U of S | Mailing List Archive | alt-photo-process-l | RE: Banding on Pictorico with Epson 2200

RE: Banding on Pictorico with Epson 2200

Hi Keith,

Just sorry it crossed your mind that my reference was to you. I thought the reference would be know by everyone, given the nature of my exchanges with that person, but I guess sometimes we assume too much.

In any event, your work is beautiful, and I very impressed by your ability to make art out of commonly found materials. And I am very proud to have had an exhibition side by side with you. Just wish we could have crossed paths there in Istanbul, but maybe we can get together again sometimes soon in the Chicago area.

Best,

Sandy




At 4:21 PM -0800 10/31/06, Keith Gerling wrote:
Thanks for the clarification.  Glad to know I'm not the Crapster.  I was
just kidding around, anyway.  It is a well known scientific fact that gum
printers are bipolar when it comes to their confidence quotient.  They are
either arrogant misanthropes or meek "woe-is-me" types.  Well-adjusted
people gravitate towards processes where success or failure can be more
easily determined.  At least is seems that way.

And you are right about paper negs for gum.  That is the way I intend to go.



-----Original Message-----
From: Sandy King [mailto:sanking@clemson.edu]
Sent: Monday, October 30, 2006 9:51 AM
To: alt-photo-process-l@usask.ca
Subject: RE: Banding on Pictorico with Epson 2200


Keith,

If your reference is to my comment, no, you are not the one. Your
work is quite creative in its painterly qualities and very
interesting. So you have nothing to get over on my account because my
comments were not directed toward your work.

As for the Epson 2200, I have used it for more than two years for
making digital negatives and this is the first time I have had any
problem with it. Still, it has still fairly low use since I use it
only for making digital negatives. But, it must be a media problem
since I can print the same negative on paper with no sign of banding.
For gum you might want to consider printing on paper for your
negatives.

Sandy King




At 11:53 AM -0800 10/30/06, Keith Gerling wrote:

Fairly Global?  Several weeks?  About given up?

ooooboy, this in not what I want to hear.  The recent curves/no curves
discussion has piqued my interest in using inkjet negs (and, BTW, I'm

fairly

certain that *I* am the mysterious crappy gumprinter recently mentioned, so
I need to get out behind that...) It's been several years since I used an
Epson (I used a Stylus, an 1160 and a 3000 just to put into perspective how
long ago) and one of the reasons I gave them up for lith negs is that the
Epsons were just plain unreliable.  Horribly so.  Banding, stuck nozzles,
drying up, constant cleaning cycles, praying and swearing.  I was hoping
that things had improved.

So what is the real skinny?  Are these printers still a hassle to use?  To
tell you the truth, Camden, the odds you speak of are not reassuring:  Two
of your three 2200s band?  You're lucky in that you have more than one to
choose from.  Is the prevailing thought concerning inkjet negatives still
that struggling with the printer is just "part of the territory"?

-----Original Message-----
From: Camden Hardy [mailto:camden@hardyphotography.net]
Sent: Monday, October 30, 2006 8:11 AM
To: alt-photo-process-l@usask.ca
Subject: 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