Font blurry when printing and in pixel preview

[Matt28127100nhz5]

Hello all - looking to print a simple label with only fonts. Looks perfect in my document, but when printing it prints out exteremly blurry. When I go into pixel preview mode, also looks exteremly blurry. Examples attached.

Printing this on an envelope 8.75 x 5.75 inches - and have my artboard set to those exact dimensions. 

I have tried exporting as a PDF and printing from Acrobat, and same result. Same results when printing from photoshop and InDesign as well. In document setup, Have tried converting the font to outlines, and same result. Also tried updating the transparency flattener presets to the highest resolution settings and same results. 

What setting am I missing to allow this to not be blurry when I enter the pixel preview mode?

[Ton Frederiks]

This font has very fine details which may not be preserved when printing to low resolution devices. How much are you zoomed in when choosing Pixel Preview? Pixel Preview is supposed to show pixels.

What is the resolution of your printer?

[Matt28127100nhz5]

Thank you for the response. Not zoomed in much at all in pixel preview, here is another example zoomed pretty far out:

Not sure about finding resolution on the printer, it is Epson XP-7100 Series

[Ton Frederiks]

100% would give you an idea of the file displayed on a low res (72ppi) display.

Your printer is a photo printer and by default not optimized for this kind of detail.

Maybe there are some settings in the driver to give a better result for graphics.

[Matt28127100nhz5]

Very strange, because it prints normal Arial font from a word doc just fine, and this font is actually bigger and bolder than that. Can understand if the thin, cursive font isn't super sharp, but the bulkier font and the straight line are blurry. The '123 main street' is incredibly blurry when printed. 

[Bobby Henderson]

If the objects in your document are all vector-based the elements (text and rule line) should print at the maximum resolution supported by the printer. What kind of printer is being used to print the label?

[Matt28127100nhz5]

It is an Epson XP-7100 Series

[Matt28127100nhz5]

I originally thought it would be a printer issue, but in the pixel preview it shows almost exactly as its printed. Thinking its a resolution issue?

[Bobby Henderson]

I'm thinking the issue has to be something else. Vector-based graphics (which includes most fonts) are resolution independent. They're supposed to output at the maximum resolution of the printing or image setting device. It would be a good idea to double check the document's resolution settings. Normally a print-based document for standard sized pages, envelopes, etc would be 300ppi. Sometimes those settings can be goofed and set for lower resolutions like 72ppi. But that really shouldn't make a difference if the elements on the page are vector-based. I'm inclinded to think there could be a setting in the printer's driver or output options that may be causing the type and other objects to be rasterized at such a coarse resolution.

[Matt28127100nhz5]

Agreed. Not sure what it could be. Attached I have the settings for the vector output and the printing output. With these settings the printing is marginally better, but even on the dead straight line that is there, the edges are still blurry on it. Literally a normal word document with standard text requires more defined printing than this - not sure why printing through Adobe causes so much trouble! Appreciate any other insights you might have.

[Bobby Henderson · Accepted solution]

I think the issue probably has something to do with the print quality settings in the printer's driver or print dialog box options. Some desktop photo printers will default to "fast" settings, which could translate into printing graphics and imagery in lower resolution. They may also do similar things to conserve printer ink.

[Matt28127100nhz5]

Thanks for your help. Through some trial and error found that printing on a normal sheet of paper provided much clearer results. The issues came when trying to print on cardstock/thicker pieces of paper.