Need the perfect printer, for labels...

[jrp1]

I own a business that involves a lot of label printing. I designed a label in Photoshop that we love and we would like to keep, however. Our Cannon printer is not doing the trick, it sometimes prints off, but that's an easy fix. The man thing is the quality of the printing is horrible, I used a gradient and you can noticeably see white dots through the gradient that doesn't bother me much. What bothers me most is the writing on the label looks horrible and is hard to read, I changed the settings on my printer with no luck.

I need some help finding the PERFECT printer for labels.

What are your recommendations on the perfect printer for labels?

Thanks,
jrp

 

[The Hat]

jrp1
I need some help finding the PERFECT printer for labels.

What are your recommendations on the perfect printer for labels?

It would help if you would tell us what printer you are using and with what settings quality, paper etc.
Maybe you could scan the offending label and post it here.
The problem could be the printer, Photoshop or the type of label you are using even all three.
Get back with some more details and information and we may be able to suggest some solution for you ok..

 

[Tin Ho]

You need high resolution printers. Canon printers generally do a good job in printing labels.

 

[jrp1]

jrp1
I need some help finding the PERFECT printer for labels.

What are your recommendations on the perfect printer for labels?

It would help if you would tell us what printer you are using and with what settings quality, paper etc.
Maybe you could scan the offending label and post it here.
The problem could be the printer, Photoshop or the type of label you are using even all three.
Get back with some more details and information and we may be able to suggest some solution for you ok..

Alright,
I am using a Canon Pixma (MP250)
and I am using labels from Online labels you can look at them if you want, they are the Weatherproof Matte Inkjet Labels (WJ)
I printed my labels on the setting "Plain Paper" at a resolution of "High" also tried it in "Standard"
It didn't print as clear as I wanted it to, so I changed the Paper to "Photo Matt Paper" printer in both resolutions high and standard, did the same thing for the printing option High Resolution and that seemed almost worse then the first two I mentioned

Hope that gives enough info, thanks for the help!

Edit: my photoshop labels are created on CMYK colors and the resolution is 300 dpi

 

[The Hat]

jrp1
The mp250 is not the best printer for doing high quality label but it should still do a reasonable job.
The tri colour cartridge will not last very long doing you labels and they are a bitch to refill.

You could try printing them on glossy paper, plain paper then your labels on high quality as a test
but when you use your labels you must set it to matte photo setting only so the printer doesnt use the pigment black at all.

If you examine the three printouts and see what the differences are and report back.
For your information I reckon youd be better off getting a printer with 5 cartridges for better quality prints anyway..

 

[jrp1]

jrp1
The mp250 is not the best printer for doing high quality label but it should still do a reasonable job.
The tri colour cartridge will not last very long doing you labels and they are a bitch to refill.

You could try printing them on glossy paper, plain paper then your labels on high quality as a test
but when you use your labels you must set it to matte photo setting only so the printer doesnt use the pigment black at all.

If you examine the three printouts and see what the differences are and report back.
For your information I reckon youd be better off getting a printer with 5 cartridges for better quality prints anyway..

I would like to get a new printer a better more high quality printer.
The results on the labels I already printer are all kind of the same, text hard to read and blurry and the colors more vivid.

What do you suggest for printers? I am ready to buy one ASAP!

Thanks,
Jon

 

[mrelmo]

have you printed the "Label" on a sheet of plain paper maybe it is the label paper that is giving you issues, but you do need to switch to a printer with seperate ink cartridges

 

[jrp1]

have you printed the "Label" on a sheet of plain paper maybe it is the label paper that is giving you issues, but you do need to switch to a printer with seperate ink cartridges

No I haven't but I would like to get a separate ink cartridge printer. any suggestions for printers that print beautifully?

 

[stratman]

Unless someone here has used your specific labels and knows the answer, I would suggest the best solution is to take your label paper into an electronics store where demo printers are on display and make prints yourself. This way you can compare results and select the best printer for your needs.

A second solution is to ask the label manufacturer directly for their printer choices.

A third solution is to use a different label. Maybe the retailer that sold you your current labels will send you some samples to test out.

A fourth solution is to ditch inkjets and switch to laser printers for your labels.

 

[stratman]

After taking a closer look at the label website, there is a troubleshooting tip about "over-saturation" for your (?) labels:

Troubleshooting Issues Related to Weatherproof Matte for Inkjet Material

* Ink not drying on the label is referred to as over-saturation. This may be caused by the DPI/quality level in your print quality being too high in an inkjet printer. If this happens, change your print setting options to "normal" or "fast draft." Also, having a DPI of 300 or 600 may help with the problem.

(http://www.onlinelabels.com/Instructions/OL2525WJ)

This might explain why the labels looked worse the greater resolution you printed them at.

Have you tried draft mode and/or lower DPI yet?

It is unclear to me if pigment black (the PG-210 Black Cartridge) versus dye-based black (mixture of all the colors from the tri-color CL-211 Color Cartridge when "matte" paper is chosen) would be preferable. Are their recommendations from the retailer/manufacturer of the labels?