RIP software and double printing?

[giggler]

Hi,

I've read about using RIP software to more accurately control printing. I am using a large format canon (ipf6200), printing on HP backlite material (cut by hand to poster size). My printer in Watford also has an older Epson 7600 but I've not asked him to try printing on this yet.

I want to know if any of the RIP's out there support double or triple printing, i.e. getting the head to go over the same place more than once before paper feed to increase the ink so it can be seen better with light behind it.

Is this not a RIP function or very much hardware specific? I don't own the printers but get access at weekends and I've tried to play with the settings and it only seems to print once. Using CS2 photoshop.

thanks

giggler

[Bruce Watson]

This is a large format photograph forum. That typically means image capture to film in cut sheets, typically 3 x 4 inches and bigger (to 24 x 20 inches).

I think you are looking for wide format inkjet printing information. You'll perhaps have better luck in the yahoo group "Wide_Inkjet_Printers", or more specific to Canon printers the yahoo group "CanonWideFormat".

But you never know. We've got a huge number of members with a huge variety of skills and interests.

[Tyler Boley]

I have a little experience with RIPs, and am exposed to others that have, and have never heard of a RIP with this option.

I suspect you'd need to linearize and build profiles with a transmissive spectro, way out of my realm...

Tyler
http://www.custom-digital.com/

[Gerry Meekins]

Maybe someone over at the yahoo Digital Printing group can answer
your question, Try a search over there.

Hope this helps,
Gerry

http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/D...WhiteThePrint/

[bob carnie]

I have double printed with a epson and cannon.

What I do is to make a canvas larger than the image . This allows for re - positioning the paper so both exposures land where you want.
I lay down a very light exposure of ink that fits into the canvas.*this is subjective and could be done as a step wedge to see different effects of the various ink depths.*

Then I run the same paper through the machine and lay down the image.

This technique was used for adding warmth to an image, tone to blown highlights, giving a BW a sepia tone, creating a border around an image.
Works pretty much as expected with great results.
Lots of applications some better than others.
Kind of like pre flashing a print in the darkroom.

I always wanted to try to place registration pin bars on an inkjet machine and try more complicated multiple hits much like screen printing days, but quite frankly there is not enough time in the day and I have not gotten around to this as my interests are not committed to inkjet but more to other output methods.

Those more experienced with an inkjet machine than I could probably write some kind of script/geek code to allow one to place the paper on the pins then do a startup from that position to ready to print. then raise the paper off the pins and print.
If this was possible multiple registration would be a breeze.. Not sure how much a print expands once ink is applied which would dictate how much critical registration would be allowed but once again, from reading the threads on this site there are tons of gear/geek heads who could solve this.** s.it some are building computers from scratch**
Maybe files would be created that would figure in expansion of paper and be taken into account.

[Tyler Boley]

well there have been multiple pass processes happing for different purposes for some time like this, and what you are doing is interesting and definitely "printmaking" which I always find enjoyable...
But a driver or RIP feature that literally does multiple head passes with the same ink laydown over the same area before advancing the paper, to increase density, is not something I've run across.
And actually, given the amount of backlit displays out there in the world, I suspect it's not necessary.
Tyler

[IanMazursky]

A number of the professional or print shop RIP's have features that let you control the ink restrictions and the head passes.
Head passes usually improve the quality on epson type printers and are not used to build up large amounts of density.

Inkjet printers all use multiple passes to make up the image. Most of the Epson print heads are 180 dpi and they keep making passes to hit the required dpi.
i.e. 4 passes = 720 dpi, 8 passes = 1440 dpi, 16 passes 2880 dpi.

I use a RIP by Onyx Graphics called ProductionHouse. Its very expensive (worth every penny for a production environment) but it allows me to control the ink down to .01%.
Not that you can really see a difference of .01% but a spectrophotometer can. That is another thing you will need to properly calibrate any RIP.
Productionhouse also has a built in profile generator that is basically gretag profilemaker and the ability to control multiple printers/rips at the same time.

Backlit material is very interesting thing to print on. The material has a lot to do with the eventual print density.
Many of the older ones cant take much ink and look very flat. The newer ones are more expensive per SQF but look great without needing a ton of ink.
They also take a longtime to dry properly. The ink carrier has to evaporate before its safe to handle or measure.