Why does my old HP 6L print images better than my newer HP laserjets?

[smeelah]

Hi!
I've always used an HP 6L to print small detailed images for my jewellery design business. I've been having new issues with the printer and so I've started trying to find a replacement. Both my HP 1018 and HP MFP M28w print fine except that with images, you can see the dots. The images are not smooth. Increasing the resolution has not helped. I've tested different drivers, different settings, different apps. I'm using Mac OS 10.12 at the moment.

I would appreciate any help or a point in the right direction.
Thanks,
Leila

 

[The Hat]

I would appreciate any help or a point in the right direction.

Normally when you have prints where you can see the dots, it’s because the resolution is too low on the print, try increasing it to 600 or 1200 DPI, that will reduce the size of the dot pattern.. It does on my Laser printers..

P.S. the other issue you could have is the HP 28 gives a far better detailed print than the HP6..

 

[smeelah]

@The Hat Thanks for your response!

Re DPI, I usually only need a 300dpi image for the 6L. I tried 300, then 1000, then 2000 for the M28.

That second point is interesting...however, the outline of the images on the 1018 and M28 are jagged (more noticeable in some other image samples). I'm guessing that a more detailed print should result in a smoother outline?

 

[PeterBJ]

I checked the specs for all three laser printers and all are 600 dpi. Maybe the differences in print quality depends on some other setting than resolution?

I have an HP Laserjet 1018 and a Canon inkjet printer MP980. The Canon has a 600 x 600 dpi resolution in pigment black only and 9600 x2400 dpi for colours.

If you upload the Gingko Biloba (?) leaves in .jpg I can do some test printng and comparisons and upload scans. For comparison also upload the image as .pdf if possible as .pdf files sometimes behave strangely when printed, maybe depending on printer properties.

 

[The Hat]

Re DPI, I usually only need a 300dpi image for the 6L. I tried 300, then 1000, then 2000 for the M28.

I was referring to your printers output DPI and not your image DPI, and as you say 300 DPI is more than enough for any image..

I checked the specs for all three laser printers and all are 600 dpi. Maybe the differences in print quality depends on some other setting than resolution?

Thanks for the explanation of the 3 printers, I taught they had variable DPI settings, my Brother has 330 and 600 DPI and the Samsung has 300 / 600 / and 1200 DPI and that can make a huge different in output quality.
My assumptions can be quite often wrong..

 

[smeelah]

I checked the specs for all three laser printers and all are 600 dpi. Maybe the differences in print quality depends on some other setting than resolution?

I have an HP Laserjet 1018 and a Canon inkjet printer MP980. The Canon has a 600 x 600 dpi resolution in pigment black only and 9600 x2400 dpi for colours.

If you upload the Gingko Biloba (?) leaves in .jpg I can do some test printng and comparisons and upload scans. For comparison also upload the image as .pdf if possible as .pdf files sometimes behave strangely when printed, maybe depending on printer properties.

Thanks, Peter. I'd really appreciate that!
Attaching a jpeg

 

[The Hat]

Attaching a jpeg

OK I tried printing the JPEG on my Maxify, i9950, and Brother laser.

The top one is the Maxify standard quality.

The second is the i9950 again in standard mode.

The Third is the Brother Laser but at 300 DPI..

All same size just hit print..

 

[PeterBJ]

I downloaded the attached image and printed it. The printed image is approximately 3/4" x 3/4" or 20mm x 20mm. Is this correct?

I have printed the Ginkgo-test image on a HP DJ930 and a Canon MP980 inkjet printers and a HP LJ1018 laser printer. All printers used 600 dpi resolution, but the images are different. Here are 600 dpi scans made using the CCD scanner in the Canon MP980.

Even if the 3 printers printed the same file the result is different. The printers seem to process the image file differently.

 

[smeelah]

OK I tried printing the JPEG on my Maxify, i9950, and Brother laser.

The top one is the Maxify standard quality.

The second is the i9950 again in standard mode.

The Third is the Brother Laser but at 300 DPI..

All same size just hit print..

Thank you for that!
Too bad I can't use inkjet prints because they are great.

 

[smeelah]

I downloaded the attached image and printed it. The printed image is approximately 3/4" x 3/4" or 20mm x 20mm. Is this correct?

I have printed the Gingko-test image on a HP DJ930 and a Canon MP980 inkjet printers and a HP LJ1018 laser printer. All printers used 600 dpi resolution, but the images are different. Here are 600 dpi scans made using the CCD scanner in the Canon MP980.

View attachment 14215View attachment 14216View attachment 14217

Even if the 3 printers printed the same file the result is different. The printers seem to process the image file differently.

Thanks for this!
Yes, they are quite different. Seeing yours and the prints from @The Hat , what seems to be surprising is how well the 6L prints in comparison to the other laser prints. Perhaps it's not as good for text - I don't use it for text, but the images are so smooth.

Just the image itself is about 15cm tall, and I print at 94%.