Kyocera TaskAlfa 3050ci - Colors Denser Near Edges

[RY1997]

Hello. I'm doing a month-to-month rental with a local company for a Kyocera Taskalfa 3050ci.

I've placed a service request in regards to color quality, and they couldn't really help because everything I was printing was coming from my PC, and obviously the machine only does what it is told to do.

Before bothering them with another service request (and them wasting more of my time for nothing), I'd like to know what EXACTLY the problem is so I can tell them so they know what needs to be fixed.

I am experiencing this issue when printing from my PC but also when I do diagnostics/adjustments from the printer itself.

When I print the toner curve adjustment/calibration pattern, the edges of the squares are darker and more dense than the rest of the square. Every color seems to be affected by this except for yellow. I've tried drum refresh, developer refresh, but I still get the same result.

Please bare with me as I am new to this forum too. Here is the link to a scan (PDF) of the pattern page: Google Drive: Sign-in

If you look closely, you can see a darker edge on almost every single square that isn't yellow.

If anyone knows what causes this problem or what this issue is called, please let me know. If it's something simple I can fix myself, please do also let me know. I appreciate any help you guys can offer me. Thank you!

Edit:
Here is an inline image of the page:

0001.jpg

[blackcat4866]

Congratulations on looking closely enough to see that. Every color Kyocera up to the AlphardII series does this. Two of the adjoining sides are always darker and crisper than the center and opposite sides. There isn't really anything that can be done about that. It's just the way it is. I was unable to look at your images, so I cannot really comment on the image quality.

Please keep in mind that these are business quality machines. By definition that means that they are designed to include color, but not photo quality color.

Please try to attach some image quality samples that we can view. =^..^=

[RY1997]

Congratulations on looking closely enough to see that. Every color Kyocera up to the AlphardII series does this. Two of the adjoining sides are always darker and crisper than the center and opposite sides. There isn't really anything that can be done about that. It's just the way it is. I was unable to look at your images, so I cannot really comment on the image quality.

Please keep in mind that these are business quality machines. By definition that means that they are designed to include color, but not photo quality color.

Please try to attach some image quality samples that we can view. =^..^=

Sorry about that. I just added an inline image that shows the "problem".

This is very disappointing to say the least. I'm actually trying to run a small printing business from home (I've even gotten a few orders so far), and I've been told color quality is lacking by customers. And just so you don't think I'm off my rocker, I know these machines do not compare to digital presses. I know they aren't necessarily made to be production machines, it's just that the company is local and the price is right for me to make some good profit.

Anyways, the feedback I have received doesn't have to do with this at all. Rather, color accuracy was lacking for an order but I got more accuracy when picking "Vivid Colors" from the print dialog for color settings.

For full bleed designs like postcards, business cards, or even full bleed brochures, I guess it doesn't matter if it's darker near the edges because it will almost always be cut off.

You seem to know your Kyocera machines. The only other complaint I have about this machine is that colors are darker than what appear on my screen. A basic bright red looks maroon when printed on a page. Do I bump up the saturation, lightness or both in print settings? I print from Publisher, Acrobat Pro, and Photoshop. I'm trying to print some nice 4x6 postcards to send to specific businesses in my area (I have leftover stamps in my car from when I was on eBay), but the colors just look so much darker and all.

Funny, the technicians through the rental company tell me I need to pay more money for higher quality paper. But I have this darkness issue on 110lb Domtar/Cougar Cover, and that paper isn't cheap. What are your thoughts on adjusting my colors in my print settings for brighter reds and blues?

[blackcat4866]

This is very disappointing to say the least. I'm actually trying to run a small printing business from home (I've even gotten a few orders so far), and I've been told color quality is lacking by customers. And just so you don't think I'm off my rocker, I know these machines do not compare to digital presses. I know they aren't necessarily made to be production machines, it's just that the company is local and the price is right for me to make some good profit.

Anyways, the feedback I have received doesn't have to do with this at all. Rather, color accuracy was lacking for an order but I got more accuracy when picking "Vivid Colors" from the print dialog for color settings.

