Epson R2400 - Reds looking 'muddy'?

[Dinarius]

I'm back printing on my Epson R2400 after a long break. So, a steep learning curve!

I made a few prints and they were perfect.

Then, for no reason I can fathom, the reds turned very muddy.

The shots are of red roses.

One file printed perfectly. But, another file is muddy and unusable in the reds.

I don't think I've set anything incorrectly and I tried another shot which doesn't contain any reds and it printed ok.

I did have to pull back the exposure a little in Capture One. But, I don't think the reds are blown. Everything looks perfect in C1 and perfect in CS6 preview.

Any ideas?

Thanks.

D.

[rasworth]

Don't want to be insulting, but have you done a nozzle check?  Otherwise my guess is something went awry in the color management chain.

Richard Southworth

[digitaldog]

What OS? Does this Epson have the 16-bit checkbox?
Test using a color reference image.
The color reference images RGB values are such they are set for output and are editing. Test the output this way and examine for the same color issues so we know it's not an image specific issues:

http://www.digitaldog.net/files/2014PrinterTestFileFlat.tif.zip

[Dinarius]

Thanks for the replies.

The test sheet is great.

I ran it and the reds looked awful.

So, I ran the head cleaner and it seemed to have to do a lot of work on the reds.

I then printed another test sheet - massive improvement, though the reds seem like they could be a bit more brilliant. But, that could just be viewing conditions vs what I'm seeing on the screen.

Anyway...

What is best practice as regards head cleaning? i.e. How do I avoid wasting a sheet or two of expensive Hahnemuhle paper and a lot of ink discovering I need to clean the heads?

Do I only discover that the heads need cleaning when it's too late?

Thanks.

D.

[rasworth]

I generally run the nozzle check utility (separate from head cleaning) often, with plain paper.  Run it in manual mode, it hardly uses any ink, easy to see if all of your nozzles are clear.  It's a lot cheaper than wasting your Hahnemuhle and much more ink.

Richard Southworth

[dgberg]

Not sure I understand?

"The test sheet is great.
I ran it and the reds looked awful."

Sounds like it wasn't good. Just use a sheet of plain paper and run a manual nozzle check before printing as Richard states.
Keep the humidity level above 45 and print once a week and it should reduce your clogs considerably.

[Dinarius]

Not sure I understand?

"The test sheet is great.
I ran it and the reds looked awful."

Sounds like it wasn't good. Just use a sheet of plain paper and run a manual nozzle check before printing as Richard states.
Keep the humidity level above 45 and print once a week and it should reduce your clogs considerably.

Sorry for my bad construction...

I should have said that the test sheet was ok except for the reds, which were bad.

When you say "manual nozzle check", what do you mean? Via the button on the R2400, or via the software?

Thanks.

D.

[dgberg]

On most Epson's when selecting manual from the printer it will print the standard nozzle pattern.
Your auto selection will print blocks of colors but if it detects a blocked/clogged nozzle it will clean and then reprint the block pattern until cleared.
No real reason to do auto, I would stick with manual.

[nirpat89]

Sorry for my bad construction...

I should have said that the test sheet was ok except for the reds, which were bad.

When you say "manual nozzle check", what do you mean? Via the button on the R2400, or via the software?

Thanks.

D.

If  I do not print for a while, I do a nozzle check before printing on any good paper.  Regardless, I do nozzle check every couple weeks if I have not printed in the meantime.  The nozzle check prints all inks and all nozzles, a good way of keeping all those lines well-conditioned.  The manual "nozzle check" facility on the Utility tab in my P400.  In older drivers, I think it is called Maintenance.