Archived from groups: comp.periphs.printers (More info?)
I have an Epson Stylus Color 1520 printer. I have only just now started
experimenting with printing digital photographs. The prints I am getting
so far have a subtle horizontal banding in the midtone areas of the
print. It is not noticeable in the darkest 10% or the lightest 5% of the
range. The banding shows up as a super fine line only 1 or 2 pixels high
(that's the printers pixels not the picture's pixels) that is the same
color as the surrounding area but only about half as dark as that
surrounding area. The shading of the light line is always in proportion
to that of the surrounding area instead of being constant across the
page. Also, rather than being separated by the width of the print head,
the banding is only .015" to .025" apart. This distance does vary
slightly when I change various settings or if I print a large image on a
small area of the page. (Note: it does not vary in proportion to the size
of the printed area. If I print the same file at 10" tall and 2" tall the
banding only varies by about .005".)
I have checked and cleaned the print heads multiple times. All the little
lines in the print head check show up fine. I have the latest driver,
which hasn't been updated in ages. I have tried every possible variation
of the printer settings when I print. I have printed a .PSD file using
PhotoShop 5.0 LE and a .JPG file directly from my 4 MP digital camera
using ACDSee 3.1. I have printed in portrait and landscape mode. In every
instance there is banding and the banding is always the same except for
the slight variation in spacing. Naturally, the banding goes in the same
direction as the print head travels regardless of the rotation of the
image.
I have had this printer for over 4 years and have been primarily using it
for regular document printing and printing some large network diagrams so
I haven't had an opportunity to notice any banding in the past. I have
also been using off brand ink but switched back to Epson ink and Epson
photo glossy paper for printing the photographs.
The fact that the banding disappears in the darkest areas leads me to
believe that it isn't a clogged head or it would still show up even
there. The fact that the width varies slightly also seems to indicate
that the problem is not hardware based.
I have searched all over for any references to this problem. Most people
say to make sure the heads are clean and use the manual feed slot. I
already feed the paper through the straight-through manual feed slot. I
tried changing the paper thickness setting. With it set to 0 the banding
is only half as noticeable as when it is set to + but it is still there.
So this makes me think it may be a paper feed problem but the images
don't come out longer than expected and usually dirty rollers wouldn't
cause the paper to feed FARTHER than necessary. The paper would slip,
resulting in dark banding not light banding. Maybe I am just being too
picky.
Can anyone suggest something I might try other than just buy a new
printer?
I have an Epson Stylus Color 1520 printer. I have only just now started
experimenting with printing digital photographs. The prints I am getting
so far have a subtle horizontal banding in the midtone areas of the
print. It is not noticeable in the darkest 10% or the lightest 5% of the
range. The banding shows up as a super fine line only 1 or 2 pixels high
(that's the printers pixels not the picture's pixels) that is the same
color as the surrounding area but only about half as dark as that
surrounding area. The shading of the light line is always in proportion
to that of the surrounding area instead of being constant across the
page. Also, rather than being separated by the width of the print head,
the banding is only .015" to .025" apart. This distance does vary
slightly when I change various settings or if I print a large image on a
small area of the page. (Note: it does not vary in proportion to the size
of the printed area. If I print the same file at 10" tall and 2" tall the
banding only varies by about .005".)
I have checked and cleaned the print heads multiple times. All the little
lines in the print head check show up fine. I have the latest driver,
which hasn't been updated in ages. I have tried every possible variation
of the printer settings when I print. I have printed a .PSD file using
PhotoShop 5.0 LE and a .JPG file directly from my 4 MP digital camera
using ACDSee 3.1. I have printed in portrait and landscape mode. In every
instance there is banding and the banding is always the same except for
the slight variation in spacing. Naturally, the banding goes in the same
direction as the print head travels regardless of the rotation of the
image.
I have had this printer for over 4 years and have been primarily using it
for regular document printing and printing some large network diagrams so
I haven't had an opportunity to notice any banding in the past. I have
also been using off brand ink but switched back to Epson ink and Epson
photo glossy paper for printing the photographs.
The fact that the banding disappears in the darkest areas leads me to
believe that it isn't a clogged head or it would still show up even
there. The fact that the width varies slightly also seems to indicate
that the problem is not hardware based.
I have searched all over for any references to this problem. Most people
say to make sure the heads are clean and use the manual feed slot. I
already feed the paper through the straight-through manual feed slot. I
tried changing the paper thickness setting. With it set to 0 the banding
is only half as noticeable as when it is set to + but it is still there.
So this makes me think it may be a paper feed problem but the images
don't come out longer than expected and usually dirty rollers wouldn't
cause the paper to feed FARTHER than necessary. The paper would slip,
resulting in dark banding not light banding. Maybe I am just being too
picky.
Can anyone suggest something I might try other than just buy a new
printer?
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