Hello list- I have done some gum printing with negatives printed on an
HP4MP Laser (600 dpi) - the quality was a bit disappointing but not
terrible. I too am considering buying an Epson Pro XL or possibly a 1200
dpi Laser and hope to run some test prints this month.
The grey scale that on a 600/720 dpi printer is very limited even for gum,
but works better for photo-intaglio. In addition, most ink-jets and lasers
cannot produce a dense enough black and there will be some trouble clearing
the highlights. Registration can be a problem in color separations because
the alignment is not so precise on these low/medium end printers.
There is a new book out titled "Making Digital Negatives for Contact
Printing" by Dan Burkholder. I hope my copy will come today.
Felicia Lovelett
redeft@ari.net