[alt-photo] Sky banding - 3800 Printer

[Don Bryant]

Hello Amy,

>
I would gladly welcome any suggestions you may have regarding a recurring
issue. I am printing digital negatives on Pictorico transparency film (Ultra
Premium) with an Epson 3800 for use with pt/pd on COT 320 (and exposing in a
Nuarc). For some reason, I am seeing a predictable pattern of vertical bands
visible only in flat areas of high value such as the sky (please refer to
attached jpg). This banding is not visible in the negativeven under
magnification, and it is not specific to any one image. To me, the only
logical explanation is my printer. So, I have performed a nozzle check, head
cleaning and head alignment, but all the test results indicate no problems.
I have even wiped down the interior according to the Epson printer manual
instructions, and still the problem persists. What could cause this banding?
I am out of ideas and feeling rather frustrated . . . help!?
>

First of all I don't have a solution to your dilemma. The purpose of my post
is to acknowledge a similar problem I've had in the past with vertical
banding in the sky areas AND ONLY the sky areas when printing a specific
image. 

The odd thing for me was that the banding occurred only in the sky portion
of the image (a very small area of the over all image size) and did not
extend into any other area of the image. T tried all of the remedies and
could never resolve the problem. The problem was printer related (or
computer/driver/printer related) since I could print the image with no
issues on a friends 3800 and 7800 successfully.

It was a very queer problem, one that hasn't occurred since. In your case
the problem is persistent so I would suggest testing with a different media
or adjusting the platen gap. Try some cheap glossy paper and see if the
problem persists. If you can't resolve the problem you may want to return
the printer to the mother ship for adjustment and recalibration.  

Don Bryant