Ink smears, Uneven appearance in area fill, The ink is oily or smudges when touched – HP Latex 360 Printer User Manual
Page 122
Ink smears
Ink smears may be seen on the print for the following reasons.
●
The substrate is skewed. Do not ignore the warning message that appears during the loading procedure
if there is significant skew.
●
The substrate is not flat in the print zone. Try the following possible solutions.
◦
Increase the vacuum level in steps of 5 mmH
2
O.
◦
Reduce the curing temperature. You will probably need to increase the number of passes in order
to achieve adequate curing.
◦
Check whether there are fibers on the printheads.
If the problem appears only at the sides of the print, because the edges are uneven or the substrate is curled
upward at the sides, consider using the edge holders (see
).
If the problem appears only at the beginning of the print, try the following suggestions.
●
Increase the top margin of your print to give more room at the leading edge. Alternatively, or
additionally, increase the bottom margin to provide a non-deformed leading edge for the next print. See
.
●
Increase the vacuum level in steps of 5 mmH
2
O. Do not exceed the following limits: 20 mmH
2
O for
banners, 45 mmH
2
O for vinyl, and 60 mmH
2
O for other substrates. If the vacuum level is too high, you
may see an increase in graininess due to too much friction between the rear surface of the substrate
and the platen while advancing the substrate during printing; you may also see vertical bands matching
the contours of the print platen.
●
Increase the number of passes.
●
Make sure that the substrate is stored in the same room in which the printer is located.
NOTE:
Several substrates are sensitive to ambient conditions (temperature and humidity): if the ambient
conditions are outside the recommended range, this may affect loading and printing.
Uneven appearance in area fill
Subtle color differences may be seen in high-density area fills on some substrates if they are stored partially
covered after printing. In the period immediately after printing, such substrates should be stored either
totally covered or totally uncovered. It may be advisable to avoid prolonged face-to-face contact between
two prints. This problem tends to disappear if the substrate is left uncovered for some time.
Alternatively, especially with vinyls and banners, some individual rolls may have a defective coating; for
instance, the coating may have aged. This can cause uneven area fills in light areas. In this case, try a new
roll.
The ink is oily or smudges when touched
There are various different circumstances in which these symptoms can be seen.
●
When the symptoms can be seen only at the start of the first print after the printer has been idle for
some time (especially when the start of the print uses a lot of ink)
116 Chapter 5 Troubleshoot print-quality issues
ENWW