To make color separations with Wasatch SoftRIP, you need to select a "monochrome" or "mono" mode for your printer. We provide "imagesetter mode" for most devices. This selection is made in the Printer Model window on the Setup menu. If you don’t see a monochrome mode for your particular printer in the Printer Model window, be sure to contact our service department to ask whether one is available or whether it is coming soon.
Inkjet printers present special and complex problems when they are used for the making of color separations. Modern inkjet printers commonly offer dozens of alternative print modes, which represent a large variety of choices that affect resolution, speed, maximum density, and "banding" issues.
Some of these print modes will be suitable for making color separations, but many more will not be suitable. Some will be suitable for making process color separations at high lpi, and others will be much faster but suitable only for spot color separations.
The alignment of print heads is particularly critical when making process color separations with PostScript Screens or Rosettes. Slight misalignments that are acceptable when printing color with FM screens will cause moiré and banding problems when making films for printing process color.
One of the most important things you can do is adjust the alignment of the print heads often—perhaps as often as every time you load a new roll of film. Check for special instructions on critical adjustments in the "Printers" section of online help, in the documentation for your printer, or with your reseller.