I was working on an ECRM imagesetter last week.
I was there for the RIP mainly, as I don't work on that imagesetter.
(If anyone has directions for cleaning the optics, I'd love to know how!)
I did an exposure test, as the initial jobs looked overexposed, and the first calibration curve was way off.
It's been a while since anyone looked at this machine, so out of habit, I trashed all the cached screen patterns. I also had to get rid of some page setups they were never using, and make spool folders, as they are using OS 10.6, and Apple talk is done.
When I looked at a laser test, I saw Dmax from 4.1 @ light of 50 to about 5.1 @ 90.
I picked the setting just over the "shoulder" of the DMax curve, where it was stable.
I set the laser to 90, where it had been at 100. So I set it down, just a bit.
I didn't like the film though, as it looked very plugged up.
When I took numbers for a curve, the first 3 steps or so were solid, pretty much, and 50 was at least 10 points off. I put my readings in, and the calibrated curve looked perfect.
I explained, though, that this is throwing many values away, and they could get bad vignettes, etc. I was thinking, if the optics were dirty, the light could be fringing, and making the exposure blotchy. Perhaps a cleaning would make a uncalibrated 50 close to a 50%?
Well, that didn't seem to matter. The problem I have is that film, and even preview, is showing a slight tint in solid areas. So a solid black envelope, with text, has a tint in the solid.
I sort of went right to the problem, over the phone today, and had her set calibration to "none". She ran a job, roamed it, and it looked good. When we picked the 2540 calibration, the dots came back.
I also had her check , in Calibration Manager, that "Force solids" was checked, it was.
So, I'm going back in tomorrow.
I was reading about these kind of problems and "rich blacks" or settings in the job that could cause this, but this seems, from my test over the phone, to be related to the Calibration function. She also said that the calibration strips looked good from last week, the solids were solid, except for the last few calibrated curves, which she said have the dot pattern.
Anyone have any ideas?
I was there for the RIP mainly, as I don't work on that imagesetter.
(If anyone has directions for cleaning the optics, I'd love to know how!)
I did an exposure test, as the initial jobs looked overexposed, and the first calibration curve was way off.
It's been a while since anyone looked at this machine, so out of habit, I trashed all the cached screen patterns. I also had to get rid of some page setups they were never using, and make spool folders, as they are using OS 10.6, and Apple talk is done.
When I looked at a laser test, I saw Dmax from 4.1 @ light of 50 to about 5.1 @ 90.
I picked the setting just over the "shoulder" of the DMax curve, where it was stable.
I set the laser to 90, where it had been at 100. So I set it down, just a bit.
I didn't like the film though, as it looked very plugged up.
When I took numbers for a curve, the first 3 steps or so were solid, pretty much, and 50 was at least 10 points off. I put my readings in, and the calibrated curve looked perfect.
I explained, though, that this is throwing many values away, and they could get bad vignettes, etc. I was thinking, if the optics were dirty, the light could be fringing, and making the exposure blotchy. Perhaps a cleaning would make a uncalibrated 50 close to a 50%?
Well, that didn't seem to matter. The problem I have is that film, and even preview, is showing a slight tint in solid areas. So a solid black envelope, with text, has a tint in the solid.
I sort of went right to the problem, over the phone today, and had her set calibration to "none". She ran a job, roamed it, and it looked good. When we picked the 2540 calibration, the dots came back.
I also had her check , in Calibration Manager, that "Force solids" was checked, it was.
So, I'm going back in tomorrow.
I was reading about these kind of problems and "rich blacks" or settings in the job that could cause this, but this seems, from my test over the phone, to be related to the Calibration function. She also said that the calibration strips looked good from last week, the solids were solid, except for the last few calibrated curves, which she said have the dot pattern.
Anyone have any ideas?
