Hello,
I have just printed (on fb paper) a digital neg I made. The result is excellent, I like the tones, but I have a problem with some banding, not too visible but still annoying. It is not a transparency fault (I can see it also on other medias). I tried everything to remove it (cleaning heads, alignment check etc.) without result. It appears only on large areas with slight tone changes (open sky, large portion of terrain with almost uniform values/tones) etc. Prints without such uniform, untextured large zones, have no artifacts. The printer is an epson 1290 (same as the U.S. 1280 I think). I wonder if there is some trick I can use in photoshop to prevent such artifacts (apart adding noise, 2% makes things better but does not solve the problem completely).
BTW, the file is a digital picture, I am not scanning a negative.
Thanks and best regards
P.

Have you tried altering the resolution of the output? Many years ago I experienced a similar banding artifact trying to make a digital negative from a laser printer. Lowering the output resolution (from 600 to 300 dpi IIRC) helped reduce this effect. I don't know why this worked although it seemed the lower resolution tended to mask the banding. Perhaps there is some similar compromise that can produce acceptable results for you using an inkjet printer. Just a guess, but it might be worth wasting a sheet to guage the effect, if any.

Printing on a different paper with a more pronounced texture should also mask the banding somewhat. For example, printing on a lustre rather than a glossy surface paper might help break up the artifact.

Other than adding a bit of noise in Photoshop to break up the tone as you suggest, I don't think there is any digital manipulation you can do to solve the problem. Rather, it sounds like a printer issue rather than a file issue. Rotating the file 90 degrees may put the artifact in a less noticible area of the final print (e.g., a long horizontal banding artifact the length of the sky might be made into a shorter vertical artifact by rotation).

thank you for your answer :)
well, I tried already reducing resolution, but not so much changed...
Also, the banding is always horizontal (it is parallel to printer's head movement)...
I think I need to change printer :( I know a more textured paper could help, but I need no banding on transparencies and I prefer transparent transparencies :P

thank you for your answer :)
well, I tried already reducing resolution, but not so much changed...
Also, the banding is always horizontal (it is parallel to printer's head movement)...
I think I need to change printer :( I know a more textured paper could help, but I need no banding on transparencies and I prefer transparent transparencies :P

What is the predominant color of your digital negative? IF it is redish-orange this color tends to cause such problems with silver gelatin prints in my experience with the 1280.

Don Bryant

yes, my negative is orange, but to be honest the problem is worse with non colorized negatives. Also, I can see the slight banding even in normal inkjet prints on glossy / matte paper. I hate my 1290.. :( Till I purchase a new printer, I will be able to make dig negs only with almost white sky...(with white sky, no banding..)

Also, I can see the slight banding even in normal inkjet prints on glossy / matte paper. I hate my 1290.. :( Till I purchase a new printer, I will be able to make dig negs only with almost white sky...(with white sky, no banding..)

I assume you have done an alignment test. If so and the problem persists you have a problem with your printer it seems.

Don

ugh, my mistake. The printer has a slight banding but It's not THIS banding what I see in the negative...its the ugly coating of my cheap transparencies (with something sticky). Just ordered some pictorico...
Anyway, thank you Don :)

The slight banding on the printer is due to blockages on the printer head. In some cases repeated cleaning clears it but you can buy cleaning cartridges.

I have an older PhotoEX which a friend was throwing out due to banding, in fact I usually only print Photo Quality on Ilford or Fuji papers and never see the problem. At first if I printed on ordinary plain paper in colour I did get the banding, but now over 18 months later its ceased.

Search on the net for cleaning cartridges, the problem often arises if you change to non Epson cartridges and incompatibility of the inks (dyes).

thanks, I will try to find cleaning cartridges...but here in Italy it's not so simple (can't find pictorico, cant find cleaning cartridges..), bah.
P.