New article: overview of color digital printing

[QT Luong]

A new article:
An overview of large format color digital printing has been posted. Please feel free to leave any corrections or other constructive comments in
this thread.

PS: if the corrections are typos and spelling, after amending the article, I will remove your note from the thread, but this doesn't mean I didn't appreciate !

[mark blackman]

Firstly, thanks for pulling this together! a couple of points:

1. Durst Lambda printers supports two native resolutions, 200 dpi and 400 dpi.
2. I've seen the term 'Giclee ' used to refer to *any* ink jet print, not just those made on an Iris printer.

no mention of RIP?

[Paul Coppin]

Good beginning QT -some minor nits - number of typos (look for missing "t"s... Ok, how come no mention of Canon's i9900? This printer line is beginning to challenge Epson's lock of the "prosumer" printer. The issue of archivability remains debatable. Rated archival life for Canon ink prints sits at 40 years, vis-a-vis Epson's 70 or so years, both of which exceed colour printing papers in most applications. Paper choice remains a huge component of archivability, still. I would question Chris Jordan's use of newsprint as an adsorbant between prints. Newsprint is highly sulphited - using it as an adsorbant basically throws away your archivability, particularly if the storage air is at all humid. About the only material you can use for this is 100% rag content art papers. There may be some commercial blanketing material expressly for the purpose, however, the print trade is less concerned about archival contamination than fine artists are.

Interleaving does not enhance outgassing, it inhibits it. About the only thing that will accelerate outgassing is dry air flow. The use of interleaves is primarily to prevent print-through and facilitate drying in a small-space environment, and to enhance print flatness. If you're going to do it, the interleaf should be open texture, acid free, with good airflow, otherwise you're more likely to damage the print rather then enhance it. In the commercial printing business, "interleaving" is done with a very fine powder that is sprayed in the press on the printed surface to absorb excess ink and "float" the paper above the next sheet. As I mentioned in another thread, inkjet printing is a printing process, as opposed to a photographic process, and needs to be thought of in that light. Photogs need to forget "photography" once they hit the "print" button.

[Brian Ellis]

Thanks for an interesting and informative article. Continuing with the nits, IIRC the native resolution of the Epson desk top printers that use Ultrachrome inks (e.g. the 2200/4000), and I believe the new 2400/4800 line as well, is 720, not 360. This isn't a nit since it's a matter of opinion but FWIW in the opening paragraph I think you greatly underestimate the extent of b&w work that's being printed digitally. All that darkroom equipment for sale on ebay for next to nothing or that people are trying to give away wasn't being used only for color printing. Nor did Epson introduce the 2400 et al line of printers with its three black inks and advanced b&w mode for a small market. This isn't to say that printing b&w digitally is better so no need to start up that useless argument, just that there's a whole lot of it being done by fine art printers.

[Keith Laban]

QT, thanks for putting this together and sharing.

I'd be the first to admit that Ultrachromes on matte art papers are very different to the "silver based" processes; they have a quality of their own which is quite unlike anything other than Iris prints. Having worked as a painter and illustrator for many years I'm used to seeing my work on the paper surface rather than in or even behind it, but for many photographers this quality is quite alien to their experience and takes some getting used to. I'd take issue with the statement that the matte art papers are not as nice to the touch as photographic papers, in fact I find these papers have a wonderful tactile quality, again quite unlike anything other than the art papers which many are based on. However, I have to agree that they are indeed more easily damaged and one should resist the temptation to take advantage of the tactile qualities!

Thanks again.

[Michael Gordon]

Clarifications: you regard bronzing and gloss differential as being one in the same; they are not. You describe each condition well, but "a problem known as "bronzing", or "gloss differential" should read "problems known as bronzing and gloss differential". I would also not describe outgassing as a "potential" problem. If mitigation procedures exist, that's far from a "potential problem", and something that Epson did not initially acknowledge and still has not dealt with. It's a serious shortcoming of the Ultrachrome process, IMO, and requires coating to deal with it most effectively.

[Bill_1856]

Thanks. As a former Dye Transfer printer (with a fridge full of Ektaflex and Ciba/Ilfochrome materials) I hereby declare that I'll never again make another color print in the darkroom.

[Andreas Hagenbach]

Thanks for the overview. As far as I know Durst Lamda printers work on 300dpi and Lightjets are on 400dpi. Latter is equipped with a bigger gamut - but again the ones who operate the machines make the difference.

[tim atherton]

"Thanks for the overview. As far as I know Durst Lamda printers work on 300dpi and Lightjets are on 400dpi"

I believe the Lambda offer 200dpi or 400pdi? (of course, most labs charge more for the latter....)

The Lightjets (depending on model I think) offer 200dpi, 305dpi or 405dpi (again, same as above - the more dpi the slower the printign usually and higher the cost) - standard in most shops seems to be 305dpi

In comparisons I can see a real difference between the Lightjet "standard" 305dpi and the "standard" Lambda 200dpi

[bob carnie]

I own a Lambda 76 and we work at 200dpi and 400dpi, basically 24inches perminute vs 12inches per minute.

We print on Agfa Classic fibre base, Ilford Cibachrome, Fuji Crystal Archive, Kodak Endura and Metal.

We will test 1so 100 film to produce enlarged alternative negatives up to 30x40 inches

We are now testing various papers (fibre) to see how they perform . Currently our largest print to date was a 30x80inch cibachrome.

Our preferred working method is for Photographers come to Toronto and work on shows with us rather than long distance.