Printing Problem Illustrator

[julianbremann]

Hi,

I'm trying to print a simple black vector file from directly from illustrator. No matter what settings I use it prints out in low resolution. I tried upping the document raster effect settings, selecting printing as bitmap and not (in the print window dialog>Advanced), etc. Not working. Furthermore, I have some of the options in the print window greyed out, like the entire "Graphics" section and in "Output" everything is greyed out but the Emulsion. This is Illustrator 2017 21.0.0 on a macbook pro and a MX-3640N Sharp printer. When I open the file in Preview and print from there the resolutions is fine, but I need to print from Illustrator directly.

Hope anyone has some ideas on how to fix that.

tnx

[Monika Gause]

Is that a PostScript enabled printer?

[julianbremann]

I'm not sure what that means and how do I find out?

[Monika Gause]

You find that out by either asking the vendor or by consulting the documentation.

[Glen Webster]

Hi Julian.

Check this out: Taken from How to set up Illustrator files for printing

Change the printer resolution and screen frequency

Adobe Illustrator prints fastest and best by using the default printer resolution and screen frequency. However, in some cases, you might want to change the printer resolution and screen frequency—for example, if you draw a very long curved path that won’t print due to a limit-check error, if printing is slow, or if gradients and meshes show banding when printed.

• Choose File > Print.

• For Printer, select a PostScript printer, Adobe PostScript® File, or Adobe PDF.

• Select Output on the left side of the Print dialog box.

• For Printer Resolution, select a screen frequency (lpi) and printer resolution (dpi) combination.

Printer resolution is measured in the number of ink dots produced per inch (dpi). Most desktop laser printers have a resolution of 600 dpi, and imagesetters have a resolution of 1200 dpi or higher. Inkjet printers produce a microscopic spray of ink, not actual dots; however, most inkjet printers have an approximate resolution of 300 to 720 dpi.

When printing to a desktop laser printer, but especially to imagesetters, you must also consider screen frequency. Screen frequency is the number of halftone cells per inch used to print grayscale images or color separations. Also known as screen ruling or line screen, screen frequency is measured in lines per inch (lpi)—or lines of cells per inch in a halftone screen.

A high line-screen ruling (for example, 150 lpi) spaces the dots used to create an image close together to create a finely rendered image on the press; a low screen ruling (60 lpi to 85 lpi) spaces the dots farther apart to create a coarser image. The size of the dots is also determined by the line screen. A high line-screen ruling uses small dots; a low screen ruling uses large dots. The most important factor in choosing a line-screen ruling is the type of printing press your job uses. Ask your print shop how fine a line screen its press can hold, and make your choices accordingly.

The PPD files for high-resolution imagesetters offer a wide range of possible line-screen rulings paired with various imagesetter resolutions. The PPD files for lower-resolution printers typically have only a few choices for line screens, and they are coarser screens of between 53 lpi and 85 lpi. The coarser screens, however, give optimum results on lower-resolution printers. Using a finer screen of 100 lpi, for example, actually decreases the quality of your image when a low-resolution printer is used for final output. That’s because increasing the lpi for a given resolution decreases the number of colors that can be reproduced.

Note:

Some imagesetters and desktop laser printers use screening technologies other than halftoning. If you are printing an image on a nonhalftone printer, consult your service provider or your printer documentation for the recommended resolutions.

[Monika Gause]

https://forums.adobe.com/people/Glen+Webster  schrieb

• For Printer, select a PostScript printer, Adobe PostScript® File, or Adobe PDF.

As long as Julian doesn't even know if he has a PostScript printer this is not too helpful.

And since the file prints well from PDF/Preview, but not from Illustrator, it's very likely that the printer in fact does not understand  PostScript.

[Glen Webster]

Hi Monika. All I can say is, without having the actual setup in front of me or you is that we can only throw ideas across to Julian. You never know, it might just strike a cord and be of some help! Knowledge is power!

[julianbremann]

correct monika, thanks

well the printer is a better than home printer quality one, so i assume it does. i read the documentation and it says "This printer driver supports the PostScript® 3TM" but i don't see other info regarding. I installed the driver but am not sure if when printing through illustrator it uses the driver - it just gives me a standard illustrator printer window.

[Monika Gause]

In your question you describe that the "Output" section in the printing window is almost completely greyed out. This is an almost certain sign that the printer does not support PostScript. The documentation does not tell you the full truth.

Acrobat has its own PostScript interpreter, so I would just use that route in order to print your files. Export a PDF resp save your AI with PDF compatiblity and print from Acrobat.

You could try and get a newer driver that maybe solves this isssue or contact Sharp about this and see if they have some information to add.

[julianbremann]

so i tried again and i do get an option to select AdobePostScrpt file but then all it does it it saves a file to a location on the computer and when i open it it opens in Preview. that doesn't work at all, I just want to print directly from Illustrator.

[Monika Gause · Accepted solution]

Please ask Sharp about it.

They claim that their device supports PostScript, so they have to enable you to use PostScript printing.