Printing on transparency film

frankg

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I really don’t know where to post this. If an admin can move it to an appropriate place & let me know id appreciate it.

Im looking for basic guidance (tips, settings, links…) on how to print on clear transparency film on an Epson P400 from photoshop. The sheets I bought (Grafx) do not have an icc profile. I know its used to print digital negs for alt printing processes

Thanks

{Moderator's Note - frankg has added more detail and refined his question in Post 12}
 
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MattKing

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Moved to Digital Negatives.
If that doesn't work for you @frankg , post here further.
 
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frankg

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Thank you. I looked for that forum but couldn’t find it. Will try again
 

MattKing

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frankg said:
Thank you. I looked for that forum but couldn’t find it. Will try again
Click to expand...

It found you .
Just click on the bolded "Digital Negatives" near the top of the page. It is one of the sub-forums in the Hybrid Workflow area.
 

koraks

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frankg said:
how to print on clear transparency film on an Epson P400 from photoshop
Click to expand...

What would you like to print?
Like you said, many people print 'digital negatives' on transparency film, but is this also what you intend to do? Or do you want to print positive (perhaps also color) images for e.g. backlit presentation?
 
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frankg

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koraks said:
What would you like to print?
Like you said, many people print 'digital negatives' on transparency film, but is this also what you intend to do? Or do you want to print positive (perhaps also color) images for e.g. backlit presentation?
Click to expand...

At this particular point I want to experiment with image transfers from transparency film to watercolour paper for a mixed media project But I do see digital negs (&/or positives) in my future. Right now my question is for the very basic ‘generic’ printer dialogue settings, rather than specialized curves etc. Im not even managing to print a decent stepwedge.
 

koraks

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I see; well, in that case, I'd just print as if it were regular paper and take it from there. I haven't done this a lot, but when I first got some transparencies, I also tried simply printing color images to it and I found that normal paper settings were actually quite alright.

I'm very curious as to how the transfers will work out; if you can share some examples once you've tried it, I'd love to see those!
 
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frankg

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Will do. If I eventually get there. Ive tried plain paper, glossy paper, wide platten, normal gap, this & that. No luck. Prints a strange pattern, only half the steps of a 21 stepwedge, etc something about how the ink is being laid down
 

koraks

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I'm not familiar with the film you're using, but when I started out, I was using film that turned out to be pretty bad. Try something like Pictorico OHP, Fixxons or even generic screen printing inkjet film. The latter is generally cheap, but of good quality in my experience.

If you could post some examples of the failed prints you've made, perhaps someone can give some more pointers.
 
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frankg

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I trashed or wiped the failures. Thought id get a few pointers before wasting more film & ink
 
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frankg

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Ahead of ordering Fixxons or Pictorico (or similar) I am using a locally sourced Grafix Clear Film for Inkjet.
Never having printed on anything but paper I'm new to this & trying to get down some very basic settings to print on clear film; prior to using process specific curves/Luts.

I printed a 21 step wedge & am seeing an awful "pattern" or "texture" plus what may be pizza wheel marks (quick phone photo attached).
Can anyone help identify the problem/s & hopefully suggest a fix.

Ps 2024
Epson P400

Col handling=Ps manages col
printer profile=photo paper glossy
rendering=Perceptual
Bl Pt compensation checked

Print Settings -
Source=Rear fine art
Media= Photo Paper Glossy
Mode=Black/Greyscale
Output res=Photo
HiSpeed & Gloss optimiser=Off
Col Mode=Off

Thank you
 

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MattKing

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Threads merged.
Good luck in your quest!
 

nmp

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Col handling=Ps manages col
printer profile=photo paper glossy --> SC- P400 series Ultra Premium Photo Paper Glossy PK


rendering=Perceptual
Bl Pt compensation checked

Print Settings -
Source=Rear fine art --> Sheet
Media= Ultra Premium Photo Paper Glossy
Mode=Black/Greyscale --> (Is this Color?) Color
Output res=Photo (where is this?) In print Quality --> Go with Quality Option 5 with SuperPhoto, Microweave on
HiSpeed & Gloss optimiser=Off
Col Mode=Off

Feed the transparency like a regular sheet. If that gives you a problem you might have to use a carrier/backing sheet (or some other gimmick to fool the printer.) But try the above first. It's too thin to be used in the Rear Fine art mode.

:Niranjan.
 
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fgorga

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Simplest solution... use one of the known good products for this use. Pictorico, Fixxons or generic "waterproof film for silk screen printing" are the best choices.

If you insist on using this material, make sure that you a printing on the correct side of the film.

