Future of Printing Devices

[sanking]

Any comments on what the future of photographic printing will look like?

Will pigment ink type printers continue to dominate the market, or will there be an affordable new generation of LED or Laser (or other) type devices that will render the pigment printers obsolete?

Sandy

[bob carnie]

I think if we look at tri colour cromalin prints of the past, and then put energy to this lay down effect on a flat bed printer, we will see layered pure pigment prints that do not have the restriction of nossel size.

All the big players are working on direct to substrate flat bed methods.

[Tin Can]

I like Sandy's idea of affordable laser printer. One could be made cheaper, operate faster and eliminate hose and nozzle analog hybrid technology.

Perhaps a return to silver and color paper printing and scalable.

Digital direct by laser to analog paper.

[ic-racer]

You mean in the far future when all enlarger lamps burn out and the lenses cloud over? After then I suspect we would still have contact printing.

[Leigh]

Digital direct by laser to analog paper.
That's an interesting idea.

All of the requisite technology exists today for B&W direct laser printing.

- Leigh

[Nathan Potter]

Hadn't thought much about this but I think the direct laser printing has possibilities. The issue will be market volume and cost of machine development and production. As Leigh says the technology exists, so the task would be in implementing the technology.

There would be some technical issues that I'm not familiar with but could no doubt be worked out. Using GaAs laser diodes one could certainly focus a spot to easily the small dimensions required - even a few µm is possible but of course not necessary. I'm not sure about modulating the RGB beams for density control over a large brightness range, but on the other hand writing on paper may need only 5 stops or so.

Photo sensitive color paper is a significant factor. It would be necessarily a large expense compared to plain inkjet paper but hey, maybe it could match the price of costly pigment inks for inkjet technology. OTOH any photo paper is not likely to be as archival as pigment on plain paper.

I'd sure like to see such a machine that could be used for Ilfochrome paper. In my experience Ilfochrome is pretty good archivally since I have some old Cibas done about 1975 which have been exhibited in subdued light for close to 40 years now and show almost no detectable color shifts.

Again the issue is more about how to put together a decent consumer machine at a price that will capture the required market for a decent ROI. Though I don't see this on the horizon yet.

Nate Potter, Austin TX.

[mdarnton]

This is a serious suggestion: Someone is going to come up with something incredibly obvious (in retrospect) that we don't have even a hint of now, and make a huge amount of money by doing so.

[Tin Can]

Usually if I think of something, 100 people are already working on it. It is the obvious way to go. It will change the whole market and allow all kinds of variation we have not explored.

As Leigh postulates, all the pieces are on the shelf.

[jp]

Look at magazines; essentially for either old people or something awesome to relax with at the toilet.

I think printing will continue it's decline in volume as people become more accustomed to impermanent lcd displays. Sort of like music is not a permanent asset you have on vinyl or CD or tape on a shelf, it's something in the cloud you steal or rent.
As the decline happens, it will reduce investment for the sake of innovation and slow down change in printing tech until a disruptive technology mixes things up or tastes change. [This change of tastes account for the small uptick in interest in alt processes for example.]

[gleaf]

The future of printing will be what the sociological trend of the moment and the fancy of folks with expendable cash or credit decide is 'the in thing'. Almost no market place success has been based on technological excellence. Do some reading on the history of technology. Of course Alexander G Bell didn't do bad for a crooked patent clerk who got the backing of very good lawyers.

[Tin Can]

Some of us set the style or trend.


The future of printing will be what the sociological trend of the moment and the fancy of folks with expendable cash or credit decide is 'the in thing'. Almost no market place success has been based on technological excellence. Do some reading on the history of technology. Of course Alexander G Bell didn't do bad for a crooked patent clerk who got the backing of very good lawyers.

[jslabovitz]

Having spent much of last evening in the plasticky guts of both a 9600 and a 4000, replacing dampers and resetting chips and generally taming the beasts, I hope for less technology, not more. I would be very happy with a flatbed pigment printer that had no automation at all, save the actual positioning of the head over the paper and the firing of the nozzles (with direct ink control, like QuadtoneRIP). Imagine the functionality of a CNC router / 3D printer, with the build quality and simplicity of an etching press.

I realize the futility of my hopes. ;-)

[bob carnie]

Well speaking of etching presses, I am experimenting with polymer plate making and making four colour prints with a hand press, It is extremely liberating to
shoot film, scan and edit in photoshop, make separation negatives , make the plates then by hand roll the paper over the inked surface.

For me this is the Future along with tri colour carbon or gum. I have my old printing devices, Deveere Enlargers and I only need to replace the bulbs.

The combination of present technology and the technology that is hundreds of years old is incredible.

[jslabovitz]

Yes, me too — I took a wonderful workshop with Clay Harmon last summer in polymer photogravure. I was sitting there last night with my hands deep in these printers thinking, 'Doing this on an etching press might actually be easier...' I'm looking for a press now.

[bob carnie]

making the plates are not as hard as one thinks, keeping them in register for multiple hits, now thats a bit more, good luck with finding a press.
I have talked with Clay this year about polymer photogravure , he is a good guy.


Yes, me too — I took a wonderful workshop with Clay Harmon last summer in polymer photogravure. I was sitting there last night with my hands deep in these printers thinking, 'Doing this on an etching press might actually be easier...' I'm looking for a press now.

[Drew Wiley]

Laser etching of plates is known on-demand technology. They can do it right down the street here. But they're slowly winding down, probably slowly coasting into
retirement. I've only talked a bit about color inks with them. Most of the output has been very high end black and white work with multiple passes. Makes inkjet look
pretty sucky by comparison, but one pays dearly for the service of a true industrial press operation.