Grainy prints on Epson 1500W on thick paper

[middlehouse]

Hey everyone,

I'm in need of some advice for my printer; Epson Stylus Photo 1500W, my operating system is Windows 8.1.

I have had trouble with my prints coming out grainy. They are filled with small white specks and are
blurry when upclose. What is strange also is that some selected parts are sharp but rest remains grainy.
I have been using paper from 80g-250g and all have turned out perfect at the beginning but now all
but 80g turns out grainy. The papers I use are not dusty nor old either.

I have tried re-installing the drivers and I have done the printer nozzle test which came out perfect
and the alignment check (not sure about the correct name..) which also came out perfect.
I also tried resetting the options but that didn't help me and also playing around with different paper
options hasn't improved the quality.

I turned to Epson support for help on this but I was given an answer that "the printer does not support
enough wide options to work for your needs". This confused me as I had already gotten perfect results
before on thick paper...

If anyone has an idea or suggestion that could solve this, I'd be more than happy to hear it!

Here are some images for a closer inspection:

Grainy VS sharp
Grainy prints
Close-up

 

[The Hat]

I would hazard a guess but it looks to me like the paper your printing on is not very suitable for inkjet printers, your prints are suffering from bleaching, try a smoother surface next time.

Not all papers are the same...

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

are you using inkjet type papers - papers coated to prevent the spreading of the ink on the surface ?

 

[middlehouse]

I would hazard a guess but it looks to me like the paper your printing on is not very suitable for inkjet printers, your prints are suffering from bleaching, try a smoother surface next time.

Not all papers are the same...

Thanks for the reply! I don't think that is the problem as I got perfect prints with the same textured paper before and now it is not co-operating.

I also tried printing multiple different images on one A4 sheet of the textured paper that can be seen in the attached photos and out of 6 images,
only one came out sharp and perfect on the paper! The images were from very detailed painted ones to ones with just minimal linework;
only the smallest lineart picture came out perfect (I'm not sure why this happened).

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

Please post a nozzle check to start with. I'm still not clear about the type of paper you are using - is it inkjet paper ?

 

[pharmacist]

probably it is not, judged by the image quality (see links by the TS).

 

[middlehouse]

Please post a nozzle check to start with. I'm still not clear about the type of paper you are using - is it inkjet paper ?

Hei! The paper I used was Canson 200g mix media paper (Not intended for printing I guess), but I wanted to try it out to see what comes out and the results were lovely,
so I printed around 20 A4 prints of varied art and cards and they all came out perfect. I got very confused as it wouldn't print the same quality now,
I don't know if I fiddled with the options somehow? Or the printer just got grumpy at me.

Here is also the nozzle check!

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

The nozzle check looks o.k. for me, no missing lines in the lighter colors which could create some funny effects. What application are you using to print these images ? Could it be that the picture size got reduced somehow, and with it the effectiv print resolution ? Did you change anything since the time that the printouts were perfect - driver settings - some re-edit of the images to print - a different paper package - or else ?
Is this the type of paper you are using - or similar to ?
https://www.amazon.com/Canson-Artis...485056&sr=1-4&keywords=canson+mix+media+paper

 

[mikling]

The issue appears to surround the paper. There are two likely indications if the results are spotty. The coating on the paper is uneven thereby giving uneven results. The other thing to consider is to look at where the graininess begins. If it is more apparent in more saturated colors and you need to be careful on this asessment because this printer uses (LM and LC) then it is likely that the grain might be from ink pooling and the ability of the paper to accept high loads of LC and LM when more is required to achieve a denser color. The use of LM and LC then shifts back to C and M in darker colors, and the grain may disappear in darker colors. In the second case, the paper will not be suitable for the printer..especially a "photo" model.

For testing, I suggest using one of Hat's gradient strip test that he has posted somewhere on the board and trying it on various colors.
Again, whenever a test print is required, it is always best to use simple color tests rather than images so that one can understand what is occurring since we know what the simple pattern is asking of the printer. Images and photos for tests are actually not good at all because of the multitude of colors and shifts asked of the printer in each pixel. If you can't find Hat's pattern, maybe he can post it again for you. It is a good test strip to use to diagnose printing issues, especially when color shifts are noted and even for the capability of papers in inkjet printers. They are invaluable for the serious refiller who wants all points covered.

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

or are the front- und backsides of these papers performing differently ?