Printing double sided on roll paper

[Bwana_Makuba]

Wondering if it is possible to print on both sides of roll paper (on a paper that is double sided of course) and have both sides line up?

I want to print books and I would like to use imposition so as to have folded sections for stitching - so need double sided printing - but how would the sides line up? Is it possible to get the sides into a reasonable registration ? (not color separation registration).

Would a RIP enable this type of work? Perhaps its just not possible to get the accuracy on double sided printing?

Any thoughts on this appreciated.

[Royce Howland]

It depends on what you mean by "reasonable registration". We have tried this a few times in the past with cut sheets, and generally the registration isn't close enough for most of what our clients were trying to do. I would think using roll-fed media would be tougher due to greater potential for skewing over the aggregate linear footage.

Besides the issue of registration, there's the bigger potential issue of fouling the first side print area when you run the paper through the second time. We don't print double sided any longer.

A RIP isn't going to influence this at all. The issues relate to the mechanical feed of the paper through the printer, and the RIP doesn't change how that works.

[Bwana_Makuba]

Thanks Royce.

Sounds like this is not an idea to pursue. I did think that its probably very difficult because as you said, the mechanical issues moving roll paper.

Hmmm. Ok so it sounds like that wont work. So Inkjet printing a book is out then?

[Royce Howland]

Inkjet printers certainly aren't designed for projects like registered double-sided printing. But as I indicated, it depends on your tolerance. I certainly know people who have done this (generally using cut sheets, not rolls), it's just that their personal threshold of what is acceptable has enough slush for their purposes. To de-risk things they often choose a paper with a robust surface, since in my opinion the greater risk is marring the 1st printed surface on the 2nd print pass, not registering the front & back output. Depending on what other options you have, your best bet might be to try it and see if it works well enough for your purposes. It doesn't work well enough for us to offer as an option for clients, but your threshold may differ.

[Ernst Dinkla]

An acceptable register is possible with sheets if you avoid the usual sheet loading where the head carriage sensors measure the overall sheet position. I use register tabs at the front of the Z3200 and load the sheet at an angle so get a warning that the sheet should be registered to the "blue line" which in my case are the tabs then. The sheet is then loaded correctly with the right side edge measured by the carriage optical sensor. Print the lightest image/text first. With 102x72 cm sheets, always keep the landscape sheet loading method so the 102 cm leading edge is against the register tabs. First side printed I measure the sheet's right edge to right side cutting mark and cut the sheet's left side at the same distance from the left side cutting mark. Flip the sheet over the length and the same long sheet side is brought against the tabs for the backside print. After a proof print like that the tabs are placed correctly for the sheet angle register.

In production of more sheets I usually change the image position on the print page to avoid the measuring and cutting of the left edge.

It sure is taking way too much time other than for proofing, exhbition samples or props creation. On the older Epson's this process went faster than on the Z3200.

On the Drupa I have seen Epson towers with one 9600 above and reversed to the one beneath and a ss ramp to guide the sheet into the one below. Color proofing work but not with good register.

Best method would be a printer with two head carriages opposite one another and the roll paper more or less free floating between the feeding roll at the underside and a winding unit above it. There are not that many dual sided qualities on roll right now but that might change then.  I think the easiest lay-out for feeding the printer would be mirrored images for both sides so two double sided pages are created at the same time. Use a 60-65" width then. Another Drupa showed a printer like that for textile/banner/sign jobs. Ecosolvent type if I recall it correctly.

Met vriendelijke groet, Ernst

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