Water Hardness in Reactive Digital Pretreatment: How Calcium and Magnesium Affect Thickener Stability and Print Quality

Water hardness is a hidden formulation variable in reactive digital textile pretreatment because calcium and magnesium enter the pretreatment bath before the fabric ever reaches the printer. These divalent ions can change the hydration, viscosity, association, filtration and washability of some anionic thickeners, while also adding ionic load to the alkali, urea and auxiliary system. The result may appear as viscosity drift, gel particles, uneven fabric pick-up, bleeding, lower color yield, difficult wash-off or batch-to-batch inconsistency. The correct control strategy is not one universal hardness limit, but a defined plant-water specification that separates total hardness, calcium, magnesium, conductivity and pH, then verifies the complete pretreatment on the actual fabric.

How Does Water Hardness Affect Reactive Digital Pretreatment?

Water hardness mainly reflects dissolved calcium and magnesium ions.

In reactive digital pretreatment, those ions become part of the formulation used to prepare and apply:

• Migration-control polymer or thickener
• Alcalin
• Urea or another moisture-management component
• Autres auxiliaires

Depending on the polymer chemistry, calcium and magnesium can change hydration rate, viscosity, polymer association, gel / floc formation, filtration and holding stability.

Those changes can then affect:

Pretreatment Uniformity → Fabric Pick-Up → Ink Spreading / Penetration → Steaming / Fixation → Wash-Off → Finished Print Quality

The practical rule is:

Water Is Part of the Pretreatment Formula.

It should be controlled with the same discipline as thickener, alkali and other process chemicals.

What Is Water Hardness?

Water hardness is primarily caused by dissolved calcium and magnesium.

It is commonly reported as mg/L as CaCO₃ or an equivalent ppm-as-CaCO₃ basis.

That number is useful because it combines the hardness contribution of different ions into one common reporting basis.

But one total-hardness number does not tell the mill everything.

For textile pretreatment, also consider calcium concentration, magnesium concentration, conductivity, pH and other dissolved ions where relevant.

Two plant waters can show the same total hardness but behave differently with a pretreatment polymer if their ion composition differs.

Water Hardness vs. Conductivity: Why They Are Not the Same

Parameter	Main Meaning	Why It Matters in Pretreatment
Total hardness	Mainly Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺ expressed as CaCO₃ equivalent	Indicates divalent-ion load
Conductivity	Overall ability of dissolved ions to carry electrical current	Indicates broader ionic / dissolved-salt load
pH	Acidic / alkaline condition	Affects polymer hydration and alkali chemistry
Ca²⁺ / Mg²⁺ separately	Specific ion composition	Helps diagnose polymer-specific interactions

A softened water can have lower calcium and magnesium hardness while still containing significant dissolved sodium salts.

Likewise, a water source can have moderate conductivity but a calcium level that is troublesome for a calcium-sensitive polymer.

Therefore:

Low Hardness ≠ Automatically Low Conductivity

and:

Low Conductivity ≠ Complete Proof of Low Calcium / Magnesium.

Calcium vs. Magnesium: Why the Difference Matters

Both calcium and magnesium are divalent cations, but they should not be treated as chemically identical.

Calcium is a well-established crosslinking ion for alginate. It can coordinate with alginate carboxylate groups and create interchain junctions.

Depending on concentration and distribution, this can produce higher apparent viscosity, more elasticity, gel particles or continuous gel networks.

Magnesium can also interact with anionic polymers, but its alginate-crosslinking behavior is generally weaker and kinetically different from calcium.

For CMC, both calcium and magnesium can alter the effective charge environment and chain interactions relative to sodium counterions.

This leads to an important production conclusion:

Total Hardness Alone May Not Explain a Water-Quality Change.

If the plant sees unexplained drift, separate Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺ where possible.

Why Reactive Digital Pretreatment Is Sensitive to Water Quality

Reactive digital pretreatment is typically applied at relatively low viscosity compared with conventional screen-printing paste.

That makes uniform application important.

Water-quality changes can influence pretreatment viscosity, bath homogeneity, filtration, pick-up and surface-film formation.

In reactive inkjet printing, small pretreatment differences can become visible as bleeding, line-width variation, uneven color or different penetration because the printer deposits precise droplets onto the treated surface.

This makes water consistency especially important when the mill expects repeatable digital image quality.

