Re: tip for ink jet neg substrates

Chris,
I had some time this weekend and printed a few diginegs on my 2200 using
Photo warehouse film. Incidently my box of transparency came with a white
strip. I printed a gum negative with a black ink only at 1440 dpi. To my
surprise the ink did not smear, there were no roller marks on it as well.
The negative looked somewhat grainy, but it might not matter for gum (even
less for multiple gums). I did not print anything using this negative. It
was just a printer test. It seems that the ultfafine transparency film can
handle some ink, but much less then OHP. This is most likely related to
the thickness of the coating layer.
Thinner coating might be sufficient for thinner negatives. After that, I
printed a thinner negative on the same transparency film using all inks
and noticed that it was slightly easier to smear then the back, but could
be handled quite well.
My original failed attempt to use ultrafine transparency film was to
print Pd negatives, which were quite dense resulting in lots of ink on the
transparency.
I am actually encouraged to try it for 4 color gum separations.

Marek Matusz

> Marek,
> A P.S. here: in talking with Sam Wang last night, he suggested that
> the difference we are perceiving may be due to the amount of ink we are
> laying down on the paper (and/or using colored inks?). If you are using a
> really contrasty curve for pt/pd printing it may be that the substrate
> can't
> handle that much ink. My gum negatives don't require that much density.
> That said, I apply a curve to increase density and the negs visually look
> denser than a comparable film negative when laid against white paper, so
> they're not thin by any means, but probably not what you would use for
> pt/pd.
> The nice thing about pt/pd I suppose is you're only having to make
> one
> neg instead of three, so Pictorico is affordable. Well, what am I
> saying??
> Compared to the metal cost itself I suppose Pictorico is a sneeze.
>
> Also I am using the premium semi-gloss photo paper setting on the
> printer.
> Is that the same for you?
> Chris
>
> I was talking offlist about this with someone, Marek, and he, too, said
> that
> there was a problem with the ink not drying with someone else. I only use
> black ink; could you print up a neg with black only and see if your neg
> still smears? Because maybe it is the colored ink that is the culprit,
> and
> that would account for the difference of opinion on this one.
>
> I just HOPE that they didn't change their substrate, but I'll soon find
> out
> when my box comes. He assured me they had not. And you are positive you
> were printing on the correct side with the sticky finger test? And are
> you
> positive it is a black box with those exact numbers on it?
>
> You know, this is an odd thought; I also use the cheapy stuff from Staples
> and Office Max, etc., and with the stronger Scotch tape sometimes the
> layer
> that holds the ink would delaminate and come up with the tape (on only one
> of the brands). Is it possible, that the layer that holds the ink is
> absent
> on a batch of the stuff? I can't believe Epson would have different inks
> out there, so it has to be either the colored inks or the substrate (or
> wrong print side).
>
> With tricolor seps, to spend $9 printing out negatives as opposed to $2 is
> a
> big difference...
> Chris
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <mmatusz@pdq.net>
> To: <alt-photo-process-l@sask.usask.ca>
> Sent: Wednesday, September 08, 2004 11:26 AM
> Subject: Re: tip for ink jet neg substrates
>
>
>> Chris,
>> I have tried Photo Warehouse with my Epson 2200 and the ink is still
>> "wet"
>> after a few hours. Easily smeared just by handling. I have tried slowing
>> the printer down as much as possible, it did not make a big difference.
>> I
>> am printing with all the inks (color and black) for smooth tones. On the
>> other hand OHP material is very robust, ready to be handled out of the
>> printer. I would love to find a cheaper subsitute for it though.
>> Marek Matusz
>>
>> > Hi!
>> > I just got a good tip from Photo Warehouse. A while back we were
>> > talking about their film that I have had good luck with. At 75 cents
>> an
>> > 11x17, I love it, compared to Pictorico at $45 for 15!!!
>> >
>> > Someone else said they had problems.
>> >
>> > Keith Krebs said it had a leader white strip, mine did
> not....anyway,
>> > it now does (again?) have the white strip, Keith, and they did say the
>> > manufacturer did not change. That is neither here nor there...
>> >
>> > The tip he gave me was to print it (on the correct side, of
>> course,
>> > or
>> > ink will not dry no matter what you do; remember wet fingerprint test
>> to
>> > see
>> > if it sticks; of course, if it has leaders, this is moot) at 2880 dpi
> and
>> > this will give the ink time enough to dry so it does not get smeared
>> by
>> > the
>> > rollers as it runs thru. This was never a problem for me, nor Keith
>> if
> I
>> > remember correctly, but someone did have a problem with it, and maybe
> this
>> > is a solution. I've always printed at 1440, but will try this, too.
> Now,
>> > onto my second box of 100 sheets of 11x17.
>> >
>> > Thought I'd pass that along. OH, it is catalog no. 758-11174,
>> UC5F
>> > inkjet crystal clear 4 mil overlay film.
>> > Chris
>> >
>> >
>> >
>>
>>
>
>
>
Received on Mon Sep 13 13:37:05 2004