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zenny
3-Jun-2012, 06:08
Hi:

Read http://www.dpug.org/forums/f8/best-digital-negative-workflow-epson-7600-a-1033/ that Epson 7600 produces Venetian blinds (lines of uneven density) in digital negatives.

Appreciate if anyone having an experience with this specific printer (Epson 7600) could share his/her workflow to create digital negatives! It would be nice to learn about both pros and cons of the workflow used (like PDN or QTR or others) as well as the a concern expressed above.

Thanks!

/zenny

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vinny
3-Jun-2012, 07:00
Start by searching "digital negatives", there have been recent threads on it.

zenny
3-Jun-2012, 11:35
Start by searching "digital negatives", there have been recent threads on it.

I posted the new thread after searching for "digital negatives" both at duckduckgo and here in the forum.

And I would like to hear the first hand experience from the forum users (from the horse mouth) about the workflow with Epson 7600.

Thanks!

D. Bryant
3-Jun-2012, 17:59
I posted the new thread after searching for "digital negatives" both at duckduckgo and here in the forum.

And I would like to hear the first hand experience from the forum users (from the horse mouth) about the workflow with Epson 7600.

Thanks!

It's the ink set you need to be concerned with, not so much the printer as long as it is working properly. The 7600 uses Ultrachrome ink which will produce negative densities adequate for alternative processes such a palladium printing.

It is also supported by QTR if that interests you.

Essentially the workflow for all inkjet printers is the same.

zenny
4-Jun-2012, 00:42
It's the ink set you need to be concerned with, not so much the printer as long as it is working properly. The 7600 uses Ultrachrome ink which will produce negative densities adequate for alternative processes such a palladium printing.

It is also supported by QTR if that interests you.

Essentially the workflow for all inkjet printers is the same.

Thanks again, Don for useful input.

Appreciate it if anyone could post there any sample curves (QTR/PDN) which is calibrated for Epson 7600 for pt-pd printing?

But what about the reported Venetian blinds as I posted in my original post above from DPUG? That concerns me, indeed.

sanking
5-Jun-2012, 14:26
It's the ink set you need to be concerned with, not so much the printer as long as it is working properly. The 7600 uses Ultrachrome ink which will produce negative densities adequate for alternative processes such a palladium printing.

It is also supported by QTR if that interests you.

Essentially the workflow for all inkjet printers is the same.

I have an Epson 7600 and use it with a Piezography K7 inkset. It is capable of making excellent prints on paper.

The Epson 7600 with the Epson inkset gives sufficient UV blocking density for alternative printing, but I would not recommend it for making digital negatives, either with the Epson inkset or with Piezography. This printer, and the 4000 and 2200 which are of the same generation, do indeed have a history of causing banding. Virtually everyone I know who has tried to use the 2200, 4000 and 7600 for making digital negatives has experienced some problem with banding, either Venetian blinds, which is parallel to the run of the printer head, or vertical banding, which is usually a media problem.

Sandy King

zenny
6-Jun-2012, 02:54
I have an Epson 7600 and use it with a Piezography K7 inkset. It is capable of making excellent prints on paper.

The Epson 7600 with the Epson inkset gives sufficient UV blocking density for alternative printing, but I would not recommend it for making digital negatives, either with the Epson inkset or with Piezography. This printer, and the 4000 and 2200 which are of the same generation, do indeed have a history of causing banding. Virtually everyone I know who has tried to use the 2200, 4000 and 7600 for making digital negatives has experienced some problem with banding, either Venetian blinds, which is parallel to the run of the printer head, or vertical banding, which is usually a media problem.

Sandy King

Thank you so much for this first hand information, very useful.

BTW, do you ever tried other pro printers which has no media-related problem to produce digital negatives?

/z

sanking
6-Jun-2012, 04:17
Thank you so much for this first hand information, very useful.

BTW, do you ever tried other pro printers which has no media-related problem to produce digital negatives?

/z

I own and have used an Epson 3800 for several years and have not had any banding with it with digital negatives. I have also used several 3880 7800 and 9800 printers at workshops and these printers did not have any banding issues.

Sandy

Michael Rosenberg
6-Jun-2012, 17:49
I use the 4880 and 7880 and have had no problems with banding.

Mike

zenny
6-Jun-2012, 23:47
I own and have used an Epson 3800 for several years and have not had any banding with it with digital negatives. I have also used several 3880 7800 and 9800 printers at workshops and these printers did not have any banding issues.

Sandy



I use the 4880 and 7880 and have had no problems with banding.

Mike

Thanks for sharing this useful info. This is what I am expecting. :D

It would be wonderful if you share your sample curve settings to create digital negatives using OTR, if any. Looking forward to ;-)

sanking
8-Jun-2012, 12:42
Thanks for sharing this useful info. This is what I am expecting. :D

It would be wonderful if you share your sample curve settings to create digital negatives using OTR, if any. Looking forward to ;-)

Attached is a .txt file I wrote for the Epson 3800 to print pure palladium. To use, you would insert the .txt file in the profiles folder of QTR of the 3800 printer, then run the Install command. This creates and places a .quad file in Library>Printers>Quadtone>QTR>Epson 3800. This probably won't mean a lot to people who have not worked with QTR. Bear in mind that QTR profiles are custom curves designed for a particular printer, inkset, process, light source, etc. Adapting someone else's profile to your workflow requires replicating more or less the work flow of the person who created the profile.

The learning curve for QTR and digital negatives is pretty steep, but you can start with Ron Reeder's book on the subject, http://www.ronreeder.com/), or with the tutorial on Clay Harmon's website http://www.clayharmon.com.

Sandy

jp
8-Jun-2012, 13:28
A 7600 is a pretty old printer - I have one. If it's banding, it may be due for some head cleaning or actual maintenance.