Light jet/Chromira

[january112013]

Can anyone advise on Chromira or light jet prints? I shoot a 4x5 Velvia 100 with a 90mmSW Nikon. My desire is to get a transparency with as much detail along with my limited aesthetic skills. My current scan is a 1200MB from a Heidelberg drum. Will a Chromira or light jet give me better detail (40x50) than the best Giclee?
Regards
Jim

[bob carnie]

No- If you are using a paper like Canson Platine or Hannamuhle Fibre that has a smooth coat you will not see any difference.

Chromira and Lightjet both print at approx 300ppi as well as the Inkjet machines.

If you go to super gloss material like Fuji Flex you can still mimic this quality with super gloss inkjet material.

The main difference between the prints from inkjet and that of Lightjet, Chromira or Lambda is where the image lies.. In injet it is sprayed ink on a surface, in RA4 it is dyes within the emulsion.

This creates a visual difference that some prefer.

[Drew Wiley]

The difference in look is not minor. I can't imagine any inkjet truly resembling the effect of Supergloss. For one thing, the blacks are discontinuous in sheen. Another is that inks themselves are relatively opaque compared to dyes. The light comes more around the colorants than through them. Does this matter? Depends on your personal taste as well as the specific image. I'd look at samples before choosing. But I am a bit confused about the question itself. Are you seeking a backlit transparency as your final display object, or a big print FROM a transparency, a chrome? The term "Giclee" has ordinarily been applied to paperish surfaces which are incapable of holding as much detail as a glossy surface; and I'm not aware of any sense in which this term ever applies to a transparent final.

[RichSeiling]

Jim,

Inkjet prints appear to be sharper than chromira/lightjet/RA4 because of the dot pattern that is laid down with the inkjet process. This is noticeable at a couple inches away, but not at arms length. Either is a fine choice, and at West Coast Imaging we have clients that print on bot to that size and exhibit under the most demanding circumstances. It all comes down to what makes you or your customers happy.

Rich Seiling

[Drew Wiley]

For those of you who want to kill two stones with one road trip, West Coast Imaging is not very far from the south entrance to Yosemite.

[january112013]

Thanks, Bob,
Seeing is believing is probably the right answer. I do like the idea of depth from emulsion layers.
Jim

[january112013]

Not sure I want to get stoned at either location. I much prefer wilderness islands where there is no one else around.
Jim

[january112013]

Thanks, Rich,
My answer to Bob applies here.

[january112013]

Did not know you could still get direct print from trans.

[Drew Wiley]

You can't, not unless you're dealing with one of the very few labs in the world that still have a bit of Cibachrome left. It's either gotta be scanned, or color separated, or an interneg made first, or reversal processing undertaken (if and when someone hypothetically pins that down with any degree of precision). Only the first option is now routine. Scan. .... I don't know anyone seriously fooling with internegs other than me, and my own results are pretty unpredictable at the moment.
It's a backburner project that I return to from time to time, not a priority.