Thickener Chemistry Determines Hard-Water Sensitivity

Polymer Route	Hard-Water Concern	Key Test
Alginate de sodium	Strong Ca²⁺ association / gelation risk	Gel, viscosity, filtration, wash-off
CMC	Divalent-ion effects on charge, hydration and rheology	Hydration, viscosity, holding, residue
Nonionic cellulose ether	No carboxylate crosslinking mechanism, but salts can still change solution / phase behavior	Viscosity, clarity, holding
Synthetic / compound system	Grade-specific electrolyte sensitivity	Complete pretreatment stability

The table is a technical screening guide, not a universal ranking.

The correct question is:

How Does This Specific Commercial Pretreatment Grade Behave in This Plant Water?

Sodium Alginate and Calcium / Magnesium

Sodium alginate contains anionic carboxylate groups.

Calcium can connect neighboring alginate chains through ionic junctions.

This mechanism is useful in intentionally crosslinked alginate materials, but uncontrolled calcium is usually undesirable in a pretreatment that must remain homogeneous, filterable, easy to apply and easy to wash away after fixation.

Calcium interaction can progress through different stages:

Trace Association → Viscosity / Elasticity Change → Gel Particles → Stronger Gel / Precipitated Material

This is why calcium contamination does not necessarily begin with a viscosity decrease.

An unexpected viscosity increase or more elastic bath can also be a warning sign.

For a deeper alginate-specific discussion, review Water Hardness and Calcium in Sodium Alginate Printing Paste.

CMC and Divalent-Ion Effects

CMC is also an anionic polymer because its carboxymethyl groups carry negative charge under common aqueous conditions.

Dissolved ions can change electrostatic repulsion, chain expansion, hydration, association and measured viscosity.

Divalent counterions such as Mg²⁺ or Ca²⁺ can change CMC effective charge and interchain behavior more strongly than monovalent sodium ions.

But the direction of the measured viscosity change is not always universal.

Depending on CMC degree of substitution, molecular weight, concentration, ion concentration and pH, the system may show lower viscosity, slower hydration, increased association or other rheological changes.

For CMC-specific troubleshooting, see How Water Hardness Affects CMC Hydration and Viscosity.

Nonionic Cellulose Ethers: Different, Not Immune

Nonionic cellulose ethers do not have the same carboxylate-based calcium-crosslinking mechanism as alginate or CMC.

This can make their hard-water response fundamentally different.

However, “nonionic” should not be interpreted as “unaffected by salts.”

Added salts can still change polymer–water interaction, phase behavior, viscosity or associative interactions in modified grades.

Therefore, if a reactive pretreatment uses a nonionic cellulose ether or a compound system, confirm actual performance in plant water rather than assuming immunity.

Synthetic / Compound Pretreatment Systems

Modern reactive digital pretreatment can use natural polymers, cellulose ethers, synthetic polymers or compound systems.

Electrolyte tolerance in these systems is grade-specific.

The pretreatment should therefore be tested as a complete commercial product.

Do not infer its Ca/Mg tolerance from the name of one raw material unless the supplier confirms the composition and test conditions.

For FSX digital pretreatment selection, review Digital Textile Printing Pretreatment.

Hard Water and Thickener Hydration

Powder and polymeric thickeners need a controlled hydration process.

Hard water can alter this process by changing the ionic environment before the polymer has fully developed its structure.

Possible symptoms include slow viscosity build, persistent fish-eyes or lumps, different clarity or delayed final viscosity.

If a mill changes water source and sees slower thickener development, first compare hydration time under actual plant water and softened or controlled reference water.

Do not measure both samples at the same clock time unless both are demonstrably fully hydrated.

Incomplete hydration can look like a product-quality failure.

Hard Water and Pretreatment Viscosity

Water hardness can change pretreatment viscosity through several mechanisms.

Electrostatic Screening

Dissolved ions can reduce repulsion between charged polymer segments.

Divalent-Ion Association

Calcium or magnesium can interact more strongly than monovalent ions with selected anionic polymers.

Crosslinking / Bridging

Some polymers, especially alginate, can form interchain ionic junctions with calcium.

Hydration Change

The final reading can shift if the polymer does not hydrate in the same way.

Therefore:

Hard Water Does Not Always Mean “Lower Viscosity.”

