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.
Screenprint Separator software creates special postscript files designed to be printed at 1440 x 720 dpi using the Epson stylus RIP with a Dmax of between 3.2 and 4.1 depending on the ink used. If you are buying third party RIP software, be sure to ask if it supports 1440 dpi. If it does not - don't waste your money.
Beware there are many scam artists out there selling inferior ink and unsuitable rip software!
Remember if you don't get the same high density as our free printed sample - you are doing something wrong - call us!
Screenprint Separator 2000 software will print postcript separations to the "out of the box" Epson stylus using the Stylus RIP software that comes with the 3000 and the 1520.
Q/ Isn't this the same as overhead projection film?
A/ POSJET is cheaper and maintains a higher density and in fact makes a superb overhead projection film if that is what you are looking for.
POSJET film was created with screen printing and offset printing in mind.
Posjet is coated with an emulsion that dries extremely quickly -10 -15 seconds after it is printed.
The POSJET emulsion is smoother and the film is much cheaper than overhead projector film.
The sizes of most overhead projection film are limited to only 8.5 x 11 inches.
Q/ We tried some cheaper film (Fastpos) that claimed to be the same as yours, however when we printed separations on our Epson 3000 the sheets did not dry and the positives stuck together creating a huge mess.
Will this happen with POSJET film?
A/ No, we coat our film with our own unique emulsion that is designed to dry the ink very quickly. This means that you don't have to be attending to your printer the whole time.
It defeats the purpose of using an inkjet printer if you have to feed each sheet in one at a time. Our emulsion costs more to make, but we think it's worth it.
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.
Things that POSJET film was not designed to do:
Blender scratch test...
The blow torch....
Automatic spelling correction....
Viewing solar eclipses...
Protection from nuclear radiation....
Welding flash....
Tidal waves....
If these hazards are a part of your shop environment,
under no circumstances use POSJET ink jet film.
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?
Click on the piewheel to learn how to remove the pie wheels.
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.
POSJET INK JET MEDIA 1955 21st. Ave. East Seattle wa 98112 phone 206.760.9559