This machine is not a good choice for a printing business. Color accuracy is mediocre at best. For a printing business you'll need to have a Konica Minolta C754e, C658, or PRESS. The Kyocera will never produce the quality and consistency that you need.

The only other complaint I have about this machine is that colors are darker than what appear on my screen. A basic bright red looks maroon when printed on a page. Do I bump up the saturation, lightness or both in print settings? I print from Publisher, Acrobat Pro, and Photoshop. I'm trying to print some nice 4x6 postcards to send to specific businesses in my area (I have leftover stamps in my car from when I was on eBay), but the colors just look so much darker and all.

Without going into a really long explanation, you should not be comparing the RGB additive color produced by a light source to CMYK subtractive color produced by a reflective image on a piece of paper. The RGB color gamut is about twice as large as the CMYK color gamut, meaning that you can view twice as many colors on your monitor as you can produce on a printer. Read more here:

color gamut.jpg

Funny, the technicians through the rental company tell me I need to pay more money for higher quality paper. But I have this darkness issue on 110lb Domtar/Cougar Cover, and that paper isn't cheap. What are your thoughts on adjusting my colors in my print settings for brighter reds and blues?

Buying better paper will help, but it won't solve all your problems. Look for 100 brightness, 28# bond or heavier. Since toner is transparent the color of the paper is critical. All of these topics can blossom into much larger conversations, but I don't want to delude you into thinking your KM-3050ci can ever make any image comparable to a PRESS 3070. =^..^=

[RY1997]

Thank you for the info! I really appreciate it.

Yeah, this machine is not made for production printing. Totally get that. In fact, the only thing I'm really advertising is documents. The only reason I want to print my own postcards is because I don't necessarily want to give people the wrong impression when they get a nice looking postcard from say Staples but then I can't produce colors at or above the same quality. Again, I'm not advertising things like postcards. Just documents. Like presentations, resumes, packets, and booklets.

I know that this doesn't compare to an actual production machine, but if it can get me off the ground and get me a few high dollar orders (even if they're only B&W), I'll be upgrading ASAP.

I don't suppose adding an EFI Fiery would help with this machine though? It is compatible with Fiery servers. Just curious. If I was upgrading I'd definitely get a more mainstream machine like Ricoh, Xerox, or Konica.

[blackcat4866]

This machine is compatible with a Fiery, but it won't help very much. =^..^=

[Scott]

Kyocera takes a step in the right direction with each series they make. the new stuff is pretty good. The 3050 is 2 series old. I work on both Minolta and Kyocera. The Minolta has good color but higher maintenance and parts prices are through the roof. The Kyocera is lower maintenance and getting better color each time. So check out both brands before jumping on 1 or the other to see which works better for you

[Ropariva]

The only thing that may give you better colour matching will be changing the colour table to the Konica Minolta table. This is done in U485. Saturation will also be greatly improved through the use of expensive colour copier paper. Only then will you get the 3050 anywhere near what your expecting.
These are a good all round business duplicator and do a fair job at best of colour matching.
Try the colour table change and quality paper. You might be surprised at the difference.
Try creating a PDF with the four colour swatches on it as a test
Do squares of 100% C, M , Y and K.
Look at the Cyan. This is likely to be an aqua colour.
Change the colour table
Print again and see the difference.

Good luck.

[RY1997]

The only thing that may give you better colour matching will be changing the colour table to the Konica Minolta table. This is done in U485. Saturation will also be greatly improved through the use of expensive colour copier paper. Only then will you get the 3050 anywhere near what your expecting.
These are a good all round business duplicator and do a fair job at best of colour matching.
Try the colour table change and quality paper. You might be surprised at the difference.
Try creating a PDF with the four colour swatches on it as a test
Do squares of 100% C, M , Y and K.
Look at the Cyan. This is likely to be an aqua colour.
Change the colour table
Print again and see the difference.

Good luck.

I'm not sure what U845 is. Is there an online guide on how to load the color table? That would be awesome and I'd love to try it out ASAP.

[Scott]

U485 is a service mode...If nobody has changed the password it is 1087-1087