Toon Shader problem

Hi all,

I am trying to get toon shader to work in both Blender Render and Cycles. However, I keep getting this result on render:


As you can see, there is still a smooth shading on the surface. I swear that in almost all the time, the shading looks correct in the material preview but is not what is intended when rendered.

I have tried the following:

1.) (Blender Render) Use toon settings on both diffuse and specular, with 0 smooth and maximum size and intensity.

2.) (Blender Render) Use Lambert settings with ramp and settings as shown in the image.

3.) (Cycles Render) Use default toon shader, with maximum size and 0 smooth

4.) (Cycles Render) Use a couple of node based setups taken from the net by other people that should have worked.

5.) I have also tried setting the light path bounces to 0 under render settings, and removing ambient occlusion.

6.) I have also tried pumping the light to very high intensity.

All of the above method lead to the same result, which is not what everyone else is getting seemingly pretty easily.

What might have I been doing wrong or have missed?

Please help. Thanks in advance.