Wavy epson 9800 prints

[Jack Flesher]

>>Jack, do you mean not sandwiching the print at all,<<

Yes. I don't sandwich at all and don't have any wave problems.

My primary surfaced papers are Epson Premium Semimatte, Premium Semi-gloss and IJA's Micro-Ceramic Gloss and I have no issues with any of them. I let my prints dry-down for 48 hours before framing them behind glass or plexi. (I live in a relatively low-humidity are in California and higher humidity areas may require a week of dry-down.) I hinge-mount and matte and have no paper flatness issues either.

FWIW: Bill's standard 1440 DPI profiles are fine and should not generate any excessive ink lay down. However, using Epson's 2880 DPI setting does lay down significantly more ink and may create issues, though I personally only print at 1440 so cannot comment conclusively on this point.

Cheers,

[Keith S. Walklet]

QT, I am guessing the problem is something else.

The workflow Bill Atkinson uses to generate the profiles is much the same that is outlined by Dominque, so I don't think that ink quantities is the issue. The interleaving method to resolve the outgassing is the same as endorsed by Joe Holmes, and while the alternatives mentioned here might make sense, I think it is likely that the either the problem is related to your local humidity, or that you are seeing the "anti-ditch" in the paper that shows up as you get closer to the end of a roll of paper. Ditches (running parallel to the roll spindle) can be caused by leaving the paper engaged in the platen for extended periods, but I have also had issues with "anti-ditches" where there is a slight bulge, then drop off where the paper wraps around the end cut of the roll. This bulge is more pronounced the closer you get to the end of a roll. So much so, that I have grown accustomed to only using 2/3 to 4/5 of a roll of paper before I delegate the roll to proof-print-only status.

FWIW, I actually did have some rumpling on Lightjets on rare occasions, though since I didn't control the printing process from start to finish, I was difficult to figure out the origin of the problem. In general, with the EPSON, I find the Premium Luster paper base too thin to hinge mount prints larger than 20x24. Even if the prints were to emerge from the printer perfectly flat, they tend to rumple when mounted unless I have them dry mounted (Seal mount). So it may be worth your while to try dry mounting the prints to see if the waviness goes away.

[QT Luong]

Thanks for the replies so far. About the sandwiching technique, besides Epson, I read about it here from Chris Jordan and Tim, and on the internet from Joseph Holmes. The sheet of paper does change in appearance, so it would appear to be absorbing something. Last night, I did more searching, and found a reference to that Yahoo group from one of Bruce's earlier postings. I saw that there were a number of proponents of the
the moving hot air idea there, and it certainly makes a lot of sense, so that what I'll try next.

I could see that a RIP would change the amount of inks layed out, but I figured it out that if the Epson driver is good enough for Chris Jordan and Bill Atkinson, it's probably OK for me too, since I use only Epson PLU, which seems to be about the most vanila paper. I don't understand how a profile would change the ink amount significantly though. I use 2800 unidirectional, PLP 250, color management off, and all default settings otherwise. The waves are closer to 1 inch than to 1 cm in width.

[Keith S. Walklet]

QT,

"The waves are closer to 1 inch than to 1 cm in width."

How far apart are the waves?

[QT Luong]

Waves are around 3 to 4 inches apart.

[Jack Flesher]

QT: First try printing at 1440 DPI -- you really do not need 2880 as you will not see a significant difference in the final output between it and 1440, 1440 prints a *lot* faster and 2880 does indeed lay down more ink.

[Jack Flesher]

Keith: OT -- but are you by any chance the same Keith Walklet that used to work in Yosemite?

If you are, I am the same Jack Flesher that gave you a ride out of that forest fire about 20 years ago

[Keith S. Walklet]

QT, three inches is too close together for any of the problems I've encountered that were mechanical in nature. At minimum, the "anti-ditches" are typically about eight inches apart and about an inch wide, and run the full width of the paper.

And, I've not had anywhere near the problems I've heard of with outgassing, which I can only attribute to the high desert climate I inhabit unlike my cohorts on the coast of California. It pains me to suggest alternatives that cost extra to resolve the problem, but if the hot air technique or reduced ink levels don't work, the price (locally) of Seal-mounting is a small percentage of the typical print sale price.

Jack, as for the 1440 vs. 2880 dpi, I'd actually been told that there is a visible difference in quality with the 9800 series printers, whereas with the 9600 it didn't make any difference, and took twice as long to print, to boot.

And you are correct. That must have been the ride from June Lake to Tuolumne to regain your car when the park closed? If so, that was August of 1990. I was just looking at the pix from that backpack trip this week. We'd hiked out Lyell Canyon up over Donahue Pass to Marie Lakes when the storm that started those fires started. Looked like an atomic bomb had gone off the next morning. Small world, especially when Yosemite it involved. Annette and I are still grateful for the lift!

[Jack Flesher]

Keith: I thought it was earlier than 1990, more like 1987? But then I'm old LOL! I don't remember exactly which fire it was or where I picked the two of you up, but I did drop you off in Tuolumne town I probably would have been driving a dark blue Suburban then -- and it was a 1987 year model.

Tell Annette you paid me back when that same Suburban broke down in Yosemite one winter about 4 years later -- The Lodge and village were fully booked and they were going to kick me out in the snow cause my time was up. You made a call and scored me a room for the extra few days it took the garage to fix my car Talk about Karmic pay-backs LOL!

Good point on the new inks. There clearly was no visible difference on my 9600. I only tried 2880 one time on a 4800 when it first came out and personally saw little gain there as well. I'll try 2880 on my 7800 and report back on any differences.

Cheers,

[Keith S. Walklet]

Too funny! Yup, blue Suburban, you and your sister, though I had forgotten about the room extension those years later. Since we spent the majority of our adult lives working in the park, we tend to keep track of time in relation to major happenings there, such as the fires of 1990, the concession changeover in 1993, the floods of 1996 and 1997.
And, of course, it is hard to forget acts of kindness when you crawl out of the woods through clouds of smoke.

Hope you are well and I'm glad to see you part of this community.