3880 media settings for film?

[nobrainsd]

My Epson 3000 died. After taking it apart twice I decided it was time to get a new printer. I'm not printing a lot so sheet fed is fine by me and I got a good deal on a 3880 that arrived doa. Then Epson spaced on my replacement. The dog ate their homework? Finally I have a 3880 up and running.

But there isn't a media option for printing film like there was on the 3000. I have tested the 3880 out using the Epson standard color profile and the photo quality glossy paper media setting. Seems to work fine. But is that really what I want to be using if I'm not running a rip? Will end up with a rip, but I am going to run a few index jobs without one. Anyone out there with experience printing film on a X880 have a recommendation on media selection?

Can't wait to get back to screen printing.Thank you.

[nobrainsd]

Still haven't determined the optimal media setting for the 3880 without a rip. Have not received a reply from epson either. The sample I printed looked pretty good, but I recognize that k3 inks don't block uv as well as the dye based inks. So I downloaded the Accurip trial to get a comparison. Wow! Using the droplet weight test page and varying my resolution I was able to get a really nice black on film with a max droplet size and the 8 pass 1440 x 720 resolution.

I want to keep the printer set up for color printing since it isn't a dedicated machine. Never really thought about how the inks might print differently than my 3000. Will try some exposure tests with both films to see how much ink I really need to lay down on the film, but it looks like I do need more control over the 3880 ink deposit. I don't print many halftoned images, but the easier workflow seperating to postscript along with the better ink deposit on the film through Accurip make the 3880 the printer I need. Dang, There goes another $500.

[nobrainsd]

Obviously not a big topic here, but I figure I should post what I've found out to benefit anyone who might search for info on the 3880.

I received a reply from Epson Tech Support and they recommended the Ultra Premium Presentation Paper Matte media setting. So I gave it a try. Produces a very nice solid black using the matte black ink. More solid than the output I had generated using Accurip. But I went back to Accurip and changed the black ink setting from photo black to matte black and got great results (1440 x 720 4 pass droplet weight 12). Using matte black gives a much more solid black using the oem driver or Accurip. Very close to the density I was getting out of the 3000. I'm glad I took the time to try different settings. Maybe this was an obvious oversight in ink selection by me to begin with.

Still impressed with Accurip, but it is not absolutely necessary to get a good positive. Not sure why Epson hasn't documented the correct media choice for film in the print driver or the manual.

[Maxie]

For years I used a 4000 with Epson cartridges, I was only using the black so twice a year I had to replace all the color cartridges because they empty when you clean the heads.      Eventually I found Accurip and changed to refillable cartridges, bought ink by the litre and printed black through all the heads.       I saved a fortune and got a much better result.

[DocLouis]

What about quality and fine details? Using a 3880 to print line art and text on film; does anyone have suggestions for achieving smooth and sharp edges?

[nobrainsd]

Where are you not getting smooth and sharp edges?  Since I'm printing a postscript file the reg marks are always printing at the full resolution of the printer. They look really crisp! That is a good way to tell if the issue is your printer or your file.

A lot of my work is in raster and is indexed at 185 ppi. Looks a little rough on the film on the edges of larger solid areas, but that isn't a printer issue and doesn't show in the final print. I always add type in Illy so it prints at a much higher resolution.

With vector files you should be getting the resolution set by the printer if your media settings are right.

Let us know what type of file you are printing, your film type and maybe we can make a better suggestion to improve your output.

[Frog]

Indeed. Even my cheapo 1100 prints flawlessly in that regard.
Ink and film combo maybe?

I'm using Cobra Pigment ink on various so-called waterproof films.

Most film only folks go with dye ink.