I am looking at these programs to turn my r1800 into a better film printer. With the rip software will I then be able to use adobe illustrators post script setting and do automatic color seperations. I was looking at fast rips and saw that they then have fastfilms which does color seperations. Do I then need both to do what I want to do. In my graphics design class we are able to automatic color seperations as long as the printer has postscript. So fast rips should handle my problems right? Anyhelp would be great. Sorry about the rambling!
FastRIP will let you output separations directly from your postscript program, such as Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, Quark, etc. FastFilms, if I'm not mistaken, is a separation program for doing Simulated Process separations similar to QuikSeps. It'll separate the art, but it won't make a non-postscript printer print halftones or any other postscript-specific features. You don't need FastFilms to output Illustrator files. I believe it's a plug-in for Photoshop. You do need a rip to output postscript to an inkjet printer if you're wanting to do halftones. Unless you're doing halftones, you really don't need a rip at all. If you're creating art in either photoshop or illustrator, if you're mindful of the final results you want as far as separations, it's doesn't take much time to build your file for easy manual separations. I will say, however, that I've used FastRIP on a 2200 that I still have, and it works well. My beef is with Epson printers.
This forum has dozens of posts describing Postscript output from your graphics programs. Search for R1800
tpitman doesn't explain his problem with EPSON printers but among ink jet printers, EPSON are the only printers where the variable size dots can be controlled by the programmer. HP and Canon inkjets use thermal heads that heat the ink to make it jet. EPSON's use a piezo head that vibrates and jets the ink without heat.
Without help from a RIP, EPSON printers can't achieve UV density greater than 1.60. With a RIP, they can translate Postscript output into the complicated shapes and increase UV ink density to 3.0 when printed at 1440dpi.
RIPs for the R1800 cost $US495 - $SU595 and FastFilms costs $US995.
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How are you measuring? Ulano Technical Product Manager - NYC
My Epson does a good job – when the thing isn't clogged. The printhead went south and the repair was $280. The the cartridge for my FastINK bulk feed crapped out. It works with a regular FastINK cartridge, but the bulk one won't feed anymore. Between the printer, the rip, the bulk ink system and replacement ink bag I'd just bought, I've invested probably $1700. When it works, it works great, but when I go to print a job and no amount of head cleanings will fix it, and I've got a job to get out, I'm in trouble. I've seen a few people on forum buy backup Epsons for just this reason.
I had recently installed a new bulk ink bag when the printer quit . . . just sort of faded away on a film output. There's a repair shop in Orlando that got a new head installed in a few days, and things were good for a little over a week, when the printer quit again. Before I called the repair shop to complain, I thought I'd pop in my Ultrachrome black cartridge to make sure it was the repair gone bad, and after a few head cleanings, it was working again. Put the bulk ink cartridge back in, and nothing. I bought a small FastInk cartridge from Scott, and the printer is working fine (or was the last time I fired it up). I have no problem per se with Scott's stuff, and they were very helpful in getting FastRIP to work on my Mac. I also understand the reason most rips are programmed for Epsons and the quality is first rate, but when you lose confidence in the printer, you start looking at alternatives. I don't use the Epson everyday, and I'm aware that that's about the only way to keep the things working well, but the consumables used up just to print anything to push ink through the printhead add up. At least with the HP 9800, a new cartridge means new nozzles, and I've got software workarounds that allow me to produce films without a rip. If it were only the FastINK bulk system that had crapped out, I'd have gladly bought another, as the convenience was worth the money. But within one week of having the print head going the FastINK cartridge goes, it was a little much. I'd have had over $400 in repairs into a used printer that cost $600 new, and be wondering what would be next? If Scott were selling a RIP for HP's I'd buy one AND another FastINK Bulk system.
Last edited by tpitman; August 21st, 2007 at 03:20 AM.
We used the bulk ink from usscreen as well. Big mess. I advise everyone to spend a little more and stick with the cartridges. It is a lot easier and they don't seem to dry up as quick if any. Of course I only used ours for about two months so it wasn't a lengthy working amount of time
I'm lost. From your description, it sounds like the FastINK system cartridge is what failed, not the EPSON. You swapped the bulk cartridge for an EPSON and FastINK black cartridge and they worked fine.
