Cheapest RIP to make HUUUUUGE prints??

[Walter Calahan]

Chris

Got an e-mail back. I stand corrected. The maximum length from the Epson driver, Mac and Windows, is 90.53 inches, not 9 feet. That's 7.544 feet.

A RIP is the only way to get beyond that limit my buddy said. Unfortunately he and I use the more expensive Colorburst RIP. The Colorburst RIP can make a print as long as the roll of paper.

If the Qimage RIP is less expensive and works on your computer, go for it.

Best,

Walt

http://www.walterpcalahan.com

[JohnnyV]

If you have Illustrator CS, it will print images longer than 90" with no RIP. Go to the below link and find the PDF "Tiling In Illustrator CS with OS X & Windows.pdf "

http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/E...eFormat/files/

[Greg Miller]

Ditto'ing Jim's comments - I have printed 8' prints with Qimage. Qimage has a free trial period so you can try it for yourself with no risk (other than paper & ink). I also used the same profiles. I don't care for the Qimage user interface much but it works and it is cheap.

[David Luttmann]

Qimage works fine for large prints. Just stay away from it's interpolation and sharpening engines as there are far superior options in that area elsewhere.

[Ed Richards]

I have also had good luck with their sharping and interpolation engines, but you have to plan for their use when you photoshop the image. Otherwise you get double sharpening and it is a mess.

[David Luttmann]

I have also had good luck with their sharping and interpolation engines, but you have to plan for their use when you photoshop the image. Otherwise you get double sharpening and it is a mess.

I did some sample comparisons for myself and some friends. We compared using Photoshop sharpening and both the interpolation routines at Digital outback and the SAR Back Projected Jensen Xin Li in comparison to QImage sharpening and interpolation. From digital sources, differences were plain to see at 16x20 & larger.....Qimage lost the quality comparison. Use the RIP, skip the sharpening and interpolation. Qimage is a quick and easy solution, and good for large prints. For the best quality interpolation and sharpening, you can do better elsewhere.

[chris jordan]

Hi guys, thanks for all of your thoughts. I'm going to try the virtual PC software with the Qimage RIP. I'll check back in with the results.

Cheers from Seattle,

~cj

[Ed Richards]

A couple of tips - when you are ready to run the big job, set it up to run over night. Qimage can look like it is locked up, but it is really thinking. I ran into this with a 5 foot job. Also make sure to change the spooling settings to raw files - big jobs. If you do not, you will have unexpected job dumps in the middle of big prints. Cost me several hours of aggravation and several big sheets of paper before I dug this out of the documentation.

[Don Miller]

Chris, it might be less trouble and less expense to buy a PC. Qimage tech support can give you an idea of the tech spec you would need. A couple of failed big prints will cost as much as a new dell. All you would need on the machine is Qimage.

[JohnnyV]

Chris,

Might be cheaper to have Tyler Boley print for you. He has the 9800 with Epson inks using Studioprint rip. Just don't let him talk you into printing with fine art matte paper...you might get hooked. 8->