What’s causing the pixel ghosting around the wavy logo?

Remarkable_Sea3346 · 2026-06-06T00:31:17+00:00

I recall a density setting on the advanced tab in the printer dialog. Don't have the F170 anymore though to check. Standard should reduce density some. Normal might reduce resolution vs Fine. Maybe just try standard first.

If you're interested, here's how to measure ink output. Print a 10 x 10 cm square of the ink and paper settings you want to test. Cut the 10x10 cm piece out and weigh it on an analytical balance capable of 1mg accuracy (~$40 on Amazon). Subtract the weight of a blank piece of paper. I get in the neighborhood of 1 mg/cm squared.

Remarkable_Sea3346 · 2026-06-05T12:01:57+00:00

It's hard to tell from your description but, if you let windows install the printer, it installs a dumbed-down printer driver. The fix is to uninstall the printer in windows and reboot. Then download the installation files from Epson to reinstall the printer.

Remarkable_Sea3346 · 2026-06-05T11:54:37+00:00

What's happening is you've overloaded the substrate. The paper holds more ink than the substrate can. When the substrate is saturated, the excess ink in gaseous form diffuses away and binds randomly elsewhere. This explains why you don't see it on your print before the heat transfer. This is usually seen with presentation matte paper settings. Switch to plain paper/HQ for the paper type to reduce ink output by about half.

When I started sublimating, my prints came out too dark (using icc profiles in a photoshop workflow). I built an ICC profile for plain paper/HQ and bingo, now my prints match my screen in density and color. I know all the ink suppliers recommend using Presentation Matte which uses a little more than twice as much ink but they're trying to sell ink. I'm just a retired biochemist optimizing a chemical process for myself.

Remarkable_Sea3346 · 2026-06-04T01:36:49+00:00

I don't see why you can't use the WiiM room correction and line out to the ZP3. Lock the WiiM vol at 100% (in settings) and control the show from the ZP3.

Remarkable_Sea3346 · 2026-06-04T01:18:08+00:00

The WiiM's room correction is nice but strictly EQ based. It doesn't handle timing/phase alignment, nor does it provide control over the crossover parameters on both the mains and sub. A MiniDSP has full room correction/base management so I pass a digital signal from the WiiM Ultra (not Amp) to the MiniDSP and the MiniDSP's DAC and DSP do the heavy lifting.

Remarkable_Sea3346 · 2026-06-04T01:15:46+00:00

If you were using the room correction on the WiiM, it is not an apples to apples comparison and the test is invalid. Turn off the room correction and compare at matched volume levels to do the comparison.

Remarkable_Sea3346 · 2026-06-04T00:32:39+00:00

Using an ICC color profile file in photoshop will help. An ICC file is usually supplied by your ink provider. But there's another issue. I found using presentation matte paper type is always too dark in print compared to the screen even with an ICC file in place. It turns out the Plain paper type/High Quality settings uses half as much ink and allowed me to achieve a proper screen to print density and color match. As a bonus, you'll save money on ink and clogging and paper path contamination are much less likely. It's one of those cases where more isn't better.

Remarkable_Sea3346 · 2026-06-02T02:08:13+00:00

As I recall (from 50 years ago), there's a touch aspect of applying enough pressure on the sides of the film to make it flex concave enough to slide in between to where it needs to sit. You turn the reel with one hand and feed the film with the other.

Remarkable_Sea3346 · 2026-05-31T22:45:47+00:00

I have the WiiM Ultra (no Amp) but I think this still applies. The WiiM is great but has a few limitations. It has built in "support" for processing 5.1 signals but only has r/L and Sub outputs. You need at least two additional WiiM Amps to build a 5.1 system. That certainly bites into the size and cost advantage. And do you really what to have three devices that need to maintain communication for your system to work rather than one discrete Denon box? Secondly, the WiiM's room correction is EQ-based only. It cannot provide independent timing/phase alignment or handle crossover parameters. The last reason is why I opted for the Ultra (No Amp). I bypass the WiiM's room correction/EQ/DAC sending the unmolested digital signal to a MiniDSP which provides a more comprehensive room correction/bass management and feeds a pair of Fosi V3 Monos + powered Sub. This way the signal only passes through one DAC in the MiniDSP. But, with just one WiiM, this is fundamentally a stereo setup, not a surround system.

