Size difference in Digital Separation Negatives

[Carnie Bob]

I use a Epson P7000 surecolor to make my digital negatives. When doing separation negatives we sometimes see a .05 - 1mm discrepancy between image negs. Usually this discrepancy is in the direction the film travels through the printer and usually when we gang one image above the other using print tool.
Has anyone else seen this issue.?

 

[koraks]

No, but it's unsurprising if you work with large negatives, as you do. The honest take-away is that this kind of machine just isn't fit for the job and it'll remain a compromise. It's not made to do this.

 

[Carnie Bob]

No, but it's unsurprising if you work with large negatives, as you do. The honest take-away is that this kind of machine just isn't fit for the job and it'll remain a compromise. It's not made to do this.

We are thinking of moving to flatbed, we have done thousands of negs that work with thin printer, but every once in awhile we get a size variation which is perplexing.

 

[koraks]

My advice would be to contact the manufacturer and request data on the performance of the machine in this regard. I can imagine that flatbed printers might perform better w.r.t. job-to-job alignment due to (1) their intended application, which includes media/objects that cannot be trimmed after printing and (2) the fact that they're usually aimed at a higher segment and are significantly more expensive, which can be seen as a proxy for better engineering.

Having said that, the flatbed printers I'm familiar with do not appear to be the sort that I would associate with your workshop. They're optimized for productivity, not necessarily image quality. But my familiarity with them is superficial, I admit.

 

[gbroadbridge]

I use a Epson P7000 surecolor to make my digital negatives. When doing separation negatives we sometimes see a .05 - 1mm discrepancy between image negs. Usually this discrepancy is in the direction the film travels through the printer and usually when we gang one image above the other using print tool.
Has anyone else seen this issue.?

Perhaps the roller transport system needs a clean or service?

I don't know how much work you run through the printer, but I've replaced rubber rollers on high end Canon systems in the past.