sense to run as narrow of a gap you can get away with as long as no head strikes are visible.

I normally keep the printer running on the standard platten gap.
Even when using papers or canvas that are recommended to run on the wider or widest gaps.
I did it just out of being lazy

Regarding the paper thickness.
I could measure how thick in each case, but if the printer grabs and runs correctly, does it really makes a differenceif the thickness is a bit off?
Sound like it will not affect image quality.

Hugo
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rubo

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Re: Question about platten gap
« Reply #4 on: August 08, 2014, 08:45:35 pm »

it's up to you to decide if you see a difference in print quality - just print the same file w different gap and see what you like better. BTW, how's your aluminum printing going? Did you have a chance to play with it?

R
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huguito

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Re: Question about platten gap
« Reply #5 on: August 08, 2014, 11:47:29 pm »

Hi Rubo
I didn't do much with the idea of printing on metals at all.
Got as far as getting some coatings to prepare metals to accept inkjet, that was it
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