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Author Topic: printing large files on a Mac vs. PC  (Read 4713 times)

sesshin

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printing large files on a Mac vs. PC
« on: July 22, 2008, 04:10:20 pm »

I recently made the switch from PC to Mac and have noticed a difference in how the two platforms handle printing large files. Just for some background my PC was a single 2.8 dual-core processor with 4gb of memory and my Mac Pro is a dual 2.8 quad-core with 16gb of memory and I am printing to an Epson 7800.

On my PC I could print images that were 1 or 2 gigabytes in size, no problem. Now on my Mac when I send files that big they just disappear before they reach the print queue. I've found that the limit is around 500-600 mb and anything bigger just won't go through.

Does anyone else have this problem or know of a workaround? I called Epson support and the guy on the phone told me to "Get a PC" if I want to print big files. This confused me because it doesn't seem logical that my Mac Pro, which is heads and shoulders more powerful than my PC, couldn't handle sending these files to the printer.

Any input would be appreciated. Thanks.
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sesshin

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printing large files on a Mac vs. PC
« Reply #1 on: July 22, 2008, 04:50:24 pm »

amended question: would a RIP allow me to print files >1Gb? I'm not using one currently, just printing directly from Photoshop.
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nemophoto

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printing large files on a Mac vs. PC
« Reply #2 on: July 22, 2008, 06:35:48 pm »

My wife uses a Mac for graphic design. She routinely works on 100+ page catalogs (and therefore large print files for proofing), sadly has her print files often fall off the print spool. This is with either laser or inkjet. The file just disappears. Definitely a Mac problem, though we've never found anything to solve the problem. Her solution is sending smaller batches of data, but unfortunately you can't do that with photos.
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TylerB

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printing large files on a Mac vs. PC
« Reply #3 on: July 22, 2008, 07:13:27 pm »

Quote
amended question: would a RIP allow me to print files >1Gb? I'm not using one currently, just printing directly from Photoshop.
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=209992\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

yes, but that's a clunky solution to have to accept if you are happy with the normal output. You'd be into CMYK profiling, etc., just to print your larger files.
Seems like there should be a better solution..
Tyler
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mmurph

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printing large files on a Mac vs. PC
« Reply #4 on: July 23, 2008, 12:04:48 am »

It is a combination of the application, the OS, and the Epson driver.

It is all pretty well documented in this service bulletins.
Unfortunately, it is a locked PDF so I can't cut and paste.

http://files.support.epson.com/pdf/pro76u/pro76ups.pdf

Basically Photoshop is limited to 90.5 inches. Illustrator can print up
to 227 inches. CorelDRAW can print up to 1800 inches.

You need to use the "Banner" option in the Epson driver. Screen shots
for set-up are included.

Best,
Michael
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stefohl

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printing large files on a Mac vs. PC
« Reply #5 on: July 26, 2008, 10:13:03 am »

Quote
yes, but that's a clunky solution to have to accept if you are happy with the normal output. You'd be into CMYK profiling, etc., just to print your larger files.
Seems like there should be a better solution..
Tyler
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=210028\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]
We print a lot of files in sizes 4-5 GB from Mac computers and we use the ImagePrint RIP. It's a RIP that is made for printing RGB files.

Stefan Ohlsson
Projektor
« Last Edit: July 26, 2008, 10:13:42 am by stefohl »
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Stefan Ohlsson
Projektor [url=http://www

narikin

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printing large files on a Mac vs. PC
« Reply #6 on: July 26, 2008, 11:10:03 am »

what was your PC - Vista or XP? home/basic/ultra, 32 or 64bit? if XP regular or Pro?

strange to hear a 4Gb PC beating a 16Gb Mac, but then I guess we all swallow apple's hype that PC's crash all the time and are hopeless for graphics, without questioning that it may not actually be true...
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