Epson P5000 giving vastly different results than P7000

[HartmanPrints]

So I'm very confused now. Printing the same image from the p5000 is much less defined than the p7000, most notable with cyan sections and white or cream areas. I haven't noticed it until now, but looking back at proofs from both machines, I can see a definite difference. On certain prints it's much more visible, mainly on cyan sections like I said. I've tried different profiles, etc, and I can't figure out why they would look so different. I was under the impression that these were essentially the same printers, just a different scale. Am I wrong here? Is there anything I can do?

I can provide more information if needed.

Thanks so much!

[Panagiotis]

So I'm very confused now. Printing the same image from the p5000 is much less defined than the p7000, most notable with cyan sections and white or cream areas. I haven't noticed it until now, but looking back at proofs from both machines, I can see a definite difference. On certain prints it's much more visible, mainly on cyan sections like I said. I've tried different profiles, etc, and I can't figure out why they would look so different. I was under the impression that these were essentially the same printers, just a different scale. Am I wrong here? Is there anything I can do?

I can provide more information if needed.

Thanks so much!

You tried different profiles. Did you tried the same profile (and the same media type) on both machines?

[HartmanPrints]

Yes... sorry if that was confusing.

I always use the same profiles for both machines, but when I say "I tried different profiles" I meant "I used A profile on both machines, then used B profile on both machines"

And yes, I was using the same media for both machines (one a 17" roll and the other a 24" roll,  but the exact same paper)

Thanks for the reply!

[Garnick]

Yes... sorry if that was confusing.

I always use the same profiles for both machines, but when I say "I tried different profiles" I meant "I used A profile on both machines, then used B profile on both machines"

And yes, I was using the same media for both machines (one a 17" roll and the other a 24" roll,  but the exact same paper)

Thanks for the reply!

This is still somewhat confusing.  I assume what you mean is that if you are printing on Epson Luster for example, you would be using the Epson Luster profile on both machines.  Of course they are not exactly the same profiles, since they are specific to each printer.  Therefore you would use the P5000 Luster profile for the P5000 Printer and the P7000 Luster profile for the P7000 printer.  If the Luster profile on each printer is not allowing you to get the results you want on the P5000 vs the P7000 there may perhaps be an issue with the P5000 profile.  And of course it could also simply be a cyan issue, caused by blocked nozzles.  How are your nozzle checks on the P5000 for the cyan channel?  However, if you do have blocked nozzles that would likely show as banding as well, but perhaps very subtle and almost invisible.  Just a couple of thoughts. 

[Mark D Segal]

I was under the impression that these were essentially the same printers, just a different scale. Am I wrong here? Is there anything I can do?


Thanks so much!

Same printhead and same inkset (maybe) but different firmware which can cause differences in how the printers work, requiring separate profiles for each printer model. The reason I said "maybe" after inkset is that when you bought and set-up the printers you had the choice of either LLK or Violet ink, and of course each option would have its own profiling. Are both the printers the same in terms of using either LLK or Violet? You need to make sure you are using the correct profile independently for each printer version. If you are, the results should be close to identical, unless there is another kind of problem with the 5000. Nozzle clogs could be a factor as Gary suggested. Presumably you checked that?

Did you send an identically sized photo (in terms of resolution - PPI) to both printers? Big differences in resolution could show as different print qualities. Also, check all the driver settings, especially Media Type and print quality setting in the Printer Settings tab for both printers to make sure they are the same.

[HartmanPrints]

Thanks for the reply.

Yes, both printers have LLK, no violet. Both images sent to each printer were exactly the same (600dpi). I use the same media type settings for both printers, and use the proper profiles for each printer (p5000 profile for the p5000, p7000 profile for the p7000). I printed these on Moab Lasal rolls on both printers. I tried using the basic epson profiles for each printer, as well as the proper Moab profiles for each printer. Both gave the same varying results.

Nozzle checks are perfectly clear, this doesnt seem to be a nozzle issue (unless I'm mistaken). There is no banding, just that the p5000 print lacks the definition of the p7000 print, noticable in the cyan areas of the print. I can send some comparison photos via PM if that helps (I don't want to post them publicly here as my clients might not like that)

Thanks again for the help!!

[Mark D Segal]

What about print quality settings in the driver - the same in both? (Here I mean High Speed On or Off, 720 or 1440 or 2880 dpi?)

[Wayne Fox]

what OS? There is a rare bug that has affected a very small number of Mojave users where somehow the driver gets corrupted, indicated by obvious color issues in printed material.  this happened to me when I installed Mojave ( a few others have reported this problem as well), and it showed up again a couple of months ago..  After going through the Epson “enema” process and resintalling drivers, everything was normal. I have a p5000 and a p9000 and normally they are a perfect match.

This could also be a bad profile or poor profile from the vendor.  One way to check this is to print using an Epson profile (if you don’t have any Epson paper, you can still use another paper).  Try Epson Premium Luster profile on both printers.  Colors might not be great, but they should match pretty closely.  If they match, then it means your Moab profiles might have an issue.

[Mark D Segal]

This could also be a bad profile or poor profile from the vendor.  One way to check this is to print using an Epson profile (if you don’t have any Epson paper, you can still use another paper).  Try Epson Premium Luster profile on both printers.  Colors might not be great, but they should match pretty closely.  If they match, then it means your Moab profiles might have an issue.

Not impossible of course, but I know Moab has upped their game a lot over the past several years on profiles. Nonetheless, your suggestion makes sense.