donbga
10-22-2004, 01:06 PM
A couple of days ago I tested Photwarehouse's Ultrafine Clear Film transparency material as a less expensive substitute for Pictorico OHP by printing the PDN Printer Evaluation Pallette on my Epson 2200.
And as others have reported the exit rollers left a trail of tire marks across the image area due to the slow drying of ink on this media. And the dreaded pizza wheel marks were left on the transparency too. This problem is one that is well known and has plaqued inkjet users before that used non Epson media. But there is a solution to this.
The exit roller marks can be eliminated by using this method show at these links:
http://inksupply.com/index.cfm?source=html/2200wh.html
http://www.colorbat.com/epson_2200.htm
The pizza wheel marks can be easily eliminated by placing a shim in the opening above the exit rollers causing the metal bracket that holds the wheels to pivot upward slightly. I'm still experimenting with this method so I'm not 100% sure if this won't cause media tracking problems.
I've also been able to raise the pizza wheels with a very thin washer on my Epson 1280. This does require some disassembly of the printer to implement but it is pretty easy and simple to do.
The UCF media appears to render image data quite sharply but the downside is that it does require a lengthy time for the ink to dry, at least 24 hours, I do have hope of being able to use this material effectively for digital negatives. The base density of the film is visually much lower than OHP. The comparative UV density of the base has not been determined yet but I'm guessing it well be lower than the OHP. This could be a plus or it may cause printing times to become too short to allow an acceptable DMAX on the print.
Never the less this material could be a less expensive alternative to OHP. I would love to obtain some samples of the AGFA Select Jet material to test that is now only sold in Europe. Would anyone be willing to sell a few sheets?
I have nothing against OHP, as Mark has written in his manual, transparency materials that are problematic should be avoided, but if I can make other materials work I'm willing to put up with the hassle. It does irk me that we only have one source of transparency material available. Already Pictorico doesn't sell the 11x14 size sheets nor the 17x22 sheets, so finding alternative materials seems to be desirable.
Having said all of this I will continue to calibrate with OHP and experiment with other materials as I go along. Is anyone else using other alternative materials? I know that Sandy has used the Epson transparency material with success but it is available only in 8.5x11 inch sheets.
Thanks,
Don
And as others have reported the exit rollers left a trail of tire marks across the image area due to the slow drying of ink on this media. And the dreaded pizza wheel marks were left on the transparency too. This problem is one that is well known and has plaqued inkjet users before that used non Epson media. But there is a solution to this.
The exit roller marks can be eliminated by using this method show at these links:
http://inksupply.com/index.cfm?source=html/2200wh.html
http://www.colorbat.com/epson_2200.htm
The pizza wheel marks can be easily eliminated by placing a shim in the opening above the exit rollers causing the metal bracket that holds the wheels to pivot upward slightly. I'm still experimenting with this method so I'm not 100% sure if this won't cause media tracking problems.
I've also been able to raise the pizza wheels with a very thin washer on my Epson 1280. This does require some disassembly of the printer to implement but it is pretty easy and simple to do.
The UCF media appears to render image data quite sharply but the downside is that it does require a lengthy time for the ink to dry, at least 24 hours, I do have hope of being able to use this material effectively for digital negatives. The base density of the film is visually much lower than OHP. The comparative UV density of the base has not been determined yet but I'm guessing it well be lower than the OHP. This could be a plus or it may cause printing times to become too short to allow an acceptable DMAX on the print.
Never the less this material could be a less expensive alternative to OHP. I would love to obtain some samples of the AGFA Select Jet material to test that is now only sold in Europe. Would anyone be willing to sell a few sheets?
I have nothing against OHP, as Mark has written in his manual, transparency materials that are problematic should be avoided, but if I can make other materials work I'm willing to put up with the hassle. It does irk me that we only have one source of transparency material available. Already Pictorico doesn't sell the 11x14 size sheets nor the 17x22 sheets, so finding alternative materials seems to be desirable.
Having said all of this I will continue to calibrate with OHP and experiment with other materials as I go along. Is anyone else using other alternative materials? I know that Sandy has used the Epson transparency material with success but it is available only in 8.5x11 inch sheets.
Thanks,
Don