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Author Topic: printing really really long  (Read 12624 times)

gotanikon

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printing really really long
« on: October 30, 2013, 07:39:23 am »

Hello, first post, long time reader.

A friend of mine does cartoons, he asked me to make a print on the Epson 4900 which came to almost 15 metres long.  I have never printed nearly this large but figured it must be possible.   Not surprisingly we came across a few issues. 

1. a 700Mb file of high resolution won't open in lightroom, there is a 10000 or so pixel limit.
2. I tried printing from photoshop but was having issues with nothing happening at all when I pressed 'print'.
3. We split the image up into several smaller ones and were able to stack them alongside each other in lightroom on a 15m long custom sheet size.  It was working, cheers all round, then after several metres it just stopped without warning and I had to feed back several metres of sheet.
4. Then it got late.
5. I've done a little research, this epson site seemed to offer some suggestions.
http://www.epson.co.uk/gb/en/viewcon/corporatesite/store/products/mainunits/faq/8416/3243
The options seem to be using a different program that does 'banner' printing, or using a RIP (not too sure how this works yet, sounds a little complicated). Does anyone know the length or resolution limits in the epson driver?  Can anyone suggest a workflow with easily available tools/software?

Thanks in advance! John.
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Ken Doo

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Re: printing really really long
« Reply #1 on: October 30, 2013, 08:20:52 am »

I'm not sure about the 4900, but on the 7900/9900/9890 the Epson driver is limited somewhere around 90" if I recall.....

Qimage is what you want to use, which apparently looks to be on sale right now for ~$69.  It was a bargain already at its regular price.  See, www.ddisoftware.com 

ken

jrsforums

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Re: printing really really long
« Reply #2 on: October 30, 2013, 08:43:13 am »

I'm not sure about the 4900, but on the 7900/9900/9890 the Epson driver is limited somewhere around 90" if I recall.....

Qimage is what you want to use, which apparently looks to be on sale right now for ~$69.  It was a bargain already at its regular price.  See, www.ddisoftware.com 

ken

+1 on Qimage
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John

RachelleK

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Re: printing really really long
« Reply #3 on: October 30, 2013, 09:32:26 am »

I'm not sure about the 4900, but on the 7900/9900/9890 the Epson driver is limited somewhere around 90" if I recall.....

Qimage is what you want to use, which apparently looks to be on sale right now for ~$69.  It was a bargain already at its regular price.  See, www.ddisoftware.com  

ken

Doesn't Qimage use the Epson driver that would have a 90" limit?  You might look into PrintFab which I think uses it's own driver and might be able to print longer than 90".  Looks like the limit is 43.21 x 1500.00cm / 17.01 x 590.55".   Right now the beta version for PCs is free until the end of the year.
« Last Edit: October 30, 2013, 09:36:26 am by Rprt »
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edknightphoto

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Re: printing really really long
« Reply #4 on: October 30, 2013, 09:52:19 am »

I'm uncertain, but Qimage may break up the long print into several 90" banners, printing them seamlessly one after another.  Suggest you post your Qimage questions here, http://www.ddisoftware.com/tech/ .
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Ken Doo

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Re: printing really really long
« Reply #5 on: October 30, 2013, 11:01:43 am »

I've printed in excess of 18 feet in length using Qimage....  It's a great printer utility. 

Royal Editions

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Re: printing really really long
« Reply #6 on: October 30, 2013, 12:42:18 pm »

Qimage uses the driver for color management and basic operations only.  It can override the length limitations set in place by Epson's driver.
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hugowolf

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Re: printing really really long
« Reply #7 on: October 30, 2013, 08:25:50 pm »

Qimage uses the driver for color management and basic operations only.  It can override the length limitations set in place by Epson's driver.
This may be true of some Epson printers, but I doubt it. QImage is not a RIP, it has to use the driver to print. It is cerrtainly not true of the Epson 3880. There is no way around the 95 cm (~37.4 inch) max length of the 3880 with QImage.

Brian A
« Last Edit: October 30, 2013, 08:41:51 pm by hugowolf »
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jrsforums

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Re: printing really really long
« Reply #8 on: October 30, 2013, 08:44:51 pm »

This may be true of some Epson printers, but I doubt it. QImage is not a RIP, it has to use the driver to print. It is cerrtainly not true of the Epson 3880. There is no way around the 95 cm (~37.4 inch) max length of the 3880 with QImage.

Brian A

Need roll paper feeder  :-)
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John

David Campbell

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Re: printing really really long
« Reply #9 on: October 30, 2013, 10:02:05 pm »

Read your post and remembered reading this blog a while back. There is a tip at the bottom that may help you?
http://www.adammonk.com/epson-9900-printer-in-action/#more-787

Mike Guilbault

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Re: printing really really long
« Reply #10 on: October 30, 2013, 10:58:13 pm »

I printed up to 102" on my 9900 from Lightroom with no problem.
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Mike Guilbault

hugowolf

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Re: printing really really long
« Reply #11 on: October 30, 2013, 11:45:08 pm »

Need roll paper feeder  :-)

I have one. I just havn't yet tried to exceed its max length limitation, whatever that is. But QImage isn't a RIP, and certainly uses the driver for more than "color management and basic operations only'.