The relevant issue is whether the viscosity and rheology remain inside the pretreatment application window.

Gel, Floc and Filtration Problems

Digital pretreatment must normally pass through preparation filters and application equipment such as padding, coating or spray systems.

Small gel particles can therefore become a production problem even if average viscosity looks acceptable.

Hard-water interaction can produce soft gels, floc, haze, filter residue or unstable viscosity readings.

Use a standardized filtration check when comparing water sources.

Record filter / mesh, sample mass, filtration time and residue appearance.

A clean viscosity reading does not prove the bath is free from hard-water compatibility problems.

Holding-Time Stability

Hard-water effects may be immediate or delayed.

A pretreatment can look normal after preparation but drift after one hour, several hours or overnight storage where permitted.

Check fresh viscosity, held viscosity, pH, appearance, gel / sediment and filtration using the actual production holding period.

A hard-water-tolerant pretreatment should remain usable over the whole preparation-to-application timeline.

Fabric Wet Pick-Up and Add-On Uniformity

Pretreatment viscosity affects how the liquor behaves in padding, coating or other application routes.

If hard water changes bath rheology, it can indirectly change wet pick-up, across-width uniformity, surface-film distribution and dry chemical add-on.

Therefore, when comparing water sources, do not stop at the beaker.

Measure:

Pretreatment Viscosity → Fabric Pick-Up → Dry Add-On → Print Result

This connects water quality to the actual textile process.

Ink Spreading and Bleeding

The migration-control polymer helps restrict uncontrolled reactive ink spreading.

If hard water changes polymer hydration or surface-film uniformity, the printed droplet can behave differently.

Possible symptoms include wider lines, feathering, color-to-color bleeding and uneven fine details.

Hard water can therefore create a defect that looks like “pretreatment dosage too low.”

Before increasing dosage, compare the same formulation in controlled reference water.

Ink Penetration and Surface Color Yield

Pretreatment rheology and film formation help determine how deeply the ink penetrates the textile.

Too much penetration can reduce apparent face-side color because more dye is distributed deeper into the fabric structure.

If hardness changes the pretreatment layer, the mill may see lower surface K/S, more reverse-side color or different solid-area appearance.

Compare both face and back rather than assuming a lower K/S result comes from the ink alone.

Reactive Dye Fixation

Water hardness can influence fixation indirectly through the pretreatment.

Reactive printing requires a controlled combination of alkali, moisture, heat and dye accessibility.

If hard water changes the distribution of polymer, alkali or moisture-management components, fixation can become less uniform.

Hard water can also affect reactive dye behavior more directly; textile dyeing studies have reported dye aggregation, precipitation, color specks and loss of color depth under hard-water conditions.

For digital pretreatment, the practical test is the complete sequence:

Pretreat → Dry → Print → Steam → Wash → Measure Post-Wash Color / Fastness.

Wash-Off and Fabric Hand

Reactive printing requires washing after fixation to remove hydrolyzed dye, unfixed dye, residual alkali and water-soluble pretreatment components.

Hardness can complicate wash-off when it creates poorly soluble polymer–ion structures.

This is especially important for calcium-sensitive polymers such as alginate.

Possible symptoms include residual film, harsh hand, white or translucent residue and higher washing demand.

Evaluate hand after the complete wash-off route.

Do not judge washability only from pretreatment viscosity.

Should Mills Use a Universal Hardness Limit?

General water-quality references classify hardness using mg/L as CaCO₃.

For example, common classifications describe soft, moderately hard, hard and very hard water.

But those classifications are not textile-pretreatment specifications.

A reactive digital mill should not assume:

“Below X ppm is always safe.”

The practical tolerance depends on polymer chemistry, pretreatment concentration, calcium / magnesium ratio, conductivity, alkali and auxiliaries, fabric and application route.

Build the plant specification from successful production data.

The Fastest Diagnostic: Plant Water vs. Reference Water

When a pretreatment suddenly shows viscosity or printing drift, run a two-water comparison.

Sample A — Plant Water

Prepare the complete pretreatment using the actual current plant water.

Sample B — Reference Water

Prepare the identical pretreatment using softened, RO, DI or another validated reference water.

Keep ingredient lots, dosage, mixing, temperature, holding time and viscosity method constant.

