Drop Shadows to an object not printing correctly-Corel Draw 2024 Windows 10

Question

I have searched considerably on various forums etc for a solution to this issue but have had no success yet. Would seem so far that it could be an issue with cheaper laser printers.

The printer I have is a Brother MFC L3745. (CMKY toner cartridges).

When I print, the drop shadow prints as bands of red, blue and grey blended together and not as a feathered or blend of "true" grey scale. It makes no difference if I print using RGB. Either way is the same. There is also a pink colored object in the file that won't print at all!

Has anyone else experienced this and found a solution?

Answer 1

If it is a printer that you are continuously using I would suggest you know it by preparing test files.

I am assuming the drop shadow is a shadow over a white background.

Prepare some patches of let's say 10x5cm.

1. A gradient from white to black RGB colors.
2. A copy of this patch now rasterized in RGB.
3. A copy from this rasterized RGB patch converted to CMYK.
4. A copy of the RGB rasterized, now converted to grayscale only.
5. A gradient of white to black using only K channels.
6. A rasterized copy of this K gradient converted to CMYK.

Now you have something specific to analyze and choose a solution.

Adapt this information to the parameters of the shadow, for example, the color, color mode and the blending mode used.

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For a specific solution, you need to calibrate your printer using a colorimeter or something.

There was a time when Xrite products were more or less clear on what they do. But now they have too many products that are hard to know, so contact a provider.

https://www.xrite.com/categories/calibration-profiling

Additionally, see if your printer has the capability to differentiate RGB from CMYK files.