Q/ Can separations be printed on any ink jet printer? Do I need a RIP workstation?
Q/ We just bought an epson 4800 and the density is low - what can be done? It is no where near as black as our Epson 3000 was.
A/ Using the 1440 dpi setting using Ultrachrome ink and a proper RIP program is is possible to get dense film positives on POSJET film.
Epson recomends the water proof inkjet material that is more than double the price, this is not nessesary.
The newer printers have much smaller droplet sizes than the 3000 has and therefore the density is lower.
The average screen printer using an epson 3000 will be able to print better film at one third the price.
A box of 17x22 waterproof film is about $400.00 and a box of regular posjet is currently $158.00 for 100 sheets.
Ink costs for the new machines are 4 times higher than the 3000.
You must use Epson cartridges only in the 4000 and the 4800.
Using the Neverending inkjet cartridge and our High Density black ink ,
the cost to run for a year is about $80.00.
Running the new printers with Ultrachrome inks costs about $400.00 per year
This is why we sell so many refurbished Epson 3000 printers. The material cost savings would allow you to buy several refurbished printers as back up.
Q/ Can separations be printed on any ink jet printer? Do I need a RIP workstation?
A/ There are many ink jet printers that can print resolutions over 1200 dpi, however you need to have a Postscript RIP or driver to print separations. We recommend the Epson stylus 3000 and the 1520 for their robust performance and resolution. We have tested these machines in production situations using Screenprint Separator as the output software with excellent results.
With Screenprint Separator software there is no need to purchase an expensive Rip workstation - the Epson stylus RIP that comes with the Epson 3000 will run on your existing computer
Q:Can I print film positives on my desktop small format inkjet printer?
A:Yes you can print on any of the small printers that are supported by the Epson stylus color rip software.
See http://www.posjet for more on inkjet film positives.
Q/ Everytime I logged on to the USscreen website with a question about inkjet positives, they told me that I need FAST rip software or I would not able to print film. I purchased this Fastrip for more tha $500 and It worked ok for a while, but now my fill has lines through it and the density is poor. They told me my heads are plugged up, but the nozzle check is fine. What gives?
A/ We don't know exactly what causes this problem, we hear about this on a regular basis. FASTRIP is aptly named.
It seems that after years of telling people that INKJETS can not print film. Scott Fresener has found a way to print old fashioned halftones on an inkjet and makes some fast bucks . People have been printing halftones on inkjets for free with "Ghostscript" for years.
The darker image above shows POSJET film printed on an Epson 3000 using the "free" Rip that came with the printer laying on top of a quartz light (very bright).
The lighter image with lines in it is the same file printed through FASTRIP to the same printer. Granted this is small type, but the quality of the print will be affected. This is apparently fine for the low caliber of printing promoted at the USScreen institute.
Q/ What are the consumable costs like when compared to a laser printer or thermal image setter?
A/ Our film is half the cost of thermal film used in the OYO or Eccopro units but it is more expensive than laser vellum, however the increase in resolution and the perfect registration more than pay for themselves. When you use film that does not register perfectly, your set up times can be double what they should be. The press operator will get the registration right at the top of the design only to find that the bottom is out. The attempt at registering the bottom of the design will lead to the top being out of registration and a tail chasing exercise will ensue often resulting in a compromised partially registered print. Out of register film can also mean having to stop the press more often to clean the screens because unintended overlap is blurring the image. The ink cartridges are refillable on both the Epson 3000 and 1520. Hundreds of sheets of POSJET film can be printed with one cartridge that costs a few dollars to refill.
Q/ How fast can you produce a useable film on the Epson 3000?
A/ The Epson 3000 will print a 17x22 sheet with full coverage in about 10 to 15 minutes at 1440 dpi. Smaller sheets can take 2 to 5 minutes. The emulsion is dry in about thirty seconds and hardens to permanence in 15 to 25 minutes depending on the moisture content of the air.
Q/ What is the shelf life of POSJET film? Does it go yellow like our ECOPRO thermal film?
A/ POSJET film will remain stable for decades if stored properly. The film will never turn yellow or black like the thermal image setter films. The polyester base will not shrink or distort.
Q/ Will the film be damaged if it gets wet?
A/ Like all film positives you should not allow them to get wet. The emulsion will streak if water is sprayed on them. It would be very foolish to have your wash out sink next to your exposure unit where water might spray the film. In normal production the film performs like any image set film would.
You may have seen this ad recently placed by our competition.
For those of you who may have been confused by this.
Is this something I should be doing? Relax, you're not missing out on some new method. This is just a way to justify selling film that is 3 times more expensive than ours is - because it's water proof.
To date, there is still no part of screen printing that involves dipping your film in trays of water. Really. You can skip this part and just expose your screens.
Q/ How is the registration? If I print the film on different days will it still fit?
A/ Unlike all the other postscript output devices there is no heating of the actual film substrate. It is this heat that causes the distortion. Laser printers in particular are infamous for producing large format positives that are as much as an 8th of an inch out from top to bottom.
Q/ How does the final printed garment look when compared to the same print made with professional image set film positives?A/ Once the same image is printed using Image Setter output film and the same film made on the Epson 3000, it is impossible to tell the difference when compared side by side.
Q/ What about those little tracks left by the pie wheels used on the Epson 3000?
A/ If these little marks bother you, it is possible to remove the pie wheels altogether.
Q/ What prints better on POSJET film, half tones or the random square dot dither created with Screenprint Separator software?
A/ There is a great deal of debate about this in our industry, most of the rabble comes from the half tone bigots that find it hard to leave the old ways behind. When Benjamin Day invented the half tone at the beginning of the 20th century he had a great deal of trouble convincing graphic arts professionals that the half tone was better than the hand done dot stipple that had been the mainstay for so long. The half tone did not always work better than the dot stipple but eventually became the standard due to the much lower cost of production. You have to ask yourself " why do ink jet printers use dithers rather than half tones?" The answer is simple "RESOLUTION". The dithers used by the ink jet produce far greater resolution and clarity than the coarse half tone. If you visit the squaredot web site you will see the results of the dither used by Screenprint Separator to over come resolution, color shifts, dot gain and Moiré. Any image no matter what it looks like can be screen printed better in equal size frequency modulated square dots than various sized round half tones.
Q/ Do you ship over seas? or do I have to find a dealer?
A/ Absolutely, we have users around the world - we can ship directly to your company anywhere in the World.