Compare hydration, viscosity, pH, gel / residue, filtration, fabric pick-up and print quality.

If the difference follows the water source, water quality becomes a high-priority root cause.

Separate Calcium and Magnesium Challenges

If total hardness alone does not explain the result, test Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺ separately.

A controlled laboratory design can compare reference water, calcium-dominant challenge, magnesium-dominant challenge and a representative mixed-hardness challenge.

Keep the test design relevant to the real plant range.

Do not compare equal weight percentages of CaCl₂ and MgCl₂ and assume they represent equivalent ionic exposure.

For rigorous comparison, concentration basis and ion content must be defined.

Build a Hardness / Ion-Concentration Ladder

A useful stress test includes several hardness or ion levels rather than one pass/fail point.

For each point, record total hardness, Ca²⁺ level, Mg²⁺ level, conductivity, pH, pretreatment viscosity and gel / filtration result.

Plot:

Hardness / Ca / Mg Level → Pretreatment Stability

The curve may reveal a broad stable region, gradual viscosity drift or a sharp gelation / instability threshold.

Use this as an internal method, not as a universal industry limit.

Test the Complete Reactive Pretreatment

Do not qualify hard-water tolerance using thickener in water alone.

The real pretreatment can contain thickener / migration-control polymer, alkali, urea, salts, wetting agents or other auxiliaries.

Those ingredients can change ionic strength, pH, polymer association and water-binding behavior.

Final water-quality approval should therefore be based on the full pretreatment formulation.

Apply the Pretreatment to the Actual Fabric

Water-quality effects become commercially relevant only when they alter the fabric or print.

Use the actual production fabric and measure wet pick-up, dry add-on, surface uniformity, bleeding / edge definition, penetration, post-wash K/S, fastness and hand.

A water source that changes beaker viscosity slightly but leaves the entire production result stable may still be acceptable.

A water source that produces only modest viscosity change but causes gel residue or uneven printing should not be accepted.

Connect Water Quality to Drying and Steaming

Water-quality problems can carry downstream.

If hardness changes pretreatment pick-up, surface-film distribution or water retention, it may also change dryer response, residual moisture, steaming behavior and wash-off.

When a new water source is introduced, recheck the complete digital process rather than only the preparation tank.

Water Softening, RO / DI and Chelation

Several water-management approaches can be used, but they solve different problems.

Ion-Exchange Softening

Reduces calcium and magnesium hardness by replacing those ions with other counterions, commonly sodium.

This can reduce divalent-ion problems while leaving a significant overall dissolved-ion load.

RO / DI or Low-Ion Reference Water

Reduces a broader range of dissolved ions and is useful for laboratory reference testing or where production economics justify it.

Chelating / Sequestering Agents

Can bind selected metal ions, but they also become part of the formulation and should be checked for compatibility with pretreatment polymer, reactive ink, alkali and fixation.

Do not add a chelant merely to “fix hardness” without a controlled print trial.

Seasonal and Factory-to-Factory Water Variation

Water quality can vary because of municipal supply changes, groundwater blending, seasonal source changes, softener regeneration performance, RO membrane condition or different factory locations.

This can explain why the same pretreatment works in one factory but not another, viscosity changes seasonally, or bleeding appears without any formula change.

For multi-site customers, include water data in the technical transfer package.

Build a Water-Quality QC Specification

Parameter	Routine Use
Total hardness	Primary Ca/Mg control
Calcium	Important for alginate / anionic systems
Magnesium	Helps explain hardness composition
Conductivity	Tracks overall ionic load / treatment drift
pH	Supports formulation consistency
Water source / treatment status	Traceability

Set the acceptance range from successful production history, laboratory stress testing, water-treatment capability and pretreatment grade sensitivity.

Do not adopt a hardness threshold from a drinking-water classification and treat it as a textile specification.

Recommended Laboratory Workflow

1. Collect current plant-water data: hardness, Ca, Mg, conductivity and pH.
2. Prepare the approved pretreatment with plant water.
3. Prepare the same pretreatment with validated reference water.
4. Standardize mixing, temperature and holding time.
5. Compare hydration, viscosity, appearance and filtration.
6. If needed, build separate Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺ challenge points.
7. Apply each pretreatment to the same fabric at controlled pick-up.
8. Dry under identical conditions.
9. Print the same diagnostic design and ink load.
10. Steam and wash identically.
11. Compare bleeding, penetration, post-wash color, fastness and hand.
12. Define the water-quality window from the complete result.

