Correcting the Misalignment of Printing and Cutting with Crop Marks (Separate Test for Printing/Cutting with Crop Marks)

Due to changes in the thickness of media caused by laminating and misalignment of the loading position of the media before and after cutting, the positioning of printing and cutting may be misaligned even when you are using crop marks. Make corrections for misaligned printing and cutting for the media you are using and its condition.

In this test, so as to create the same conditions as the actual operation, print only the crop marks, remove the media, load the media again, and then cut the media.

1. Adjust the misalignment of the ink landing position.

Procedure
  1. Press [MENU].
  2. Press [▼] several times to display the screen shown below.


  3. Press [▶] to display the screen shown below.


  4. Press [ENTER].
    Printing of the test pattern starts.
  5. When printing is finished, press [▼], then [▶] to display the screen shown below.


  6. View the printed test pattern, and then determine the correction value.
    Select the value that gives the least misalignment between the two lines. In the case of the following figure, select "-3." When you cannot choose between two sequential numbers, select a value that is between them (you can set correction values in units of "0.5").


  7. Press [▲] or [▼] to select the correction value.
  8. Press [ENTER] to confirm your entry.
  9. Press [◀] or [▲] to display the screen shown below.


  10. Press [ENTER].
    Printing of the test pattern starts.
  11. Check the test pattern to see whether the correction was successful.
    Check that the misalignment is minimized for the two vertical lines indicated by (that is, the current correction value). If the misalignment is smaller for another set of vertical lines, set the correction value again.
  12. When you have successfully performed the correction, press [MENU] to go back to the original screen.

2. Print only the crop marks.

Procedure
  1. Press [MENU].
  2. Press [▲] to display the screen shown below.


  3. Press [▶], then [▼] to display the screen shown below.


  4. Press [▶] twice to display the screen shown below.


  5. Press [ENTER].
    Printing of the test pattern starts.

    Only one crop mark is printed.

  6. When printing is finished, press [MENU] to go back to the original screen.
  7. Remove any media.
    If the media needs to be separated, refer to the following page.

    Separating the Media

  8. Complete operations before cutting output for normal cutting with crop marks, such as laminating.

3. Perform a cutting test (separate test for printing/cutting with crop marks).

Procedure
  1. Set up the media for which operations before cutting output, such as lamination, is complete.
  2. Press [◀] while the following screen is displayed.
    The cutting carriage comes out over the platen.


  3. Press [◀], [▶], [▲] or [▼] to move the center of the blade over the crop marks.
    The center of the blade should only be over the crop marks, and does not need to be aligned with the center of the crop marks.


  4. Once the position has been decided, press [FUNCTION] to display the screen shown below.


  5. Press [ENTER] to confirm your entry.
    When the screen displays the character "B" together with the printable width at the location (as shown in the following figure), setting is completed.


  6. Press [MENU].
  7. Press [▲] to display the screen shown below.


  8. Press [▶], then [▼] to display the screen shown below.


  9. Press [▶] twice, and then press [▼] once to display the screen shown below.


  10. Press [ENTER].
    The cutting test starts.

4. Set the correction values (separate test for printing/cutting with crop marks).

Procedure
  1. Press [◀], then [▼][▶] to display the screen shown below.


  2. View the results of the cutting test to determine the correction values.
    Check whether the crop mark (shaded part) and the cutting position (outer frame) are aligned. An example of the printing position and the cutting position being misaligned is shown in the following figure.
    If the test printed crop marks are inside the cutting line, correction is not necessary.
    If the test printed crop marks are extending beyond the cutting line, correction is necessary.


    "F" indicates the feed direction of the media (the feed direction) and "S" indicates the direction of print head movement (the scan direction). ("F," "S," "+," "−," and the arrows are not displayed on the actual test pattern.)

    MEMO:

    Determine the values so as to correct the misalignment of the cutting position. In the case of the above figure, feed direction "F" is misaligned in a negative direction and scan direction "S" in a positive direction. Therefore, set the correction values for the feed direction "F" to positive values and the scan direction "S" to negative values. Measure the actual misalignment amount when determining the value.

  3. Set the correction values for the feed direction "F" and the scan direction "S."
    1. Press [▲] or [▼] to set the correction value for the feed direction (F).


    2. Press [◀] or [▶] to set the correction value for the scan direction (S).


    3. When you have finished setting the correction values, press [ENTER].
  4. Perform steps 2. Print only the crop marks., 3. Perform a cutting test (separate test for printing/cutting with crop marks). again to check whether the correction was successful.

    • If the test printed crop marks are inside the cutting line, correction is complete.

    • If the test printed crop marks are extending beyond the cutting line, redo the correction.

  5. Press [MENU] to go back to the original screen.
    MEMO:
    • Default settings
      • F (correction value of the media feed direction): 0.00 mm
      • S (correction value of the cutting carriage movement direction): 0.00 mm
    • You can also make corrections of printing and cutting positions at the same time without removing the media.