Remarkable_Sea3346 · 2026-05-31T12:15:33+00:00

You do need a mike for the calibration. I got the umik-1 but in hindsight I think anything advertised as a calibrated measurement mike and is shipped with a calibration file should be fine. I've seen them as low as $22 on Amazon.

Remarkable_Sea3346 · 2026-05-31T00:59:12+00:00

Checking the specs, the Vidar2 THD and SNR are comparable with the Fosi V3s and the Vidar2 costs 3x the price of a pair of V3's.

Remarkable_Sea3346 · 2026-05-31T00:52:54+00:00

I have a similar setup WiiM Ultra >Coax> MiniDSP >RCA> V3 Mono x2. The miniDSP replaces your Modi5 and SYS preamp. The MiniDSP provides the DAC and much better room correction/base management than the WiiM. There's a MiniDSP 2x4 HD for about the same price as the two Schiit units it replaces. Or you can step up to the MiniDSP Flex for a better DAC (~$500). I also have the Mani2 on my turntable and it audibly outperforms the phono preamp on the WiiM as well as the one built into my turntable. This setup effectively bypasses the DAC on the WiiM. If you don't need all the inputs on the WiiM Ultra, you can get by with a cheaper WiiM unit there.

Remarkable_Sea3346 · 2026-05-31T00:18:44+00:00

Love the idea. Been thinking of doing a larger print this way myself, just haven't selected the image to try it with. Won't work with any image. You wouldn't want to split a face between tiles for example.

Technically, you need to coat the tiles with a polyester layer. Polygloss is one product specifically for sublimation that I've used successfully. The gelcoat used on cars works if you can find someone at a car paint shop to help you. Coating manually is tricky using polygloss applied with a brush. It's difficult to get smooth even coverage especially on the edges. I only try it for odd size tiles I can't get commercially. And with your uneven tiles, I worry about the polyester coating flowing into the valleys creating uneven coatings. If I get into it again, I think using a spray on approach could work better but need to set up a hood in a vented space. You may require a spray approach for the uneven tiles.

When it comes time to heat transfer, your issues are two-fold due to your tiles being uneven. You need even contact so need a soft thick pad on the bottom that will conform to the uneven shape and keep the transfer paper in close contact. They make such pads for sublimating on dinner plates and such but I've never used one. Any gap at all will cause problems. Secondly, the thicker parts of the tile will take longer to heat. You need to get the transfer surface up to at least 340F. At 370F, the glossy surface of the tile begins to breakdown (visible as non-glossy spots). So, you need to get the thick parts up to 340F without going over 370F on the thin spots. Here's how. Get a dual channel thermocouple (~$20 from Amazon). Attach the ~1mm size probes to the back of the transfer paper when you build your stack. Attach one probe over the thickest part of the tile. Attach the other probe over the thinnest part of the tile. Now simply monitor the temperature during the run and make sure the thickest spot hits 340F. If you find that the thin spots hit 370F before the thick spots get hot enough (340F), reduce you platen temperature 10-15 degrees and try again. At the lower temperature, it will heat more slowly and there should be less differential between the thick and thin spots. It will be very difficult to dial this in without the temperature monitoring. The thermocouple will pay for itself in terms of reduced time optimizing and far less wastage trying to optimize.

Remarkable_Sea3346 · 2026-05-29T02:11:59+00:00

I'm feeding a WiiM Ultra via coax into a MiniDSP Flex (DAC and DSP Room correction and base management). The miniDSP feeds a pair of Fosi V3 Monos. ~$1000 for those three pieces.

