Epson r200 for d-negs?

[Nikonic]

Hi-
I'm a recent immigrant from LFforums, I was pointed here for information about digital negative creation. I simply cannot deny the flexibility of photoshop any longer, and I hope the digital negative will be the best of both worlds. I am in the process of ordering a cavalcade of photoshop, scanning etc., books to reeducate myself. From there I will proceed to texts on digital negatives.

I have at my disposal a somewhat old and VERY head clogged epson stylus r200. It was my fathers. He made about 5 prints on it and then let it sit for 6 weeks.

I know it isn't ideal, but would this printer be suitable for making negatives? I can find only one reference on it in this forum.

He bought it for windows, and I have mac OS. I scrambled around on the web and could only find the epson "easyprint" driver, bringing me to my largest and most stupid question. Is there such a thing as a third party driver? I worry that, even if I could get the r200 driver (or r300 driver working) it won't be able to individually control ink densities etc, and do the things necassary for making negatives. From what I remember the driver was quite basic.

Thanks-
-Alex

PS- this message appears when I try to print.

"Some postscript specific print settings (emulsion, interpolation, calibration, encoding) will be be ignored since you are printing to a non-postscript printer"

 

[mkochsch]

First, clean the R200 and get it working (try fixyourownprinter.com) or pitch it. It's worth about two complete fills of Epson inks. If you waste one set of ink carts on cleaning cycles you're half-way to a new printer. The economics of that last statement should be self-evident.
Yes it's a great printer for 8x10 negatives. Also it's a relatively NEW model of Epson unless you've mixed up the model numbers. About two years old I think.
If it's an Epson there's a driver made for it in both Windows and Mac. QTR Rip also supports it too.
~m

 

[Nikonic]

First, clean the R200 and get it working

Really?!?

 

[mkochsch]

Really?!?

Yes clean the head, don't run "cleaning cycles" on it. There's a system that uses isopropanol, ammonia and water solution to soak the head. Time is your main weapon. Let it sit in the solution for a couple of days if you can....e-mail Aurthur Entlich on the comp.periphs.printers group and he send you the instructions....seriously....
~m

 

[Nikonic]

Thanks for your help, but I was actually being sarcastic.

I might not know the first thing about inkjet printers, but that doesn't mean I don't have any common sense.