[SeaBear]

I've been using an Epson 2200 with generic printer driver for my films for years...I've tweaked the settings so the opacity is good enough and mostly it works fine, but it is slow, I occasionally get banding, and it uses up all of the cartridges even though the printer has never printed anything but black. On top of that the printer is old enough that its getting to the point where I have to order cartridges, I can't just go buy them at Staples anymore. Also I have occasional banding issues.

When I need halftones I print them out to a PS file and use GhostRIP. That works fine too but is a hassle.

So here's my question. What's the next step up? It seems like everybody is using inkjets, but it seems like there must be something better that isn't wildly expensive. Any other solutions that work for people that are easier/cheaper.

Also I got an email from RhinoTech the other day about some material they have that you print through a laser and then heat press and it makes a stencil that can be applied directly to the screen...no more emulsion. Has anyone seen or tried it...does it work? Is it worthwhile?

 

[alan802]

Unfortunately, the next option above inkjet and waterproof film is really pricey, there isn't really anything in between. The "imagesetter" type film is as good as it gets as far as using a film to generate your stencil but a new thermal imaging machine will set you back about 10K. CTS is the best option and probably the fastest, but we're talking at least 25-30K up to 60K for one of those units along with some consumable costs.

 

[PositiveDave]

Have a look at the latest Epsons, quicker, more accurate and larger cartridges. It isn't the only game in town, but overall it's hard to beat.

 

[SeaBear]

Have a look at the latest Epsons, quicker, more accurate and larger cartridges. It isn't the only game in town, but overall it's hard to beat.

Do they still use up all of the cartridges, even if you're only printing black? It really galls me to buy $105 worth of cartridges every few months to replace ones that I have never once printed from. I used to use a chip resetter to fool the printer into thinking that they were full, but someone told me that running the print head with dry cartridges would ruin it entirely.

 

[PositiveDave]

If you are using a Windows print driver, your 'black' will be composed of CMYK (black will actually be a small proportion), if you use a RIP, you will print only black ink, the colours will gradually be used up when you clean.
If you run the head dry it runs the risk of overheating - not good!

 

[LivingThread]

You should buy a Continuous Ink System. Well worth the money and prints out nice and dark. The dye based CIS for my R1800 on ebay was like $50. That includes ink of 100ml each color....ink refills for all 8 is like $25 bucks. Im sure they make one for the 2200. just make sure its dye based ink not pigment.


Dont forget, you will always use up a little of each color when you turn it on and turn it off. And when you need to do some head cleaning or whatever.

 

[ChameleonPrints]

I recently had to replace my printer, so what I did was buy the Epson 1400 and then I bought empty refill cartridges for $33 and a pint of black ink for $30 from inksupply. I just put black in all the refill cartridges as I am thinking of using Accurip in the future, and I didn't want to pay for colors I wouldn't use. I had a Continuous Ink System with one of my old 1280's, but it never really worked right... constantly lost vaccum so I will only go the refillable cartridge route now.

If you go the epson route, definitely look at other ways of getting ink. Buying epson cartridges is far too expensive.