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Author Topic: Epson 7800 pre-purchase questions  (Read 9387 times)

jimhuber

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Epson 7800 pre-purchase questions
« on: April 24, 2006, 09:51:25 am »

I'm seriously considering making a huge leap up in printing, from a Canon i9100 to an Epson 7800. I've been using Ilford Galerie Pearl paper, and will most likely switch to Epson Enhanced Matte. I know I'll need to order a Matte Black cartridge with the printer, as it comes with Photo Black, and will most likely start with a 220 ml cartridge of that and upgrade the rest of the colors from 110 ml to 220 ml cartridges as they run out. I plan to use the included Epson profiles and driver with Windows 2000 and Photoshop CS2.


Some assumptions I'd like to get confirmed or refuted:

I can still print a 6x9 inch image centered on letter size (8.5 x 11 inch) paper, though I'll likely have to set custom borders in PhotoShop.

I can still print a 12x18 inch image centered on 13 x 19 inch paper, though I'll likely have to set custom borders in PhotoShop. That's only 1/2 inch margins all the way around, which I believe may be the limit on sheet paper in a 7800, at least at the trailing edge.

I can print a 16x24 inch image "borderless" across a 24" roll, with about an inch of white space above and below the 16" of roll for mounting.

I can print a 24x36 inch image "borderless" along a 24" roll, with about an inch of white space above and below the 36" of roll for mounting.


And some questions that still remain unanswered after a fair bit of research:

How much paper is "wasted" before and after the printed image with the automatic paper cutter? I'm not concerned about wasting a few inches of paper per large print (it's only $0.65 per foot USD), only that it will fit beneath a mat with 4" borders. As long as it's less than 4" it will fit under the mat and I won't have to re-cut it. If it's more than 4" I'll need either the manual paper cutter on the printer or a standalone cutter. If that's the case, does anyone recommend one versus the other? I'm considering a 36" RotaTrim for $453 (B&H) against the on-printer manual cutter for $340 (B&H), but I'm open to other suggestions, too.


I have considered the 9800 also, but I would have to put it in another, much more inconvenient room with a network connection, and I'm not a large commercial operation where the cost savings of grouping prints across a 44" roll would be a significant advantage. I also have no plans in the forseeable future to print larger than 24x36 or panoramas larger than 24" by about 80". I had some test prints done at a local shop on an Epson 9600 at 16x24, 20x30, and 24x36, so I'm fairly certain about that conclusion.

Thanks in advance!

     Jim
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Paul2660

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Epson 7800 pre-purchase questions
« Reply #1 on: April 24, 2006, 05:25:22 pm »

On the 7800, be careful on sheets.
The 7800/or 7600 or their larger brothers don't really like sheet feed, yes they will do it, but Epson makes it a pain.  The printer will always leave 1/2" of blank paper on one end of the print. You will see this in print preview window.  So on your 12 x 18, I don't know if you can print it centered on a sheet of 13 x 19.  you could print it center from roll paper with no problem.  

6x9 shouldn't be any problem but you will need the custom border's you mention.  Remember, you will have to get up and feed each sheet on the 7800, there is no sheet feed option.   If you print on alot of sheets, and don't need the larger size, the 4800 is possibly a better solution.

I can't address the 24" borderless, on the 7800 I haven't tired that yet. I always leave 1/2 on the top and bottom to work with the print.  So 23 x 36 is my large print.

I give up about 1" on each end of my prints, could possibly get that shorter, but just haven't worked it out.

Paul Caldwell
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p.tinson

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Epson 7800 pre-purchase questions
« Reply #2 on: April 25, 2006, 07:53:04 am »

With the 7800 printing borderless on roll paper you have three cut options in the driver, Normal this will print borderless left and right and leave a margin top and bottom the size specified in the printer setup menu of the printer (3mm or 15mm or combination). Double cut this will print borderless left and right and will when the leading edge of the images is under the cutter cut the paper wasting about 6mm of paper, when the end of the print is reached the printer will again cut.
Single cut as for the double cut until the end of the image is reached when the printer will wait until the next job is sent and will back up the paper and start printing wher the last image finished, when the join is under the cutter the printer will then cut along the join. Waste paper only the first prints 6mm leading edge.
There are only certain widths of media that can be printed borderless (see user manual, can be downloaded from epson).
Peter
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bobtowery

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Epson 7800 pre-purchase questions
« Reply #3 on: April 26, 2006, 04:06:34 pm »

Once you get used to the convenience of roll paper, you won't want to muck around with sheets.  The trick is to batch up some work, so you can utilize the full width of the paper.

For years I heard many good things about Qimage, as a print manager. I tried it once several years ago but found the UI very quirky.

When I got my 7800, I really need something to manage printing the different images, different sizes, etc.   Qimage REALLY fits the bill. It's cheap and easy to learn (ie the UI hassles have been resolved).  It handles all the sizing and interpolating issues for you.

The combo of a wide format printer like the 7800 and Qimage is just unbeatable for convenience.