For grade matching and side-by-side trials, use Échantillons et correspondances.

Production Trial Approval

After laboratory screening, run a controlled production trial with the selected water-quality condition.

Record water source, total hardness, Ca²⁺ / Mg²⁺ where available, conductivity, pH, pretreatment grade / batch, pretreatment viscosity method, holding time, filtration result, fabric wet pick-up, dry add-on, drying conditions, reactive ink / print mode, steaming conditions, washing route, post-wash K/S / shade, bleeding / penetration and fastness / hand.

Approve the water source together with the pretreatment process, not as an isolated utility specification.

Common Water-Hardness Troubleshooting Mistakes

1. Treating Hardness and Conductivity as the Same Parameter

Hardness mainly tracks Ca/Mg; conductivity tracks the broader dissolved-ion load.

2. Assuming Hard Water Always Lowers Viscosity

Selected anionic polymers can show increased association or gelation before severe instability appears.

3. Treating Calcium and Magnesium as Identical

They are both divalent but can interact differently with alginate, CMC and other polymers.

4. Testing Thickener in Water but Not the Complete Pretreatment

Alkali, urea and auxiliaries change the ionic and hydration environment.

5. Blaming the Thickener Batch Before Comparing Water Sources

Plant-water variation can create the same symptoms as a material change.

6. Using One Universal ppm Hardness Limit

The acceptable range depends on polymer chemistry and actual production performance.

7. Ignoring Filtration Because Viscosity Is Normal

Small gel or floc particles can still cause application defects.

8. Adding Chelant Without Print Validation

Chelants change the formulation and should be checked for ink, alkali and polymer compatibility.

Troubleshooting Table

Problème constaté	First Variables to Check	Do Not Assume
Pretreatment viscosity changes after water-source change	Total hardness, Ca, Mg, conductivity, hydration	The thickener batch is defective
Viscosity rises and gel particles appear	Calcium interaction, alginate / anionic polymer sensitivity	Higher viscosity means better pretreatment
Viscosity falls in hard water	CMC / polymer charge screening, hydration, ionic load	More thickener is the first solution
Filter residue increases but viscosity is normal	Ca/Mg interaction, gel / floc, hydration	Viscosity pass means bath stability
Bleeding increases seasonally	Water source, hardness, conductivity, drying	The printer changed
Same formula behaves differently at another factory	Plant water, treatment system, Ca/Mg ratio	The formulation transfer is complete
Post-wash hand becomes harsher	Polymer residue, calcium interaction, wash-off water	The pretreatment dosage alone caused it
Plant water fails but softened water works	Divalent-ion sensitivity	Conductivity must also have decreased proportionally

Coût total d'utilisation

Water hardness creates cost beyond the price of water treatment.

A useful model is:

Total Cost in Use = Water Treatment + Pretreatment + Filtration + Drying + Ink + Steaming + Washing + Rework + Quality Loss

Uncontrolled hardness can increase thickener correction, filter replacement, bleeding / shade rejects, wash-off demand and technical troubleshooting time.

A stable softened or controlled-water system can therefore be economically better even when the water-treatment cost is higher.

Compare cost per acceptable printed meter, not water-treatment cost alone.

What Information Should You Send to a Supplier?

For useful reactive-digital hard-water troubleshooting, provide:

• Current pretreatment product / TDS
• Migration-control polymer or thickener route if known
• Posologie en prétraitement
• Alkali and urea / moisture-management system
• Total water hardness
• Calcium level where available
• Magnesium level where available
• Conductivity
• Water pH
• Water source / treatment method
• Pretreatment viscosity and complete test method
• Holding / filtration observations
• Fabric and wet pick-up
• Drying / steaming / washing conditions
• Main problem: viscosity drift, gel, bleeding, weak color, wash-off or hand

FSX Chemical can use this information through Échantillons et correspondances to determine whether the issue is more likely water quality, pretreatment grade or process interaction.

Critique Digital Textile Printing Pretreatment for the current FSX reactive inkjet route.

For polymer-specific water-quality troubleshooting, also review CMC and Water Hardness et Sodium Alginate and Calcium Hardness.

