USB vs ethernet? printer crashes when printing large files

[noritsue_me]

Hello,

I have a recurring issue where when I'm making an especially large print, say 5 x 8', my printer will malfunction and begin printing the image again about half way through the print job. It doesn't skip a beat, it will seamlessly start reprinting the image.

The kind folks over at Epson told me this might be a result of me using a usb cable that is over 10 feet long and to try a shorter one. So I gave it a shot and tried reprinting using a 2 foot usb cable. The first time I tried this it actually resolved the issue and I was able to complete the print. However, a couple months later when I had my next large print job, this method didn't work and I had the same print crash.

Someone else told me I shouldn't be using a usb cable at all and should instead run everything through ethernet cables connected through my modem. I haven't tried this yet but I'm wondering if anyone has any insight into this issue or any advice on how to resolve it.

For context, I use a 2021 macbook pro (16gb of memory) and am printing through photoshop. I connect to my Epson p20000 using a 10ft usb cable.

thanks!

[dgberg]

File size? What dpi are you printing at?

[Kyle Jackson]

I can't comment on Epson but I've always used ethernet connection for my HPs (Z3100, Z3200). Mainly for the higher bandwidth (they're early printers so USB2 at most I think). Also my printers aren't close enough to my PC for the short USB cables that are usually recommended. For a while one was actually on the other end of my place connected by wifi extender.

Easy connection printer to router, and my printing software setup installation finds the printer on the network and adds it.

[noritsue_me]

File size? What dpi are you printing at?

Printing at 300 dpi and the file size for the most recent failed print was 5.15 gigs (28800 x 32000px) for a final output size of 8 x 8.9'.

Kyle Jackson: do you have experience producing large prints using your ethernet setup and if so have you run into any issues?

[Kyle Jackson]

Kyle Jackson: do you have experience producing large prints using your ethernet setup and if so have you run into any issues?

I don't do large prints often (or any prints for that matter, lol) but think I've done about 24x60, don't recall what file res/size that was. Mostly I did about 24x36. Never had any issues. I've only used ethernet since day one, mainly because of the distance.

I recall others sometimes mentioning size issues but can't recall whether any were specifically due to USB. Trying ethernet instead is sometimes a troubleshooting step tho. In my head ethernet is the preferred option but tbh at this point I don't remember whether that's published info or legend.

There are also app, driver, and firmware issues that can limit the print size. (For ex the old HP manual mentions some apps limited by 16 bit so 32768 px max.)

HPs also have some I/O timeout settings that can be adjusted.

[kers]

Printing at 300 dpi and the file size for the most recent failed print was 5.15 gigs (28800 x 32000px) for a final output size of 8 x 8.9'.

Kyle Jackson: do you have experience producing large prints using your ethernet setup and if so have you run into any issues?

I know adobe has a max dpi for print output about 30.000 px - after that it just stops printing. I have had this problem for i print from photoshop.

[Kyle Jackson]

I know adobe has a max dpi for print output about 30.000 px - after that it just stops printing. I have had this problem for i print from photoshop.

Yeah I think that's the same 16-bit limitation the old HP manuals mention:

Some applications, such as Adobe
Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator and CorelDRAW, use an internal 16-bit coordinate system which means
that they cannot handle an image of more than 32,768 pixels.

That's old info tho so I don't know which app versions still have that limit (I still have CS5 / v12 lol).

[dgberg]

Printing at 300 dpi and the file size for the most recent failed print was 5.15 gigs (28800 x 32000px) for a final output size of 8 x 8.9'.

Kyle Jackson: do you have experience producing large prints using your ethernet setup and if so have you run into any issues?

I would say you have a file size limitation. Our business is printing big on our 44" and 64" printers and everything big gets printed at 180 with the occasional 150 dpi, mostly canvas.
300 dpi is most likely causing a file size issue. Our 64" Epson prints through the Onyx Rip using ethernet. Where as both 44" units are connected through ethernet but we print through Lightroom.
We occasionally have issues if file size exceeds 2gb so we make every effort to keep it below that.

[noritsue_me]

Thank you all, this has been very helpful. I have another large print job coming up so I'll try the ethernet cable along with keeping the file sizes below those limits.

[digitaldog]

USB is capable of surpassing that of Ethernet speeds but Ethernet is better for longer distances. And yes, sending 300PPI is overkill.
See: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/2uw6co0yb81l4uhhuxi8z/The-Right-Print-Resolution.pdf?rlkey=w9ncq43ltjffcn9karpq0c41x&dl=0