Mix Drop Levels
Mix drop levels is used to define how each drop size is applied across the tonal range of a print.
For example, in a three-drop inkjet printer, the smallest drop is typically used for highlights, a medium drop for mid-tones, and the largest drop for shadows.
In the illustration above, drop level 1 (smallest) is used from paper white up to 40% tonal density. Drop level 2 (medium) is applied from 39% to 70%, overlapping slightly with the small drop. Drop level 3 (largest) is used from 69% up to 100%, again with a 1% overlap with the medium drop. These overlaps ensure smooth transitions between drop sizes.
The values set here apply to the highlighted ink on the list of inks on the left-hand side.
If you prefer not to use a particular drop size, simply uncheck it in the "Enabled" column.
Ink Limit
Print Ink Limit Target
This button will generate and automatically print a target that looks like this:
Use the output of this target to determine the correct Ink Limit for all your colorants.
Print Interval Bars
This is a toggle switch to activate or deactivate the printing of interval bars on the Ink Limit Target.
Measure Ink Limit Target
This button will open Measure Tool configured to measure the Ink Limit Target just printed. Doing so will populate the colorant Ink Limits.
Import Ink Limit Measurements
This button allows you to select an .it8 or .txt file to populate the colorant Ink Limits.
Drop Levels
Print Drop Level Mixing Target
This button will generate and automatically print a target that looks like this:
Measure Drop Level Mixing Target
This button will open Measure Tool configured to measure the Drop Level Mixing Target just printed. Doing so will populate the colorant Drop Level Max percentages.
Pinning
Print Pinning Target
This button will generate a Pinning Target for you with all the colorants in the Device Configuration.
Pinning is only required when using a UV-Press where the ink is UV sensitive and a pinning lamp is used between ink stations.
This can be ignored if there are no pinning stations.
Drop Level Details
Largest Drop Coverage (Ink Limit)
The purpose of ink limiting is to limit the primary inks so that it does not overink.
To control the amount of ink applied, you can enter a number below 100 in the Ink Limit field. This is a coarse adjustment to prevent over-inking, which can cause flooding or make color patches illegible. However, avoid setting it too low, as it will reduce the printer’s achievable color gamut.
When this value is altered, the graph on the right will adjust.
Output Density (%)
The enabledness, and maximum value for all but the highest drop level as defined by the screen selected in the Media Setup pane can be chosen in this table.
The minimum value of the lowest drop level will always be 0%, and the maximum value of the highest drop level will always be 100%.
The minimum value of other drop levels will automatically adjust based on the maximum value of the last enabled drop level before it, as well as the Drop Transition Overlap chosen. This is to enforce that the Overlap is maintained between all Drop Levels. As such, they cannot be edited directly.
When enabling/disabling a drop level, the min/max values of the remaining enabled drop levels will change to be an even spread of densities, while also respecting the Drop Transition Overlap. A warning dialog will show when attempting to do this.
Drop Level overlap (%)
A value between 1 and 10 that determines the overlap between a drop level’s max value and the next drop levels' min value. The overlap is to ensure a smooth transition between two drop levels. Altering this value will update the min values for all drop levels.
Drops Graph
This graph represents the minimum, maximum and drop level overlap percentages for each drop and the ink limit of the largest drop.
