What's everyone think of this printer. I was thinking of adding large format laminated prints to my bag of tricks, but I'd also like the printer t ba able to print halftone screens, which means it needs to be a Postscript printer. I saw some on eBay that said they were PS3 compliant, but I also just read an article where the author stated that the 3000 was not Postscript and would not print halftones.
I'm using a PS laser right now for printing screens, but I figure if I'm going to buy a large format inkjet, it should also be capable of printing halftones. Anyone using this printer to print halftones...WITHOUT A RIP?
You can print halftones with just about any printer using Ghostscript, or if you've got photoshop, there are workarounds. The biggest issue with any printer is getting the ink or toner dark enough to make a decent print. RIPs enable this. I use an HP 9800 and can adjust it well enough to get good film without a RIP. I also have an Epson 2200 that tended to clog, but with a RIP, made great films when it worked. If you're cranking out a lot of jobs and will be using it daily, an Epson with a RIP is a good choice. Whether or not you can get dark enough film from an Epson 3000 without a RIP is a question for someone who is doing it. Ghostscript won't increase film density - it'll just do the halftones. RIPs purpose-built for particular inkjet printers, such as those sold by US Screenprinters will.
But a RIP makes a $300 printer and $1300 printer, and that's what I don't want to do. The laser is working, so I don't desperately need a new halftone printer, just thought that if I did buy one, It would be nice if it could print halftones right from photoshop with no RIP.
Wilflex Inks has a free Photoshop action on their website that you can download that'll let you output halftones directly from photoshop to any printer, but I'm certain that it incorporates conversion of split channels to bitmap halftones, which is what I do when outputting to my HP 9800, but again, it doesn't address the issue of ink density which is critical in making usable films. Whether or not you can adjust the ink output levels necessary to make film that's dense enough to shoot screens on an Epson 3000 is another issue. Maybe someone who has one will weigh in on this.
Epson 3000, The good, bad and ugly 
