HP Latex 260 Maintenance and troubleshooting guide - Page 50

Setting Description If too low If too high Input tension Tension is applied to the substrate from the input spindle. It needs to be constant over the full width of the substrate, thus substrate load is a critical operation. The substrate skews and may become increasingly wrinkled in the printing zone. Also, substrate advance may be irregular, resulting in horizontal banding. The substrate may be permanently deformed or damaged. Substrate advance problems may appear in extreme cases. Vacuum The vacuum applied to the substrate at the printing zone helps to hold the substrate down on the print platen, keeping the distance to the printheads constant. The substrate may lift up off the platen and touch the printheads. This can smear the printed image, cause vertical banding, cause a substrate jam or even damage the printheads. For sticky substrates, friction could be too high and substrate advance irregular, resulting in horizontal banding or irregular grainy patches. Bidirectional Specifies whether printheads print in both directions, when moving from left to right and from right to left. If Bidirectional is selected, the amount of ink fired per unit of time is larger, and therefore print quality defects such as coalescence and banding may occur, especially at the sides of the plot. However, printing speed is high. If Bidirectional is unchecked then the printing is unidirectional and the speed is relatively low. TIP: You are recommended to keep Bidirectional selected in all cases, increasing the number of passes if necessary to avoid coalescence and banding. High ink level The maximum quantity of ink will be laid on the substrate (the High ink level option available only when the number of passes is 10 or more). The ink quantity may be reduced by the RIP color profile. If not selected, colors may look washed-out. If selected, there can be excess of ink and some problems related to poor drying and curing. TIP: Select High ink level for backlit and some textile applications, or if you want high color saturation. Cutter The printer's built-in cutter can cut Disable the cutter in the following cases: the substrate automatically between each print. ● You want to increase the speed of printing. ● You want to use the take-up reel. ● You want to cut the substrate manually. ● The leading edge of the substrate tends to curl and cause substrate jams. In some cases, the cutter is automatically disabled. Auto tracking (OMAS) The substrate-advance sensor (also known as the Optical Media Advance Sensor, OMAS) is located under the print platen; it can track the substrate advance automatically. Disable the sensor in the following cases: ● The substrate allows ink to pass through to the platen. Clean the sensor after using this substrate. ● You are instructed to do so by the front panel, because the sensor is dirty or unable to track this particular substrate. Load the substrate and print the diagnostic plot 1. Load the substrate in the normal way, paying particular attention to the following points. 44 Chapter 5 Substrate settings ENWW