Trying to print oversize on 3880

[desy]

Thought I would put this out in case anyone can suggest a workaround that I haven't heard about. I have an image that I was hoping to print on my 3880 that is an unusual size, i.e. 16" wide by about 90" long. Been told that the only solution would be to purchase RIP software, or give up the idea and get it printed at a shop.

This image is pretty much a "one off" in that I don't anticipate needing to make any other prints of this scale in the forseeable future, so will probably get it printed for me unless someone has information on the following:
1. If there's software for Mac (I'm still running 10.4.11) that is comparable in price to QImage, i.e. under a hundred dollars, I might be willing to shell out for that.

2. If anyone can suggest software that has a fully functional demo that doesn't leave a watermark etc., (again for Mac), since I only need to do this one print.

3. Any workarounds that would allow me to make the print.

Appreciate any feedback on the above questions, thanks.

[howardm]

not in your price range.

a RIP called PrintFab is $240 US and I think that is the cheapest game in town other than futzing around w/
a virtual machine, WinXP and version 5.5 of the Epson driver and a software hack from a guy in Europe.

Qimage will NOT do what you want (other than its tiling or multi-panel feature) since it relies on the real Epson
driver so ultimately, it's limited in length too.

[RDoc]

My experience with printing even 32" on the 3880 is that it's a bit tricky to keep the image accurately aligned on the paper. Generally it will print very slightly skewed so the margin at the top is narrower than at the bottom. Since there's no roll feeder, I think it would be very difficult to keep the image on the paper over that long an image unless you started with a pretty wide margin (> 1") then trimmed it.

[PeterAit]

Thought I would put this out in case anyone can suggest a workaround that I haven't heard about. I have an image that I was hoping to print on my 3880 that is an unusual size, i.e. 16" wide by about 90" long. Been told that the only solution would be to purchase RIP software, or give up the idea and get it printed at a shop.

This image is pretty much a "one off" in that I don't anticipate needing to make any other prints of this scale in the forseeable future, so will probably get it printed for me unless someone has information on the following:
1. If there's software for Mac (I'm still running 10.4.11) that is comparable in price to QImage, i.e. under a hundred dollars, I might be willing to shell out for that.

2. If anyone can suggest software that has a fully functional demo that doesn't leave a watermark etc., (again for Mac), since I only need to do this one print.

3. Any workarounds that would allow me to make the print.

Appreciate any feedback on the above questions, thanks.

Have you thought about making 3 16 x 30 inch prints and mounting them separately to create a triptych? This can be very effective for some images.

[desy]

Thanks for the responses. I did consider printing the image in sections, but will probably just get it done at a shop as it seems like the most straightforward solution. Was probably just feeling a bit disappointed in having to take this step, with my relatively new 3880 sitting right here waiting to go 

[Ken Doo]

You could try using Qimage on your Mac platform under Fusion or Parallels.  Try the Qimage trial version to see if that will work under those programs.  I don't have a 38** printer so don't know your limitations with that printer model other than perhaps difficulties with long length dimensions with the absence of roll feed.

Otherwise, when printing with Qimage (PC) you are not limited to the length limitations of the driver.  I have used Qimage for years now on an Epson 9800 and 9900, with some prints exceeding 20 feet in length.

ken

[jpegman]

I think with the 3880 it's a no go. If you had the older 3800, and used the older Epson 5.5 driver, then a free utility was written to get around the Epson Limitation.

Here's a link to The QImage forum discussing the Epson 3800-3880 length issues.

http://ddisoftware.com/tech/printers/epson-3800-or-3880/

[desy]

Thanks for the suggestions. I followed the link provided, and it discusses the ColorBurst software, which does seem to offer a fully functional limited time demo. I'm also feeling a bit more cautious about my original plan in light of the comments about the difficulty of feeding that length of paper through the machine. Might give the ColorBurst a try or just go with getting it printed for me. Thanks again to all who responded.