How Should a Mill Control Water Hardness in Reactive Digital Pretreatment?

A practical control chain is:

Measure Plant Water → Separate Hardness / Conductivity / pH → Compare with Reference Water → Identify Polymer Sensitivity → Run Ca/Mg Challenges if Needed → Test Complete Pretreatment → Apply to Fabric → Print / Steam / Wash → Define Water-Quality Working Window

1. Water hardness mainly reflects calcium and magnesium, but total hardness alone does not describe the complete ionic environment.
2. Calcium and magnesium are both divalent ions but can interact differently with alginate, CMC and other pretreatment polymers.
3. Hard water can increase, decrease or destabilize thickener viscosity depending on polymer chemistry and ion level.
4. Plant-water vs. reference-water testing is one of the fastest ways to separate water problems from thickener-batch problems.
5. Final approval must use the complete pretreatment and the actual fabric, not a polymer-in-water viscosity result alone.
6. The correct specification is the water-quality window that keeps pretreatment stability, ink control, fixation and wash-off inside the required production range.

Foire aux questions

1. What causes water hardness?

Water hardness is mainly caused by dissolved calcium and magnesium ions and is commonly reported as mg/L or ppm as CaCO₃ equivalent.

2. Is hardness the same as conductivity?

No. Hardness mainly describes calcium and magnesium load, while conductivity reflects the wider concentration of dissolved ions capable of carrying electrical current.

3. Does hard water always reduce pretreatment-thickener viscosity?

No. Some systems lose viscosity, while selected anionic polymers can show increased association, elasticity or gelation at certain divalent-ion levels.

4. Why is calcium especially important for sodium alginate?

Calcium can form ionic junctions between alginate chains, changing viscosity and potentially causing gel particles or insoluble calcium-alginate-type structures.

5. Does magnesium behave the same as calcium?

No. Both are divalent, but their polymer interactions can differ. Magnesium generally shows different alginate association and should be measured separately when total hardness does not explain the result.

6. How can hard water affect CMC?

Calcium, magnesium and overall ionic strength can change CMC charge screening, hydration, association and measured rheology. The response depends on the CMC grade and formulation.

7. Are nonionic cellulose ethers unaffected by hard water?

Not completely. They avoid the same carboxylate crosslinking mechanism, but salts can still change polymer-water interaction, viscosity or phase behavior depending on the grade.

8. What is the fastest way to confirm a water-hardness problem?

Prepare the same complete pretreatment with current plant water and a validated reference water under identical conditions, then compare viscosity, filtration, fabric pick-up and print performance.

9. Should I use one universal hardness limit for reactive digital pretreatment?

No. General hardness classifications are useful for describing water, but the textile limit should be developed from the specific pretreatment polymer and successful production data.

10. Will softening solve every water-quality problem?

No. Softening targets calcium and magnesium, but overall conductivity and other dissolved ions can remain high. Verify the treated water with the actual pretreatment.

11. Can hard water affect final fabric hand?

Yes, indirectly. If Ca/Mg creates poorly washable polymer structures or changes fixation and wash-off, residual material can contribute to a harsher post-wash hand.

12. What should I send FSX Chemical for hard-water troubleshooting?

Send water hardness, calcium, magnesium, conductivity, pH, current pretreatment/TDS, viscosity method, fabric, pick-up, drying, steaming, washing and the exact stability or print defect.

Control Reactive Digital Pretreatment Starting with the Water

If the same reactive digital pretreatment behaves differently between laboratories, seasons or factories, water hardness may be one of the hidden variables. FSX Chemical can help structure a plant-water vs. reference-water comparison and match the pretreatment route to the actual production conditions.

Commencez par Échantillons et correspondances for a controlled process comparison.

Critique Digital Textile Printing Pretreatment for the current FSX reactive inkjet pretreatment route.

You can also Demander un devis directement auprès du fabricant after the suitable grade and water-quality working window are confirmed or Contacter FSX Chemical for technical discussion📧 E-mail: Service@fsxchemical.com

The most useful water specification for reactive digital pretreatment is not one generic hardness number. It is the controlled combination of total hardness, calcium, magnesium, conductivity and pH that keeps the selected pretreatment stable and delivers repeatable fabric pick-up, ink control, fixation, wash-off and finished-print quality.