Manually Adjust Colours on a Sharp MX2600?

[OMD-227]

I already sent Jason the full calibration procedure (including jig & SIT chart use), when this post first started.

If you still have this client not happy with the color reproduction after running that entire calibration sheet, you never will. We have previously played around with ICC profiles for this series of machine, and even edited Fiery profiles on the PEX2 fiery's for the previous series, and all made very little difference to the color output on each particular machine.

Honestly, I think you are wasting your time. We have been there already. This machine is not suitable for what the client needs. Its a business color device, not a full pantone color matching press. If you run that calibration sheet I sent you and have not found a driver setting to give a satisfactory output afterwards, there is nothing else to try. Even if you get a color profile installed that works OK today, the machine will not keep that toner density over time anyway. Even changing process control timing will do little, apart from slowing the machine down.

Its a great machine (as are all the MX range), but you need to remember what the machine is designed to do. You camnot make it do something that it wasn't built for. You will get close, but never exactly right (especially with a very picky client.... like you seem to have).

[glewisme]

Exactly,I agree 100%.The mx5001 here is now pantone certified,we don't have any customers requiring pantone matching here yet.We place our color MX's in copy centers and business color envirionments.Not in anal retentive print shops and such.I didn't realize you had sent him the full calibrationg guide.

[Jason210]

Well, at least I know that I've done what I can, and I know how to calibrate this machine myself now.

The client we had was a group of Artists who needed to produce a digital portfolio of their work. We have done this before, and last time we went to professional printer who use an Indigo digital press with proper ICC profiles. We have their ICC profiles installed. However, my boss and the proejct leader thought that it was an unnecessary cost to pay for printing like that, and that our new machine could print out good quality images. Despite my arguments I had to go along with them..

There were 9 artists in this project and in three weeks we printed out over 2000 test copies, purchased paper and so on. becasue of the time that went into the printer, we did not finish within the agreed three week period. Only 2/9 participants were entirely satisfied with the results, and 2 were entirely dissatisfied and have complained about us, so we had to take their work to the professional printers in the end pushing the costs over what it would have cost had we just done it professionally from the beginning.

Just out of interest, which machine would be able to do we wanted it to do, and how much more would it cost, relatively speaking?

Jason

[Jason210]

I don't know what to think. I enquired at Office Management, the provider of our MX2600, and they said there is no difference in the colour reproduction of the MX2600 and the MX5001. The difference, they say, is the increase speed and volume of the latter.

[glewisme]

When I went to Sharps color school in April,they were in the process of getting the MX5001N pantone certified.I do believe it's done with the ColorMunki software.I haven't used that software yet personally but it's for this very type of print jobs. See the link. ColorMunki

[bilyahn]

ust out of interest, which machine would be able to do we wanted it to do, and how much more would it cost, relatively speaking?

Jason

We had this question come up at Sharp school for this series and if I understand what you want correctly, the difference in cost for a machine that would produce those results is about $100,000. Ball park figure. As was mentioned earlier in this post the MX series and the competitors that are comparable are a "business color" machine (their wording) and if you need high quality digital reproduction you will need to get those units that specialize in that. We have this question a lot, especially from people wanting to do brochures like you see from government agencies or big corporations.

Hope that answers your question.

Have a great day.

Bil

[OMD-227]

Bill summed it up very well.

We recently had a MX5001N installed at a very picky color client. I knew it was never going to do what was required. They previously has a MX2700N and contract was up, so they went for the MX5001N, after seeing that it was faster, double resolution, faster ripping etc etc.
I knew they had a department that was very picky on color quality & denisty over a long print run. I knew the machine would probably struggle abit with these particular people, and advised them on the first call. After further advice & adjustments, they went out and purchased a Xerox color machine specifically for that department that kept sooking (everyone else was very happy with the Sharp).
I asked how much it cost, and how much was the monthly costs for use...... I was told that they could have purchased 6 of the MX5001N's for the same price.

I hope that puts it into perspective for you Jason. Specialty color requires specialty machines.

[glewisme]

We have a few Chamber of Commerces that produce thier own monthly bullitens on them w/no issues. But like everyone's been saying it's not for photogphers,artists or printers.They're great machines when used for thier intended purposes. I remember years ago a sales rep for a previous company I worked for sold a reprographics co. an ARBC320 I could have killed him.LOL