film output printer is driving me CRAZY!

[Du Manchu]

What in the heck do the big shops use to output film.  I cannot imaging they are screwing around with ALL BLACK setups in Epson 1400/1430/4800??.  THIS IS COMPLETE B.S. , as we have lost an entire day trying to get our fairly new 1430 to output a decent solid black film.  We've already burned up one Epson 1400, but unfortunately it is discontinued, and we grabbed this 1430 in a panic on another crashed day. I'll continue farting around with resetting chips, nozzle checks, & head cleaning…..but this is not a long term viable solution. 

So…..what type of printer do the big shops use?  Please tell me there is a reliable solution!

[gtmfg]

Epson 4900. Although I think whatever epson changed from the 4880 to the 4900 is pure crap. After using the 4900 for a year I'm happy to say we have a DTS on the way.

[sben763]

Not sure what problem your having.  Are you getting bad nozzle checks?  I used the 1400 for 7 years and rarely had a clogged nozzle. I have been using my 1430 about a year and not one clog yet. 


What inks you using or what system you using.  It sounds like your having issues elsewhere

[Screen Dan]

I don't know what qualifies as a big shop or what they might use, but my shop--which I consider upper-mid-range--uses CTS.  Films were so much a hassle in so many ways.  Dealing with the printers was only one of them.  If you get a decent unit, especially used or refurb, it will pay for itself in a year or two in film costs alone...not to mention wasted time.

Your mileage may vary.

[Itsa Little CrOoked]

Dewey,

I'd need more information to know how to help you, but I am VERY pleased with my 1400. And the ditto sheet feeder was an excellent addition I just got a used 4800 and when I press it into service, I'll still keep the 1400 ready because it is just stupid reliable. I even have a brand new one on the shelf ready to go, still in the box....just in case.

I suspect your frustration is from production and looming deadline pressures, and that is never fun! I won't insult you by telling you to breathe deeply and relax, but your printer is probably just fine.

I'm a low volume shop, and film printers are a good fit for me so far. I just don't need the latest whizbang Direct To Screen or other automated gizmos, although if I did, CTS is ABSOLUTELY wonderful. But I've only burned over 50 screens a week once in 7 years. So.

If you'd like, PM me with your contact info and maybe we can talk on the phone.

Stan

[gtmfg]

Are you using a rip?

[jsheridan]

Big shops went the way of CTS and never looked back.

I was never a fan of the 1400 as it didn't handle roll roll media, only sheets.

One of the best budget epsons with more support for refillable carts, ink choices, all black and parts galore is the 4800 series with the 4880 at the top of that list. Keep an eye on cragislist nationally and you can find one for 200 bucks or less + shipping.

As said.. the 4900 is OK to good if you can get it setup correctly. I have heard of 4900 users using 1 of the carts for black for film and keeping the other colors in place so they could do films and color proofs off the same machine.

At the end of the day, CTS is way to go. Start saving now for one.

[blue moon]

If you are going the printer route, 4800 & 4880 seem to be the way to go. Film on the roll, good RIP and good ink yield little headache and good results. Our 4800 is completely dialed in and I'll bet our screens are better than most shops out there including the CTS.

4800s have been going for $450 or so on the craigslist. Add the $200 for the refillable cartridges, some cleaning fluid for the other 7 and you are up and running.

Pierre

[Du Manchu]

I also liked the 1400, but it croaked.  We then got the 1430, and new sets of cartridges and ink from CISInks (which historically worked fine in the 1400).

The problem today is banding.  I did  head cleaning and a decent nozzle check print.  Printed two good films, and then the banding came back. Two print heads nozzle checks had degraded to almost no bars. We are wasting time, film, and ink, and basically chasing our tails, as once get it nailed down, we will be back here next week.   

Possible side note OR culprit,.....An employee drained a set of carts doing head cleaning (to no avail) yesterday.  Where does all that ink go?

CTS is out of the question.  Wishing there was a laser option out there...

[Squeegie]

Not a big shop...hell, not even a medium shop...but I still use my 3000 daily without issues.

