Epson R2000 for Digital Negatives

photomc · Jul 4, 2012

So, decided to see if this old dog could learn some new tricks. Have been printing palladium prints from in camera negatives for a few years and feel pretty comfortable with them (just need more time) and decided to see if I could learn how to make prints from digital negatives. So bought myself a MAC (iMac - low end with 16Gb) and Epson R2000 printer to go with the Canon T2i (550D) to see if it can be done with budget level equipment - of course I would rather have Canon 5D MkII/III and Epson R3880, but did not make sense to spend that much to 'see' if I cared for the results. Have downloaded the QTR for the MAC (working with Roy on the drivers for the R2000) and Clay sent me some informatin plus working from the excellent downloads on his site (Thanks Clay).

So, here are the questions:
1. Do you really need a UV densitometer or can I get by with the x-rite 810 I have?
2. Has anyone used the R2000 to print digital negatives (or positives for that matter - what quality do you get)?
3. Inks - stick with the Epson UltraChrome, if not which after market inks.
4. Is the little Canon T2i really up to the task (maybe add one of the L series lens - I had a few of the older EOS lens from previous cameras)?

Figure to use the printer for printing B&W as well as color in addition to the digital negatives.

Thanks for any input....Mike

pschwart · Jul 4, 2012

1. Do you really need a UV densitometer or can I get by with the x-rite 810 I have?

The 810 is fine for reading paper prints. You will need a UV densitometer is you want to read negatives.
You can actually get by without a UV transmission densitometer, but it is a great help, and reading negatives instead of having to print them first saves time.

2. Has anyone used the R2000 to print digital negatives (or positives for that matter - what quality do you get)?

I think the R2000 inks are the worst UV blockers I have ever measured -- even worse than the 1400 Claria inks.
The initial measurements I got were so poor that I decided not to even bother creating a QTR profile. That doesn't mean you can't, but I didn't want to spend a lot of time using an ink set that is marginial for digital negatives.

3. Inks - stick with the Epson UltraChrome, if not which after market inks.

Since the native inks are poor blockers, I am thinking about using Cone ink in the R2000 but haven't tried this yet.

Mike Castles said:
So, decided to see if this old dog could learn some new tricks. Have been printing palladium prints from in camera negatives for a few years and feel pretty comfortable with them (just need more time) and decided to see if I could learn how to make prints from digital negatives. So bought myself a MAC (iMac - low end with 16Gb) and Epson R2000 printer to go with the Canon T2i (550D) to see if it can be done with budget level equipment - of course I would rather have Canon 5D MkII/III and Epson R3880, but did not make sense to spend that much to 'see' if I cared for the results. Have downloaded the QTR for the MAC (working with Roy on the drivers for the R2000) and Clay sent me some informatin plus working from the excellent downloads on his site (Thanks Clay).

So, here are the questions:
1. Do you really need a UV densitometer or can I get by with the x-rite 810 I have?
2. Has anyone used the R2000 to print digital negatives (or positives for that matter - what quality do you get)?
3. Inks - stick with the Epson UltraChrome, if not which after market inks.
4. Is the little Canon T2i really up to the task (maybe add one of the L series lens - I had a few of the older EOS lens from previous cameras)?

Figure to use the printer for printing B&W as well as color in addition to the digital negatives.

Thanks for any input....Mike

Epson R2000 for Digital Negatives

photomc

pschwart

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