One of the most common technical questions we received from users is whether there is any way to speed up the printing process.
Printing time is determined by a mixture of various factors, including the way the ink is ejected, the desired printing effects and, of course, the digital artwork itself (different graphics, real photo prints, print colorful patterns, complex illustrations designs, funny emojis / emoticons printing or just simple text printing).
The artisJet system offers two main ways to accelerate the printing process by altering the way the ink is ejected: through unidirectional or bidirectional setup and the number of print passes (4 pass, 8 pass or 16 pass).
The unidirectional and bidirectional way for reducing print time
What is the uni-directional printing and bi-directional printing and what are the differences between them?
Unidirectional – the ink is applied only when the carriage travels to one side;
Bidirectional – the ink is applied both ways along the carriage’s path.
How to set the print direction for each task? How to estimate the printing time for bidirectional setting? Have a look on the below videos.
As shown in the second video, switching from unidirectional to bidirectional will reduce the printing time by approximately half.
Note that the increase in speed is likely accompanied by a decrease in sharpness. Although the difference may not be noticeable unless compared side by side with each other (uni vs bi).
Cutting the print time almost by half with the 4 / 8 / 16 pass printing setup
What does 4 pass, 8 pass or 16 pass mean? The number of passes signifies the concentration at which the ink is ejected.
With higher ink concentration comes higher color density and sharpness, resulting in higher resolution.
The most commonly used settings are the 8-pass options, since they strike a balance between speed and quality, as tested by artisJet R&D team.
But dialing down to the 4-pass options can greatly reduce the printing time, in exchange for a slight drop in resolution.
This setting can only be adjusted in the RIP software. Watch the below video for the estimated time for different pass setting, as follows:
For the same printing task, you can print in 01:23 minutes with the 8 pass setup; print in 01:54 minutes with the 16-pass setup or reduce to 38 seconds printing time by choosing the 4 pass option.
Other settings, including feathering (dither) and embossed effects, also indirectly impact the printing time, but by changing those settings, the final effects are invariably and visibly changed as well.
In conclusion, the fewer pass times, the faster printing speed and printing time. But if you are not on a huge time crunch, unidirectional and 8-pass options are generally good choices, keeping the right balance between printing speed, printing time, printing resolution, and therefore printing quality.
Do you have questions on how you can better benefit from different settings in the artisJet printing hardware and software? Give us a shout here and let’s discuss more, any questions are welcomed.