Re: Laser half tone negs.

Sam Wang (stmwang@hubcap.clemson.edu)
Wed, 26 Jul 1995 11:25:20 -0500

Luis Nadeau asked:

>>can gradually refine, fortunately. The inexpensive inkjet printers can be
>>employed to make very good separation negatives as well.
>
>Inexpensive as the Epson Stylus or as the not so inexpensive Iris?

Inexpensive as in the $149 Refurbished StyleWriterII. I would not name IRIS
in the same breath with "inexpensive" (I don't own a rock group).

These printers can print very clean 300-360dpi dots on appropriate media,
and for multiple colors, 360dpi is more than enough to give a
continuous-tone feeling. The main problem is streaking (or banding) from
partially clogged print holes or glazed rollers. Also, these "negatives"
may need to be run through the printer more than once to build up enough
density.

BTW, the color inkjet printers such as the HP 550C do a very nice job
printing transparencies since they use black and blue inks over each other.
And of course the Epson Color Stylus does a fine job at 360dpi (it prints
720dpi on their special paper only).

>>If you wait a month or two, Darkroom Techniques magazine will have an
>>article on exatly this subject, written by Phil Davis. I have a couple of
>>sample color gum prints by Phil that's truly amazing in what he has been
>>able to do with his laser printed negatives.
>
>What kind or resolution is he using?

Phil's printing the negatives on a 600dpi laser printer. However he had to
lower the resolution to avoid streaking. On the sample print I mentioned,
it was 220dpi, I believe, but amazingly you can see the dots only in very
light areas - the color fidelity of the image and the multiple layers of
gum hide the dots. For monchrome processes such as platinum, higher dpi is
crucial if one doesn't care for much graininess.

My experience with laser printers is that brand new 600dpi Canon engines
(Apple LW's) can print very nice and smooth up to 300dpi transparencies.
Anything else will give you streaks. So personally I prefer to avoid the
problems and get Linotronic 600-2400dpi negatives done at a service bureau.
My students are getting very decent results (tricolor gum) from inkjet
printed negaives, however.

Sam

Sam Wang e-mail: stmwang@hubcap.clemson.edu
Art Dept - Clemson University voice: 803/656-3924
Lee Hall, Clemson, SC 29634 FAX: 803/656-0204