Expert: Amy - 8/3/2009

Question
Hi,  

I am using Illustrator CS4 to send a positive image (black) to my design jet 500 printer from a PC onto clear film.  I am wondering if it's anything to do with the settings in Illustrator when I send it to print, because I have to get a really solid black image for the positive to work and it is either coming out fuzzy and too lightly printed or too streaky(I know it might be the printer and I have aligned the printheads etc with no improvement.)

Do you know of any settings I can choose before sending it, to give a more solid print or lay more ink down.  Is it supposed to help if I choose saturation for the rendering intent for example?

Answer
Hi Ruth,

Yes, this has more to do with your printer than Illustrator.

You have to choose TRANSPARENCY FILM or at least GLOSSY for the paper type in the printer setup. I have an HP OfficeJet 6500 and it is possible to choose "glossy brochure stock" or "transparency film." It is much trickier on the OfficeJet than on my other prints because they make me choose what type of project I am printing (photo/presentation/letter/etc) in order to see the complete list of paper types. So you might need to play around with your printer properties, find that paper type selector, and you'll see improvement. That setting controls how much ink is delivered.

The other thing you can try is playing with the fill itself. A pattern of tight, tiny dots instead of a solid fill might help you get a more even appearance.

I have more hope for the glossy paper setting, though.

-Amy Pace