You do need a good rotary paper cutter though. Rotatrims are supposed to be the RollsRoyce. I bought a used one, but it was a Yugo. I bought a new Dahle and it's at least a Mercedes Benz (less than half the price of the Rotatrim and I can't see how it could perform better).

Best of luck to you. Bob.
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Reggie

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Epson 7800 pre-purchase questions
« Reply #4 on: August 27, 2006, 11:59:26 pm »

Quote
Once you get used to the convenience of roll paper, you won't want to muck around with sheets.  The trick is to batch up some work, so you can utilize the full width of the paper.

For years I heard many good things about Qimage, as a print manager. I tried it once several years ago but found the UI very quirky.

When I got my 7800, I really need something to manage printing the different images, different sizes, etc.   Qimage REALLY fits the bill. It's cheap and easy to learn (ie the UI hassles have been resolved).  It handles all the sizing and interpolating issues for you.

The combo of a wide format printer like the 7800 and Qimage is just unbeatable for convenience.

You do need a good rotary paper cutter though. Rotatrims are supposed to be the RollsRoyce. I bought a used one, but it was a Yugo. I bought a new Dahle and it's at least a Mercedes Benz (less than half the price of the Rotatrim and I can't see how it could perform better).

Best of luck to you. Bob.
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Reggie

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Epson 7800 pre-purchase questions
« Reply #5 on: August 28, 2006, 12:00:46 am »

Quote
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The Epson 7800 does include a built in paper cutter.
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Ed Foster, Jr.

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Epson 7800 pre-purchase questions
« Reply #6 on: August 28, 2006, 08:54:22 am »

Quote
I'm seriously considering making a huge leap up in printing, from a Canon i9100 to an Epson 7800. I've been using Ilford Galerie Pearl paper, and will most likely switch to Epson Enhanced Matte. <snip>
[{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]
Jim,

Just a couple of items to add:  You might want to try Ilford's Smooth Pearl with this printer, it does a fabulous job with Bill Atkinson's profile for this paper - [a href=\"http://homepage.mac.com/billatkinson/FileSharing2.html]Bill's Profiles[/url].  I printed much on the 7600 for years on the enhanced matte, but with the better K3 inks, the 7800 does a superb job with deeper blacks on the  smooth pearl (with photo black inks).  However, if you plan to work with the enhanced matte, you might consider a good custom profile that will maximize the benefits of this printer.

As for centering your 6 x 9's - just create a custom paper size and set the border's to 0" which will allow you to center any size image up to within .56" top and bottom" and .12" on the sides of sheets.  For whatever reason, I have found that to center on sheets, the paper size borders needed to be set to 0" all around.

Regarding 12 x 18 on a 13 x 19 sheet with .5" border all around, that will not work.  In order to center, you will only be able to print an approximate 11- 7/8" x 17- 7/8", because of the minimum .56 top border.

As for the amount of roll waste, I set the paper size to within 1.25" of the print size for minimum top and bottom margins, and waste is perhaps another 1" for cutting.

The 7800 is a great printer you should enjoy it.

Regards,
Ed
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Lisa Nikodym

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Epson 7800 pre-purchase questions
« Reply #7 on: August 28, 2006, 12:19:11 pm »

Before you decide to abandon the Ilford paper in favor of Epson Enhanced Matte, I'd recommend you try both.  I use the Epson 2200, and have found that, at least with the 2200's older ink set, the Ilford Smooth Gloss & Smooth Pearl papers (and most other glossy & semigloss papers) produce noticeably deeper blacks than the Enhanced Matte paper.

Lisa
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Geoff Wittig

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Epson 7800 pre-purchase questions
« Reply #8 on: August 28, 2006, 08:38:01 pm »

I own a 7600, but lots of paper handling issues are the same. The built-in paper cutter is only recommended for lighter weight papers. It will go dull quickly if you use it on heavier rag papers, and it's a service call to replace the blade. The optional bolt-on manual cutter is obscenely over-priced, but very convenient for cutting heavy papers like rolls of Ultrasmooth fine art paper, my current favorite. You can also replace its blade yourself in about two minutes. I finally gave in and bought it after a year of using a pair of scissors to cut heavier roll paper stock.
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ggray

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Epson 7800 pre-purchase questions
« Reply #9 on: August 28, 2006, 09:49:38 pm »

Hi Jim
I second the use of Qimage for printing, I never use Photo Shop for printing.
I can't say I can see a use for borderless printing. If you are using roll paper the 7800 will cut to the size you have specified without waste. I believe you should leave an ample border on prints to be covered with double matts etc when framing. A good wide paper cutter is an advantage. Graduate to 220ml carts will save you money.
   I have an Epson 9000 and I find that I use the 24" rolls the most. The printer has two feed rolls so I keep one of them for 44"
   The Epsons do a great job on the 13x19 art paper also. I also keep a 44" roll of ink jet canvas for specialty prints.
good luck with the 7800 printer .
Say hello to Bill , if you are related , if not well, its a big country.
From Canada, Gerry
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