Re: Banding on Pictorico with Epson 2200
Hi Sandy, Sounds like you're experiencing the dreaded "venetian blinds", which is a fairly global problem with Epson printers. I've only seen it affect highlights, and only in images with very long, smooth tonal gradation. I spent several weeks toward the end of the summer trying to find a solution, namely with the 2200, but I've all but given up at this point (I can tell you what makes it worse, but not better). I suspect it's a mechanical issue that has to do with the way the printer lays down ink, but I have yet to figure out how or why or what the cause is. I've got access to a few various RIPs that I've been meaning to test it with, to make sure it's not the Epson driver that causes the banding. If/when I ever have the time, I'll let you know what I find out. It's also a very inconsistent problem, that may or may not have something to do with wear and tear (I haven't done enough testing to formulate any theories there). We've got three 2200s in our digital lab, one of which doesn't band at all. Only one of the two 4000s in the lab show banding. So, if you have access to another 2200 it may be worth trying. Based on what I'm hearing from Mark and a few others, the R1800 is the only Epson printer out there that doesn't exhibit these blinds. I've also heard the R2400 minimizes the banding, but doesn't eliminate it entirely. Camden Hardy camden[at]hardyphotography[dot]net http://www.hardyphotography.net On Mon, October 30, 2006 5:12 am, Sandy King wrote: > I am having a lot of problem with banding printing on Pictorico with > the Epson 2200, and it is not like anything described in the Epson > manual. I am getting dark lines (on the print), about 3-4mm wide, and > sometimes in pairs, running at right angles to the direction of paper > feed (i.e. in the direction of travel of the printing head). The > lines are just barely darker than the surrounding area, but they > contrast enough to make the negatives useless. I don't get the lines > when printing on paper, only on Pictorico. The lines completely > destroy the highlights so I need to solve the problem before I can > print any more. I have done all the usual things, i.e. head cleaning, > head alignment, etc. Any other suggestions? > > Sandy King >
|