Brian A
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hugowolf

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Re: printing really really long
« Reply #12 on: October 30, 2013, 11:49:50 pm »

You might be interested in Keith Cooper’s experiences when printing a 14 metre canvas. A different printer, but similar experiences. He eventually had to drop the resolution down to 108 ppi to get it to print:
http://www.northlight-images.co.uk/article_pages/14m_pano_print.html

The printing part is about half way down the article.

Brian A
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Farmer

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Re: printing really really long
« Reply #13 on: October 31, 2013, 12:33:02 am »

As Brian suggests, a lot of it is to do with the rastered image size and processing it.

On Epson LFPs, under Windows, go into the Printer Preferences and chose the Utility Tab and then Speed and Progress.  You can tick a box for "coarse rendering" which will reduce the resolution of the rastered image which will help.  Obviously you do limit the resolution that you send to the printer doing this but for very large prints it's usually fine.

This used to be useful prior to CS3 which had a pixel length limit that used to get tripped pretty easily on large prints, but it's still useful today with very large prints.  You'll also want plenty of spool space on a fast drive.

A real RIP gets around all this because it doesn't use the driver.
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Phil Brown

jrsforums

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Re: printing really really long
« Reply #14 on: October 31, 2013, 07:01:58 am »

I have one. I just havn't yet tried to exceed its max length limitation, whatever that is. But QImage isn't a RIP, and certainly uses the driver for more than "color management and basic operations only'.

Brian A

I agree.....best way to find out is to post on the Qimage ultimate forum and ask....you should. Get a quick, accurate answer.....or send a note to Qimage help support.
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John

jrsforums

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Re: printing really really long
« Reply #15 on: October 31, 2013, 07:03:42 am »

You might be interested in Keith Cooper’s experiences when printing a 14 metre canvas. A different printer, but similar experiences. He eventually had to drop the resolution down to 108 ppi to get it to print:
http://www.northlight-images.co.uk/article_pages/14m_pano_print.html

The printing part is about half way down the article.

Brian A


Keith does not use Qimage.  Qimage solves the OS spoiler limitations.
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Ernst Dinkla

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Re: printing really really long
« Reply #16 on: October 31, 2013, 12:07:45 pm »

If the 4900 driver has a banner mode then Qimage Ultimate will go very long. See the Learn by Example 6a instructions in the Qimage manual. If you also want to feed the image with a high resolution then it is possible to cut the image in pieces over its length and have it stitched by Qimage in the print run. There has been some message exchanges on that subject at the Qimage list.

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martin archer-shee

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Re: printing really really long
« Reply #17 on: October 31, 2013, 04:29:35 pm »

Brian
 I saw a post somewhere else about a guy printing greater than 37 inches on a 3880 using PrintFab (hate it when my Playbook corrects my spelling/ intent). Was I correct in seeing your name in the same thread?  In anycase is anyone familiar with this?

Martin
« Last Edit: October 31, 2013, 08:50:03 pm by Martin Archer-Shee »
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hugowolf

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Re: printing really really long
« Reply #18 on: October 31, 2013, 04:43:19 pm »

Brian
 I saw a post somewhere else about a guy printing greater than 37 inches on a 3880 using Printable. Was I correct in seeing your name in the same thread?  In anycase is anyone familiar with this?

Yes, that was using the PrintFab RIP, which was (and still may be) in beta and was free till I think the end of the year. I have a 44" roll feed printer as well as the 3880, so I haven't bothered trying Print Fab.

Brian A
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jrsforums

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Re: printing really really long
« Reply #19 on: October 31, 2013, 07:19:35 pm »

Not sure how we are getting hung up on the 3880, when the OP queried about the 4900....where the 4900 has roll capability and the 3880 only has sheet.

With Qimage, As long as you select roll paper (banner), there will be no gap between pages, if you check the 4900 'save paper at end' box, so you can set the length to anything you like.  For example, if you wanted to print a 10' pano, you could set the length to Epson driver print size to 20 inches and the Qimage print size to 10' and then answer "Yes" when asked if it is OK to print more than one page when you set the size of the print you are adding to the page.  Then when you get past 20 inches, if everything looks good (no gap), you'll know that all the (20 inch) pages will work fine.  That way you'll know it is working after 20 inches are printed rather than having to print 10 feet.

PS....some info from 2006....and mostly still applicable
http://ddisoftware.com/tech/articles/february-2006-wide-load-tips-for-printing-large/
« Last Edit: October 31, 2013, 07:23:39 pm by jrsforums »
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John
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