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Dyfrig · August 28th, 2009

Hi,

We are a t-shirt printing company based in North Wales. In the past we have been sending away for our film positives but are now looking to buy our own system.

I've read alot about the diferent Epson printers on these forums, but a lot of the supplies only seem to be available in the US.

Does anyone over here use an Epson printer for their film positives?

I was thinking about maybe getting an Epson 3000 off ebay, do I need RIP software for this to work and are the inks still available.

Any help much appreciated.

Thanks

Dyfrig

kustomtees · August 29th, 2009

Dyfrig,

We use a Canon iPF500 which prints to a 17" roll of film. Probably a more expensive option but we need reliability and good quality film. I suspect you will need a rip for the epson for generating halftones but there seem to be a few out there.

Mark

megaloprintiac · August 29th, 2009

Epson 3000 is what I started with, yes there are inks available - both out of date and compatable inks work a treat. Buy one set of coloured inks and leave them in and never print colour - then you only ever have to replace black - the only colour you'll need for film positives.

The printer is slow. I never used a rip, but I just adjusted my own halftone images in Photoshop - 'lpi' I think its called. This allows you to influence the dot angle and size and also allows for good registration to avoid 'moire' (optical illusion in print). What im talking about is generally considered for advanced users so wouldnt read too much into that if it sounds like double dutch.

You may get horizontal banding on these printers though, and cleaning over and over again is a common occurance. Over exposure on your film will eat up any lines that did not print on block images, likewise a slight bleed when screening the ink will also eat up that inadequacy in the original film. Its a good printer to start out with but if you have the funds get something abit more efficient.

Dyfrig · August 29th, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by megaloprintiac


	Its a good printer to start out with but if you have the funds get something abit more efficient.

Hello,

thanks for the replies.

Have looked up the canon printer in the previous post but it appears to be disccontinued. Which printer would you reccomend?

Thanks again.

Dyfrig

jsf · August 29th, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dyfrig


	Hello, thanks for the replies. Have looked up the canon printer in the previous post but it appears to be disccontinued. Which printer would you reccomend? Thanks again. Dyfrig

You have no choice but to purchase for an EPSON. Use a polyester film to print your positives...

PositiveDave · August 29th, 2009

I tested the Canon, it was fine in the centre, but if you wanted to print at the edge of the film it was blurred, the head seems to accelerate into the pass and doesn't register properly. OK in the horizontal but dire in the vertical.
If you run with the image centralised and not full width you might not see it.

[IMG]file:///C:/Users/Support/Desktop/CropMark.jpg[/IMG]

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