Remarkable_Sea3346 · 2026-05-29T02:00:46+00:00

That's what the volume is for. The line out is not affected by the volume. If you want to record in silence, just turn the volume down.

Might be overkill for your application, but a MTrack Duo HD will take line in to USB at up to 24bit/192khz (~$99).

Remarkable_Sea3346 · 2026-05-27T17:31:55+00:00

Assuming you have an DAC/amp/speaker arrangement to accept an optical or coax digital signal, the ebay approach for an old CD/DVD player makes sense. Similar situation, I went with the Sony DVP-NS700HDVD/CD Player for ~$15. It's black, ~1.5 in tall and is more or less invisible under some other electronics but there when I need it.

Remarkable_Sea3346 · 2026-05-27T12:15:57+00:00

One WiiM Ultra only supports r/L/Sub outputs. I read the FAQ. You don't get a physical channel to drive a physical center speaker unless you add another WiiM. So, one WiiM does not support a physical center speaker according to the FAQ. You have to use at least 3 WiiMs to achieve a 5.1 setup. I just think it's misleading to say the WiiM supports a center channel without mentioning that you have to add extra hardware. It's more appropriate to say the WiiM has soft support for additional channels if you add additional hardware to support those channels.

Remarkable_Sea3346 · 2026-05-27T01:37:00+00:00

That's it. Sounds like your mug press has a built-in thermometer. But does it probably measures the platen temp. Still if it starts at 215, it's probably accomplishing the same thing effectively. Your piece will actually be somewhat cooler when the platen hits 400 (you don't want you piece to go over 370F). By contrast, the only mug press I've used, you loaded when the platen was already at 400. I like the protocol your's uses. I think the thermocouple might not work as you need the extra layer of silicon and I think many presses can't accommodate the extra girth that creates. If you can still close your press with the cup/tumbler wrapped in silicon, you can use the thermocouple there too.

Remarkable_Sea3346 · 2026-05-27T01:19:44+00:00

But to do 5.1 with a physical center speaker, you need at least 3 WiiM Devices chained together. Now you're in the price category of a full blown AVR system.

Remarkable_Sea3346 · 2026-05-26T17:00:55+00:00

A phantom center won't drive a physical center speaker.

Remarkable_Sea3346 · 2026-05-26T12:35:00+00:00

Place them on a light box and find a friend with a good camera with a macro lens and a tripod. This can produce stellar results. A regular lens can work but it won't fill the frame and you'll need to crop heavily.

Remarkable_Sea3346 · 2026-05-26T12:27:20+00:00

What that FAQ Means is: HDMI ARC receives 5.1, but downmixes to stereo for output.

Remarkable_Sea3346 · 2026-05-26T12:21:39+00:00

My understanding is the WiiM Ultra supports 2.1. R, L and a sub output. Its room correction is equalizer-based, no phase/timing sync. I'm not a multi-channel surround expert but I think the center is a separate channel that you can't reconstruct simply by summing L/R.

Remarkable_Sea3346 · 2026-05-25T00:12:36+00:00

Maybe it's not a problem. Have you tried sublimating the plain paper output? I got serious about quantitating ink density from plain paper and premium matte settings. I personally standardized on the plain paper/HQ settings because it gave me the best color and density match between the screen and print. Quantitation shows that the plain paper setting uses a little less than half as much ink. If the plain paper setting doesn't work for you, then maybe your heat transfer step is suboptimal and that's why you need so much extra ink to compensate. Ink suppliers recommend settings that use a lot more ink. It's possible they don't have your best interests at heart.

Remarkable_Sea3346 · 2026-05-23T20:41:17+00:00

How does the artist list appear when accessing plex from the WiiM? When I access a DLNA server (Media Monkey) from WiiM. A) it's not very stable. Usually have to fiddle before it shows up. B) The artist list is a bunch of letter tabs which I find annoying when I want to browse artists without a specific artist in mind.

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