[alt-photo] Re: Sky banding - 3800 Printer

[Mark Nelson]

Amy,
After looking at your print, this isn't roller marks. They are more  
evenly spaced, narrower and closer together. This is Venetian blind  
effect. I agree with Don's comments.

Mark Nelson
www.PrecisionDigitalNegatives.com
PDNPRint Forum @ Yahoo Groups
www.MarkINelsonPhoto.com

sent from my iPhonetypeDeviceThingy

On Feb 21, 2010, at 10:53 AM, Don Bryant <donsbryant at gmail.com> wrote:

> 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
>
>
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