How To Flush Individual Channel using QTR Calibration Mode

It’s now called “Calibration Ink Limit”

I’m using a 1400, which has six colors, and most of these tifs are the same color on my monitor, magenta. The black tif is blue. I have another set of purge files and all the colors are fine.

Also:

I’m working on my cyan position… I have Piezoflush in it, and I’ve run about 8 sheets of paper - I’m running various dilutions of black through my carts and all the eight sheets are still black. Shouldn’t I be getting prints of Piezograph pink by now?

Thank you!

Paul

Dear Paul.

Please read through the instructions on this page again: http://www.inkjetmall.com/tech/content.php?166-Flush-individual-channel-using-QTR-Calibration-Mode

You need to print each specific image using QuadtoneRIP in Calibration Mode (see instructions on link) for it to isolate each individual channel properly.

best,
Walker

Thanks for the very quick reply, Walter. Well, I’m quite sure I followed those instructions. I’ll keep looking, it’s possible I might have skipped a step. I’ll let you know!

It did occur to me, when I said all the tifs are magenta, is that this is the color of the Piezography solution. Since these images are using the same fluid for all positions, this color represents what’s actually in the cart, ie the pink (“magenta”) flushing fluid. It’s not the color of the ink that’s normally in the cart. Am I understanding this correctly?

Regards,

Paul

No, you’re not. If you examine those tiffs in photoshop and measure those magenta files that all look the same, you’ll find that in fact while they’re quite close, they’re not exactly the same. When QTR is in calibration mode, it relies on precise colour codes to know which channel to fire, and those slightly different shades of magenta are in fact codes to fire different channels when in calibration mode. If you compare them to the 100% patches in the ink separation page that QTR usually prints out in calibration mode, you’ll find that these tiffs match exactly. You need to print the tiff that contains the code to fire the cyan channel and you need to print it in calibration mode, which I assume is the one labelled cyan although I can’t be completely certain as the tiff files are labelled for the K3 printers.

1 Like

Thanks, Brian, for that clarification. I looked at the Information on two of the tiffs (Cyan and Magenta) in Photoshop, and I see now that they were just as you said… slightly different counts for the red channel.

I’m working with a 1400 printer but that’s not a K3 printer, right? How do we know which tiff will fire the Cyan channel? I have a Piezoflush cleaning cart in the Cyan position but when I try and print the Cyan tiff I get a medium/dark gray, even after 10 or 12 prints. I don’t get a pink nozzle check for the Cyan position either.

Sorry, this is all new to me.

Paul

I asked a 1430 user and we’re fairly sure that the TIFF labelled Cyan should work on the Cyan channel of the 1430. IJM could probably confirm. In the meantime just try it.

Thanks, Brian, I printed a page just now, with Piezoflush in a flush cart, but it’s all grey, no Piezoflush pink. Actually I printed 8 or 10 pages a while ago, with no pink (see my previous message). How much ink is in the printer head, in other words does the grey ink from the previous cart have to work itself out? Seems like it shouldn’t take 8 or 10 pages worth… but maybe I’m doing something wrong somewhere.

Now starting a second page… grey so far…

Regards,
Paul

PS Is there a feature on this part of the site where an email lets a user know there’s mail? I know there is over in the Forum…

Just tried printing the first couple of inches with the other five TIFFs, with same result. Either I’m still using ink in the head or I’m doing something basically wrong - or stupid.

Paul

Sheesh… it was something stupid all right. I wasn’t in Calibration mode! Is there anyway to delete my last two messages?! All pink… this is so embarrassing.

Would this method of flushing a channel allow one to change from MK to MKHD without having to do an init fill? Approximately how many prints from QTR Calibration Mode do you think to would take to accomplish a changeover assuming the printer is a 4880?

@bhiles yes this would allow for that.

About 8-15 sheets of letter sized paper for this printer.

best,
Walker

Great! I’m hoping Wells has that ink on sale for Black Friday :wink: One other thing: I have an extra fresh PK cart. I think I can turn that into an MK by switching the chip. Correct? Or do I even need to bother?

Yes, you can simply switch the chip.

Stay tuned on BLK Friday. :slight_smile:

best,
Walker

In re-rereading the instructions, and as my goal is to run all the channels in my 7890, am I to print the 8 channel QTR flush image. And as I have 9 channels in my 7890 how do I ensure I’m using the matte, PK and Go channel? Does it matter what curves I use in printing the QTR flush image? Thank you.

As it says very clearly in these instructions you need to be in Calibration Mode in QuadtoneRIP (you have choice of 8bit, 16bit, and Calibration Mode).

Print 24x90 inches of each channel on a cheap bond paper roll. Use the individual channel flush images and set their height to 90 inches in print-tool before printing. You can print 720dpi bi-directional to speed things up.

best,
Walker

1 Like

Thank you, I get it! Raphael

HI
(My printer is an epson 3880)
After downloading the QTR Cal Mode Flush image.zip, there are a few tiff files that I can’t identified. Please help if you can for the followings
1- QTR-M.tif is it for MK ?
2- QTR-K.tif is it for PK ?
3- QTR-OR,tif
4- QTR-LM.tif is it for VLM channel ?
5- QTR-8 Channel flush.tif is it with using PK or MK cartridge ?
Are theses files to be used on my 3880? if not where can I get the right ones ?
regards
Luc

  1. M is Magenta
  2. K is blacK (whichever is installed when running the Cal mode flush)
  3. OR is Orange - not used on this printer
  4. LM is Light Magenta (including Vivid LM)
  5. the 8 channel flush image uses whichever K is installed (see 2 above)
2 Likes

individual flush image:

QTR_Flush_Images.zip (87.8 KB)