How have you lost confidence in the EPSON rather than the cartridge of the bulk system? What am I missing?
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How are you measuring? Ulano Technical Product Manager - NYC
Perhaps I was unclear as to the order of events. The printhead on the printer quit first. One week after the printhead was replaced ($280) the cartridge on the fastINK bulk feed quit. The bulk ink bag is almost full having just replaced the old one, but it won't print after innumerable head cleanings (there's ink in the bulk ink cartridge as well as the bag, but it won't draw ink through the tube). The printer WILL print with a small FastINK cartridge, but I don't want to buy another bulk ink system for fear either the printer or the bulk ink will go out. I can continue using the small FastINK cartridges in the meantime. The Epson may work fine indefintely, but if the printer quits again on me and I end up waiting a week or so for repairs, I'm screwed, and frankly, I'm not excited about putting more money into it. And while the Epson does a good job while it works, if the HP9800 goes south, I can run down to CompUSA and pick up a new one for the cost of an Epson printhead in less than an hour, and I can make that printer work.
While I'm sure most users are getting good service life out of the Epsons, and I realize ANY piece of equipment can quit on you, I'm just trying to minimize last minute surprises like the one the Epson gave me when I needed it and didn't have a backup.
I just sold a Xante laser printer that was barely used. And they do make excellent halftones. I never tried laser film, and using Casey's vellum with toner aid to darken it was good for line art and text, but I thought the positive film/inkjet system was better and yielded fewer registration problems. I guess every technology has it's warts. From what I read the thermal imagesetters are the best, but they're prohibitively expensive for a lot of us, and photographic film imagesetters are just about obsolete, as are the materials and chemistry to run them. Just finding someone to output film from an imagesetter is getting tough, since offset printing went to direct to plate. The inkjet/RIP system is probably the best overall compromise. I'm just trying to find a relatively simple setup that I can get satisfactory results from, even if it means a little more front end in the artwork stage to sidestep the need for a rip. I think I've found it. I did like FastRIP, though.
One other thing. It seems a lot of screenprinters buying the Epson/FastRIP combo (and probably Epsons with other RIPS) are using them to just output positive film, and thus are really only using the black ink. Epson ought to offer a printer that is black ink only, cut the price to make it more attractive to screenprinters, and offer it as an b/w imagesetter system. What they don't make selling a bunch of color ink cartridges that are being wasted anyway, they might more than make up in volume of sales for a dedicated machine.
The Xante Screewriter 4 I have is a nightmare. I have had to put three new main processor boards in the thing (they paid for them). it does only a fair job on spot colors and a good job on half tones. it does not like to print large areas of black for spot colors. And now it is having feeding problems from the manual feed tray. I have to pull the film out of the printer at least twice before it will go ahead and print.
Customer service from them STINKS.!!! The last circuit board problem I encountered took THREE DAYS for them to return my call. THEN it took a couple of days for the board to get to me and I had to install it myself!!
I just bought an Epson R1800 in self defense but don't have the moolah just yet to spring for the RIP. I have a post on this forum for suggestions for a Rip and so far have had two replies. First one recommended Scott's F. RIP then somebody recommended a RIP from Screener's Choice about $100.00 cheaper. I don't know yet what I will decide.
I would reccommend to anyone to stay away from Xante. It's a $2000.00 BOAT ANCHOR. I would not be so harsh on them if they had deacent Customer Service BUT they DON't give a S--- about you once they've sold you the goods.
I have a color separator friend in Canada who I bought a Violux 5002S from who also had a similar expierence with them. He and I have compared notes on our expierences several times over the past two years.
I hear that on the XANTE that's why I don't use one. Meantime I don't have any of that fancy stuff so how I get the results I get must be divine intervention or 28 years of experience.
As far as RIPs go, I was pleased with FastRIP, and Scott Fresner's tech support to me when I switched from a PeeCee to a Mac was very good. The tech stayed on top of the little bit of a problem I had to get me running as quickly as possible, and I still had the PC version to fall back on until I got the Mac one working. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another from him if I ever buy another Epson that his rip supports.
RIPS and Fast Films 
Re: RIPS and Fast Films 
