EPSON

Unidirectional Alignment Dialog Box

Unidirectional Alignment fixes misaligned vertical lines when performing Unidirectional printing. Perform Bidirectional Alignment first. If you are not satisfied with the result, then perform the Unidirectional Alignment See Bidirectional Alignment Dialog Box.
Click the Unidirectional Alignment button in the Media Adjustment dialog box to display the Unidirectional Alignment dialog box.

About the Unidirectional Alignment

The printer prints by using four-color or eight-color inks; other colors are feasible by mixing the inks. Thus, if colors of ink prints are misaligned, gaps may occur between the colors. There is a distance between the print head and the media loaded in the printer called the Platen Gap. Because of the difference of direction of the print head, temperature or humidity, there might be a misaligned impact position of each ink. As a result, there will be vertical misalignment or granular impression on the printed data. If you find vertical misalignment on the printed data, you may be able to solve these problems by using this utility to align the print head. Unidirectional Alignment fixes misaligned vertical lines caused by unidirectional printing and achieves very precise alignment of the standard color and each color. The standard color is different depending on the printer model.
Granular impression:
Unidirectional Alignment fixes misaligned vertical lines based on the standard color, and then does it to each color.
Note:
The screens that appear in this manual may differ depending on your printer model.
Perform Bidirectional Alignment first. If you are not satisfied with the result, then perform the Unidirectional Alignment.
Some colors are not shown in the Unidirectional Alignment dialog box because their positions are used as the standard for the positions of the other colors. The standard colors differ depending upon the printer model.
If you use coated media, you can perform easy and simple head alignment in the Auto Adjustment Dialog Box.
To go to another dialog box, select the dialog box from the list in the top right area.
Select the media type from the Media Type list. If you use non-Epson special media, select Other.
Note:
If your printer is set to the four-color ink combination, the printer will be in four-color mode and the screen above shows only four colors.
Set the Paper Thickness.
If you selected Epson special media, the value appears automatically.
If you selected Other (non-Epson special media) for Media Type, type values from 1 to 15 in the Paper Thickness combo box. For paper thickness information, see the specifications or contact the dealer for the media.
Note:
The units for the value are 0.1 mm. Therefore, you can specify a thickness from 0.1 to 1.5 mm.
Select the Platen Gap. Platen Gap is the height from the media loaded in the printer to the print head. By adjusting this parameter, you may produce better print quality.
Note:
When Epson special media is selected, Auto is specified for Platen Gap. Normally select Auto. If there is any problem in the printing quality, specify value from the pull-down menu, which shows the list.
If you selected Other for Media Type, Platen Gap is disabled until the Paper Thickness is set.
The table below shows that the Platen Gap option is available for adjusting the paper thickness setting of the following printers:
Stylus Pro 4450/4880/4880C
Stylus Pro 7450/7880/7880C
Stylus Pro 9450/9880/9880C
 
Platen Gap Options
Paper Thickness (mm)
Narrow
Standard
Wide
Wider
0.1 to 0.3
0.4 to 0.8
N/A
0.9 to 1.5
N/A
N/A
N/A
: Default settings : Selectable items
N/A : Not Available
Select an ink dot size from #1 to #4 (or #3, depending on the printer model) depending on the media you use and the print quality you want to try. See Ink Dot Size to find out which parameter is available for the media and print quality.
Note:
If you use non-Epson special media, we recommend that you select all check boxes from #1 to #4 (or #3, depending on the printer model) to align all dot sizes.
Checking the printer driver is different depending upon the printer model. See For Print Quality, refer to the printer driver.
Click Print to print an alignment sheet.
Look at the alignment sheet. For each color, find the vertical straight line formed when the dotted line of the standard color aligns well with the dotted line of the respective color. The standard color is different depending on the printer model.
Note:
The alignment sheet is different depending on your printer model.
Enter the number of each aligned pattern in the corresponding boxes.
Note:
If you cannot find a properly aligned pattern, enter the number of the pattern that is closest to being aligned for that box. Repeat the steps from 5 to 7 for all colors.
Click the Save button, then confirm optimum pattern for each color.
Note:
If an on-line error message appears, select STANDARD for the Platen Gap setting from the control panel of the printer. For the control panel operation, refer to the online User's Guide (or Reference Guide) of the printer.