- Bidirectional Registration: the timing of when to fire jets is adjusted so that dot place-
ment is accurate when printing in either direction. Bidirectional accuracy is affected most
by changes to the carriage height above the surface of the media. Provided an accurate
initial calibration, the 5400 printer can mathematically recalculate the bidirectional regis-
tration when either or both media thickness and/or head height are changed.
- Head-to-Head Registration: the timing of when to fire the jets is adjusted so that the
relationship of the color planes is accurate in the X-axis (i.e., direction of carriage travel).
Because the relationship of the printheads in the X-axis is very stable, this calibration is
seldom required. Calibration of the Y-axis is not a user function and is performed only by
service personnel on an as-needed basis.
Calibration of the printheads can be performed automatically by the onboard image sensor or
else manually through user interaction. The automated calibrations will be discussed first.
• Automatic Calibration (AutoJet, AutoBidi, Auto Head-to-Head, and Full AutoSet): The
automatic calibrations use the onboard image sensor to measure printed patterns,
then make adjustments based on that is observed. The full automated calibration is
called AutoSet. AutoSet consists of three separate parts: AutoJet, which measures
jetting performance; AutoBidi, which corrects the bidirectional printing accuracy, and
Auto Head-to-Head, which aligns the printheads to each other in the X-axis (left to
right, or the same direction as carriage travel).
When a full AutoSet calibration is performed, three sets of patterns are printed and
scanned. The first is the Bidirectional registration. The second is the Head-to-Head.
The third is jet mapping. At the conclusion of each stage, a summary table is printed
that indicates if the calibration was successful for each printhead. For servicing or
troubleshooting the printer, the summary table may be configured to print more de-
tail.
The constituent components of AutoSet–AutoJet, AutoBidi, AutoH2H–can be run
separately if desired. The individual calibrations are found in the “Menu -> Calibrate
Printer -> Auto Calibrations” menu of the control panel. Selecting the appropriate
component rather than running an entire AutoSet can be time-saving. For example,
if the carriage head height is changed, only AutoBidi is required. If the printheads are
cleaned, only AutoJet may be necessary, taking approximately 20 minutes to com-
plete.
• Manual Printhead Calibrations: Equivalent procedures to all of the above calibra-
tions can be performed manually from the “Menu -> Calibrate Printer -> Manual Cali-
brations” menu on the printer’s control panel. Manual Jet Mapping allows the user to
visually examine for missing jets and enter the corresponding printhead and jet at the
control panel. BiDi or Bidirectional Calibration ensures that the carriage places dots
5400 Technical Training Manual
MacDermid ColorSpan Confidential
Page 15 of 39
MacDermid, Inc. 11311 K-Tel Drive, Minnetonka, MN 55343
Phone: 952-944-9457 Fax: 952-944-8507