Also consider reducing the amount of ink laid down this will decrease your Dmax but at least part of your problem looks like ink beading up on the surface. I don't have a P400 so I can't advise on how to do this... sorry.
 

tnp651

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frankg said:
I printed a 21 step wedge & am seeing an awful "pattern" or "texture" plus what may be pizza wheel marks (quick phone photo attached).
Can anyone help identify the problem/s & hopefully suggest a fix.
Click to expand...
Are you using matte ink? It'll smear badly. Epson calls their gloss inks "Photo Black."
 

koraks

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frankg said:
I printed a 21 step wedge & am seeing an awful "pattern" or "texture" plus what may be pizza wheel marks (quick phone photo attached).
Click to expand...

Looks like a combination of two problems going on:

1: The film you're using doesn't really take the ink. I get this problem if I print on the wrong side of the film I use! My film has an emulsion side and a backside; the emulsion side gets very sticky if you lick a corner. But it's also possible that the film you're using just doesn't take ink well, in which case you'd have to dramatically reduce the ink load - and would end up with very low density. However, make sure you're using the film in the proper orientation first.

2: The banding in the black patch/line to the right looks like a nozzle clog or head alignment problem. Run a power cleaning cycle and verify if there's a print head alignment routine; if so, go through it. This problem tends to be emphasized if only a single channel is used for printing; e.g. with the media type set to "plain copier paper" (or something similar) and printing "black only". In this case, the printer may only use the single black channel. However, since your media type is set to 'photo paper glossy', I assume this is not part of the problem.
 
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frankg

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Yes, there is a 'rough' or 'textured' side to the film.

The quality of the transparency film may well not be good enough to hold the ink well.
I will try and source one of the better ones (pictorico or Fixxons) but they're impossible to find locally [Canada] & shipping costs from the US are v high

Good News! -
I just ran several cycles to align the head & make sure all the nozzles are firing.

I changed the print settings to:
Ps manages col
Printer profile - ultra premium photo paper glossy
Print mode - AccuPhoto(col)
Print quality - Best
Hi speed & Gloss optimizer - Off

A remarkable difference. Not perfect but vastly improved.
I still have a few 'pinhole' dots in one of the step wedge bars :-( Phone photo attached

Thanks for the help....getting there
 

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Rolleiflexible

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Fixxons sells direct. My guess is that shipping from the manufacturer will not be so high. And even if it costs a bit more, the lower unit cost for their basic transparency film more than makes up for shipping cost.
 
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frankg

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Rolleiflexible said:
Fixxons sells direct. My guess is that shipping from the manufacturer will not be so high. And even if it costs a bit more, the lower unit cost for their basic transparency film more than makes up for shipping cost.
Click to expand...

They just quoted me $31 for postage, which is CAD$41
 

Andrew O'Neill

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I get all my inkjet films from a local silkscreen supply shop. Cheap. I don't bother with Pictorico, as it's expensive, and this cheap stuff is the same as far as I'm concerned. It's also available on Amazon. I also use the P400. It's an excellent printer for digital negatives. If you are going to make digital inkjet negatives, I urge you to download Chartthrob curve generator. To optimise the negative (in other words, to make a profile), I recommend QTR. QuadTone Rip gives the user the ability to control how much ink is laid down. The gloss optimiser cartridge can be turned off. I kept it on, but replaced that clear stuff with black ink in refillable cartridges. I replaced all with refillable.
 
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frankg

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Thanks
I will look into this
 

nmp

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frankg said:
I still have a few 'pinhole' dots in one of the step wedge bars :-( Phone photo attached
Click to expand...

Pretty sure those are pizza wheels. If you want, they can be very easily taken out which is what I have done. I use a 13" wide carrier sheet on which I affix the transparency somewhere in the middle. Pizza wheels that come over just the transparency are then taken out, leaving the peripheral one in so they can still function to hold the paper down.

:Niranjan.
 
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frankg

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Not sure I follow you exactly.
Are you saying not to print an entire sheet but to place images in or near the centre only ?
If so, how to determine the area to avoid on for example a letter /A4 size?
 

Andrew O'Neill

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frankg said:
Not sure I follow you exactly.
Are you saying not to print an entire sheet but to place images in or near the centre only ?
If so, how to determine the area to avoid on for example a letter /A4 size?
Click to expand...

No, I think he means to centre and tape a sheet of film on a piece of paper, before running it through the printer. That's what I used to do when I had the 4000. Never have had pizza wheel issues with the P400, unless I was laying down too much ink.
 
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