Epson 3880 - Custom roll holder possible?

[bongobongo]

Hi.

Just ordered the Epson 3880.
Also a RIP that enables me to print panorama images.

I know (from others) that I can cut sheets from a roll to get panoramic length.

But would it be possible to make a roll holder and place it behind the printer?

Or is there something that prevent this from working well?

One thing that comes to my mind is that there would be a  gap between end of print and the place where I could
manually cut the paper between the rear or the printer and the roll.... but would it not be possible to just
feed some paper through the printer .... then cut it.... and then roll it back on the paper roll?

Another issue that might be a problem is that the paper that comes from a roll has some curl on it, and that
the 3880 cannot handle paper with curl..... anybody?

Would be interesting to other's opinion on this... hopefully by some that has this printer.

Regards

[PeterAit]

Hi.

Just ordered the Epson 3880.
Also a RIP that enables me to print panorama images.

I know (from others) that I can cut sheets from a roll to get panoramic length.

But would it be possible to make a roll holder and place it behind the printer?

Or is there something that prevent this from working well?

One thing that comes to my mind is that there would be a  gap between end of print and the place where I could
manually cut the paper between the rear or the printer and the roll.... but would it not be possible to just
feed some paper through the printer .... then cut it.... and then roll it back on the paper roll?

Another issue that might be a problem is that the paper that comes from a roll has some curl on it, and that
the 3880 cannot handle paper with curl..... anybody?

Would be interesting to other's opinion on this... hopefully by some that has this printer.

Regards

I don't have this printer, but it seems to me that trying to set up a roll holder and cut as you describe would be a lot more hassle than simply cutting roll paper to the desired sheet size before printing.

[madmanchan]

I believe the primary issue is what happens when the printer is done printing an image. Normally, the 3800/3880 will attempt to eject the sheet. This holds true regardless of how long the sheet is. For example, if you tell the driver you have inserted a letter-sized sheet, but in fact you have inserted a 8.5" x 30" sheet, then the 3800/3880 will print within the first 8.5" x 11" worth of area, then eject the remaining 30 - 11 = 19 inches of the long sheet.

In your proposed setup, I suspect the 3800/3880 would end up unspooling your entire roll, because it will treat the whole thing as a big sheet. It doesn't "know" in advance where the end is. And it doesn't have a built-in cutter.

If you want to print on long sheets (up to 37.4" with the Epson driver), you should pre-cut them. And be careful when doing so, so that you don't damage the surface prior to feeding.

Although some users do use this approach successfully, I believe the 3800/3880 works best when used as intended ... i.e., for "normal" size pre-cut sheets. If you would like to print normally on roll, I suggest getting a printer with a dedicated roll and cut facility.

[greyscale]

Hi.

Just ordered the Epson 3880.
Also a RIP that enables me to print panorama images.

I know (from others) that I can cut sheets from a roll to get panoramic length.

But would it be possible to make a roll holder and place it behind the printer?

Or is there something that prevent this from working well?

One thing that comes to my mind is that there would be a  gap between end of print and the place where I could
manually cut the paper between the rear or the printer and the roll.... but would it not be possible to just
feed some paper through the printer .... then cut it.... and then roll it back on the paper roll?

Another issue that might be a problem is that the paper that comes from a roll has some curl on it, and that
the 3880 cannot handle paper with curl..... anybody?

Would be interesting to other's opinion on this... hopefully by some that has this printer.

Regards

Check youtube, search for Epson 3800. a video shows a roll adaptor in use. I believe the inventor is selling this with a RIP. The video has 4 parts and while I believe the device demoed is crude, its a start.

[bongobongo]

Hi and thanks for the feedback.

Madmanchan said:

In your proposed setup, I suspect the 3800/3880 would end up unspooling your entire roll, because it will treat the whole thing as a big sheet. It doesn't "know" in advance where the end is.

Just checked with the RIP makers... and my RIP will not support stopping the printer from feeding the paper after a finished print.
So unless there is a way to disable the whole roll to get feed through the printer I will have to cut before each print job.

And... I'm not going to buy a RIP from someone else.

If someone has a clue on how to stop the printer from feeding untill end of paper after print has finished (without buying another RIP that is), then I hope they can post it here.

Thanks again.

[Alan Goldhammer]

Hi and thanks for the feedback.

Madmanchan said:


Just checked with the RIP makers... and my RIP will not support stopping the printer from feeding the paper after a finished print.
So unless there is a way to disable the whole roll to get feed through the printer I will have to cut before each print job.

And... I'm not going to buy a RIP from someone else.

If someone has a clue on how to stop the printer from feeding untill end of paper after print has finished (without buying another RIP that is), then I hope they can post it here.

Thanks again.

You could turn the power off.

[mburke]

Hi and thanks for the feedback.

Madmanchan said:


Just checked with the RIP makers... and my RIP will not support stopping the printer from feeding the paper after a finished print.
So unless there is a way to disable the whole roll to get feed through the printer I will have to cut before each print job.

And... I'm not going to buy a RIP from someone else.

If someone has a clue on how to stop the printer from feeding untill end of paper after print has finished (without buying another RIP that is), then I hope they can post it here.

Thanks again.

Where did you get the rip and what was the cost? I could live with having to cut from a roll occasionally if I knew it would feed and print ok. If I wanted to do a 16 x 48 or 60 pano I could cut it in advance and figure out some way to feed it from behind. I have tried to feed longer paper into the rear of a 2200 and it didn't work too good (would go askew). When I used the roll holder for the 2200 it works fine. Anyway I would like to get a 3800 but I do an occasional pano and it would be nice.  

Thanks,

Mike

[bongobongo]

To mburke

The RIP is from:
http://www.colorbytesoftware.com/
 
RIP: ImagePrint 8

They have a RIP for the 2200 for: $695

My RIP is still in the FedEx system.... but should arrive in end of next week I hope.