EPSON

Bidirectional Alignment Dialog Box

Bidirectional Alignment fixes misaligned vertical lines when performing bidirectinal printing.
Click the Bidirectional Alignment button in the Media Adjustment dialog box to display the Bidirectional Alignment dialog box.

About the Bidirectional Alignment

The printer prints by using four-color or eight-color inks; other colors are feasible by mixing the inks. Thus, if a color of ink prints 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 (from right to left or left to right), 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. Bidirectional alignment fixes misaligned vertical lines caused by unidirectional printing and achieves very precise alignment of all colors.
Granular impression:
Bidirectional Alignment fixes misaligned vertical lines using all colors when performing Bidirectional printing.
Fix misaligned lines of all colors.
Fix the misaligned impact position of each ink caused by the difference of direction of the print head (From right to left and left to right).
Note:
The screens that appear in this manual may differ according to your printer model.
If you use coated media, you can perform easy and simple head alignment in the Auto Adjustment Dialog Box.
We recommend you to perform Auto Adjustment Dialog Box in the Auto Adjustment dialog box before performing Bidirectional Alignment.
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 colors 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 a value 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 a value from the pull-down menu, which displays 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 models. See For Print Quality, refer to the printer driver.
Click Print to print an alignment sheet.
Follow the on-screen instructions for further operations.
Look at the alignment sheet. There are two patterns: line and block. For the line pattern, find the vertical straight line. For the block pattern, find the block formed by four blocks connected with the smallest gap and overlapping.
Note:
The alignment sheet is different depending on your printer model.
In case of black type, write down the number of the vertical line which is the most less gaps. In the case of the illustration below, the 5 is chosen. If the all patterns are misaligned, chose the one which has most least gaps.
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, when confirm optimum pattern for each colors.
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.