Large Format Printing - Epson 7600

[Garry Thorburn]

Hi
I am new here and new to large format printing, in fact just bought a second hand Epson 7600 A1 printer and need help to get the best from it.

I create artwork in photoshop and then print it onto cards etc using A4/A3 printers.
I have decided to have a go at A1 canvases and posters but am a bit unsure of the quality output.
I have tried printing an A3 artwork on the 7600 on photographic paper, but it isn't as good as my canon A3. Is there anything I can do to better the quality?
My A3 is on it's last legs too, so I need to try and get a good quality print from the 7600 or bite the bullet and buy a new A3 printer.
Anyone got any advice for me?
Anyone used a 7600, how good can it really print?
What are the best materials to use?
Etc!!!
Any Help Would Be Most Appreciated
Thanks
Garry

[Jack Flesher]

If you're going to be printing primarily on canvas or matte papers, the 7600 is an excellent choice. (For photo papers, quality is still very good, but you should know the x800's have wider-gamut K3 inks and slightly improved dithering pattern. Basically, K3 gives you better blues, brighter yellows, and more neutral grays, and the x800 printers have an improved dithering for a sharper look on the print -- FWIW.)

If you are running a PC, I would recommend you buy Q-Image -- it is an excellent printing program.

Cheers,

[Greg Lockrey]

I have 9600's, which is similar to your 7600, and I like using profiles made by Bill Atkison , you can find these at http://homepage.mac.com/billatkinson/FileSharing2.html . They are free. The colors are a tad more intense, but sometimes the blacks are too much, but you can tweek that too. I personnaly prefer using Epson's Enhanced Matte, but the Fine Art papers are nice too. Yes the K3 inks on the x800's are better but you have the x600 to deal with for now.

[Garry Thorburn]

Thanks for the advise...and the link!
Any advice on paper type for the 7600, am I best sticking to Epson paper or will any photographic paper print well?
I am looking to print artwork onto good quality thick paper or card and canvas.
Thanks Again

[Greg Lockrey]

Like I said before, the Epson Enhanced Matte to me looks the best, but for archival purposes the Epson Fine Art (Smooth and Textured) are good choices too. A lot of guys here like Hammamuel (sp?) brand too. I like both Epsons Canvases and Fredrix. There are a lot of good choices.

[Garry Thorburn]

Thanks Greg
Regards
Garry

[Jack Flesher]

Hi Gary:

My two favorite papers on the 7600/9600 were Epson Ultrasmooth Fine Art (Mk ink) and Premium Semi-Matte (Pk ink). However both are only available in limited sizes. Also, on the Ultra-smooth, I used the 300 Gm sheets to avoid curls, which the roll did excessively. Epson's premium luster was also very good with a custom profile. I'd stay away from Glossy due to excessive gloss differential and moderate bronzing.

Best,

[Rob Hare]

HI , Epson paper is so expensive , for equal quality and much better prices I suggest Fuji paper , they have a disc with all icc profiles , their uk office is very helpful

[Don Boyd]

Gary, I have been printing with a 7600 for about 4 years. I print in color and do cards as gifts for family members and friends and have tried Inkjet Art's duo matte as a way of saving money over the Epson Enhanced Matte. This paper has a coating on both sides which you may not need and comes in 3 grades. Ultimately, I couldn't get a profile for it from Inkjet Art and was dissatisfied with the outcome, so I went back to Enhanced Matte (now called Ultra Premium Presentation Paper Matte). There are some Yahoo groups that focus on Art Fair needs and when I use to visit it they talked a lot about papers. You might want to look for that user group on Yahoo. I do recall several people saying that they liked some of the Moab papers.

Finally, there is someone at Inkjetart.com (Kevin is his name, I think) that seems to know a lot about papers and they carry a wide selection. You may want to talk with him. You are welcome to contact me directly if you want to talk more about other papers - I have used other Epson papers and Breathing Color canvas.

[Danny Vaughn]

On the subject of Epson 7600, I just bought a imac 20" itel core 2 duo 2gb ram, Trying to print from cs2, but it doesn't print correctly, epson says they are not going to update drivers for the 7600 to run on the itel mac,I downloaded 12467.dmg but it prints too dark, anybody how to make this work.