Most jobs output on a 13 x 19 film...or cut pcs for left chest sized prints.
Bought some 17 x 22 films for cheap so I never have an image size restriction at the printer.

[Sbrem]

Ditto what Pierre says. We ran through 3 1400's, using AccuRIP, got a 4800 which was great, but it's head went south and the replacement was ridiculous, so we found a 3800 for dirt and that's our main machine. Print only through one channel, cleaning fluid in the others. Waste ink goes into some extremely absorbent pads in the bottom of the printer, when they fill up you get a message that your printer needs (expensive) service. You can get reset software so the message goes away, but eventually, ink will overflow and ooze out of the bottom of the printer. The fix for that is to open it up, find the waste ink tube that feeds the pad, and redirect the waste ink into a bottle. YouTube videos to see it done.

Steve

Also, you can get a larger syringe for cleaning fluid with tubes that fit over the nipples under the cartriges; you start the printer, start a head cleaning, and when the head moves away from the docking station, unplug the printer (not the power switch) and you'll be able to move the head freely. Then you fold some paper towel so it would fit under the head and start squeezing cleaning fluid through each nozzle, that why the paper towel is underneath, I'll do this a couple of time, then put the ink back in and do nozzle check. Works pretty well, and is way less expensive than constant head cleaning procedures.
 

[Itsa Little CrOoked]

MY carts--don't know about yours--need to be "primed" if they have run completely dry.

Here is a video that explains it better than I can.  VERY Important.....

https://www.cobraink.com/videos/dye%20cart/start%20video.html  EDIT:  LINK DOESN'T SEEM TO WORK.. Go to cobraink.com, support, and video #19.

You'll see clearly what THIS problems is and how to fix it. It may or may NOT be your problem. But if you've run them empty...EVER....then they need to be primed.

Stan

[Inkworks]

Not a big shop...hell, not even a medium shop...but I still use my 3000 daily without issue

Me too, in fact I just picked up a minty spare 3000 with a full set of spare ink cartridges for $100.

[ZooCity]

Relatively speaking, I've been just tickled with our 4800 for years.  I did have to replace a head and it was not easy but it's doable and not too spendy if you DIY it.   We run one black for films.  Always roll film, it prints, cuts, stacks 'em for you so you can run it all day or even overnight...which you may need to do if printing uni-directional at max res, it's not the fastest at those settings but makes very crisp, high D-max films with any decent RIP and quality black ink. 

We use cheapo films from fixxons because we go through a good deal of it.  You can mitigate film costs with quality ink and a pre-reg system that uses carrier sheets.  I know, everyone hates them but they do help out a lot for controlling film use and as Tony P has demonstrated, you can probably smoke any CTS machine just loading pre-printed films on pinned carriers and exposing. It's very fast and easy to train anyone to do.  This is really only for shops doing repeats though, we don't archive films that are not for retail line clients or have a low possibility of repeating. 

Just picked up a spare 4800 locally, complete with oem carts, maint tank, etc. for about $450.  I'd say this is probably the best deal going right now, used 4800.   Get a spare spindle and you can swap between 13-14" and 17" film very quickly.  Also get the chip resetter for it so you can eliminate those issues, use refillables if desired and not have to buy their silly overpriced maintenance tanks.  Brian at filmdirect used to sell refurbs and kits, I'd recommend at least checking him out if in the market. 

CTS is great, in fact we have a little dinger CTS that we're installing soon to do our spot color and 45lpi or lower screens, but for about a grand you could have a fully redundant, completely functional 2x 4800 setup.   I'm stoked about having the backup unit as I'm going to probably setup one for films/dye sub, the other for proofing or maybe both for film/dye sub for more output.  That's a lot of flexibility and security for cheap.

Speaking of, we have an Epson 1400 in storage with a refillable cart set if anyone is interested in it PM me, I don't think we have any use for it at this point.

[screenxpress]

Wishing there was a laser option out there...

Naw, you really don't. 

Unless you're only doing single color jobs.  Lasers almost always end up warping the film from the fuser on registering for multi-color and end up wasting film.  IMO