[alt-photo] Re: Fwd: Epson printer 3880

[kerik at kerik.com]

Diana,

First, I'm wondering what happened to your 3800. Mine had clogging 
problems with the magenta inks that couldn't be resolved without 
replacing the print head ($$$). I've heard similar magenta problems from 
other 3800 users. So, I replaced it with a 3880 in November. I am 
getting great digital negatives with the 3880 and QuadTone RIP. It's 
easy to get plenty of UV density without resorting to a highly colorized 
negative. As far as I can tell, the only difference between the 3800 and 
3880 are the magenta inks. I don't know if the dithering has changed but 
the negatives print beautifully in platinum and gum and it makes great 
inkjet prints.

One interesting thing I stumbled on while calibrating the 3880: If you 
use the front feed slot to load your transparency material to avoid 
pizza wheel marks, the UV density of the resulting negs is lower in the 
densest parts of the negative (about 0.3 log density) than if you use 
the regular sheet feed. This effect was also confirmed by a user of a 
3800. Very strange.

Kerik
www.kerik.com


>> FROM: Diana Bloomfield
>> DATE: June 14, 2011 5:48:00 AM PDT
>> TO: alt-photo-process-list at lists.altphotolist.org [2]
>> SUBJECT: [ALT-PHOTO] EPSON PRINTER 3880
>> REPLY-TO: The alternative photographic processes mailing list
>
>> Hi all,
>>
>> I've had an Epson 3800 printer for several years now-- love it,
>> never had a
>> problem with it-- until now. So I'm thinking of upgrading to the
>> 3880, but
>> I remember someone here (Chris?) having trouble with their 3880,
>> specifically in making digital negatives. Is that correct, or did I
>> dream
>> that? I'm assuming that the 3880 is comparable (better than?) to
>> the 3800,
>> especially when making negatives. Any advice here? Is there another
>> printer that would be better? I'm not interested in going larger
>> than the
>> 17" carriage.
>>
>> Thanks.
>>
>> Diana