Epson 4900 film not lining up?

[shirtz]

Epson 4900,  14"wide fixxons roll film. Our seps are not lining up. Almost like the film is being stretched.
Not just a liitle but as much as 1/8" in 19" long output.
  Is this common?
Any ideas?

[mimosatexas]

from what I understand, this is actually common, especially with the roll.  There are ways to compensate for it digitally, but the easiest fix would be to cut the films rather than use them off the roll.

[Prosperi-Tees]

The films never line up on my 1400 if I stack the films but the reg marks and image still line up if that makes sense.

To your issue have you tried unrolling the roll of film before it feeds it? Maybe there is too much tension on the roll, I know that happens with my vinyl cutter if it is trying to pull it off the roll.

[cbjamel]

Depends on if using a rip, in the rip you usually can adjust this. I run a 4800 rolled using ulano film and rarely have problems.
Shane

[blue moon]

Epson 4900,  14"wide fixxons roll film. Our seps are not lining up. Almost like the film is being stretched.
Not just a liitle but as much as 1/8" in 19" long output.
  Is this common?
Any ideas?

it sounds like a feeding problem. The compensation others have mentioned only works when you are getting consistent results and the output is too long or too short. Check your rollers and the spindle that carries the film. It is spring loaded and only operates correctly in one direction (supposedly).

pierre

[Rockers]

On a Wasatch RIP for example you can apply crop marks and extend them around the whole image area. That way the Epson printer avoids skipping areas that are empty. Helps a lot. Alternatively you can draw as well the outlines of a square around the whole image area in Illustrator or what ever software you use and use the registration swatch so it prints on each film.

[ravenmark]

If mine ever go out it is at the end of a roll, totally random too. As others have mentioned it could be a feed calibration problem from your Rip also. Wasatch has a way to recalibrate it with a file you can print, measure, then change a setting to handle it. In Wasatch you can also adjust for the thickness of your film which may or may not make a difference. Your rip may be different or or may not allow for this. I have also been having really good luck with the 17" film I have been using, it is nice to rotate images to save footage, they also offer 14". I forget the company we get it from being I normally deal with the owner & I am headed towards senility lol. Hit up dirkdigler if you would like to know the place to get it for a try out.

[shirtz]

We are using accurip, I think I saw a option for lining it up in the software. I'll check that out.

[DSWArtTeam]

I too notice this issue. Its exactly as you mentioned and on the Epson Pro 4900. But with further investigation we have found that its not in fact stretching the film but squishing it. Its still off as you say but where we thought it was stretching it too its actually the opposite. We also notice this only happens (randomly) on the last 10-15 feet or 7 jobs of the roll. Can you confirm the same thing? Also did you ever find a solution.

[dirkdiggler]

same here and still no fix, same problem on 2 different 4900s.

[jsheridan]

have you considered the film you're using..

are you buying it based soley on price or because it works best for you.

Like they say, you get what you pay for.

I know wasatch has a calibration feature that is designed for long prints over 18" in length. It prints little marks and you measure them and it will adjust the feed for you.

Another thing is to only print the image the same way, IE don't rotate this and that to make the best use of the film.

[Doug S]

I'm using a epson 7700 and fixxons film.  I lay the film on my FPU and try my best not to stretch the film when I tape the 4 corners and still I have the problem of the top 2 marks lining up but have to stretch the film slightly to get the bottom ones to match up.  I've been using the 24" wide film but just got a new batch of 17" film hoping that will solve the problem.  I stopped just sending all of my films out at once in illustrator and started sending them one at a time after I unroll the film some first which is an extreme time killer.  That solved some of it but not all.  It really makes it a b**(** at the press to fine tune.  I know the fixxons film is really inexpensive compared to many others out there and it's a 4 mil film.  I'm just wondering if 5 mil film would stop the stretching.  I saw it advertised at like a $100 a roll which is expensive compared to the fixxons but if that would solve the problem then it would be worth it by a mile because the extra $20 would be saved easily in pre-press time.

[dirkdiggler]

have you considered the film you're using..

are you buying it based soley on price or because it works best for you.

Like they say, you get what you pay for.

I know wasatch has a calibration feature that is designed for long prints over 18" in length. It prints little marks and you measure them and it will adjust the feed for you.

Another thing is to only print the image the same way, IE don't rotate this and that to make the best use of the film.

I tried all kinds of brands with the same problems.  NOW, that Wasatch feature you mention...need to try that, how do you do it?

[DSWArtTeam]

Yeah, all different film, no luck, and it doesn't matter how they art is rotated the design gets shrunk slightly length-wise. Again note: Its NOT stretching.... its getting smaller. There has to be an epson specific calibration or issue as it appears some of us are using different rip softwares but the same issue... right?

[Homer]

have you guys tried printing stuff without the rip? see if it is the rip or the printer or the film. When I had this issue, it was a mechanical problem on the printer.