Monthly Archives: August 2008
Epson 7800 Large Format Photo Printer
We have been using the Epson 7800 printer for about a year and have found it exceptional in terms of quality. The photo printouts on photo paper are just amazing. The printer has a maximum width of 24 inches. It can print full bleed 24 inches. The color reproduction is quite good. The only draw back is the cost of ink cartridges which may come to about Rs. 3400/- for one. There are a total of eight cartridges – Cyan, Light Cyan, Magenta, Light Magenta, Yellow, Light Light black, Light Black and Photo or Matte Black. The printer can print on canvas too and numerous other media including back lit film. Back lit film from Technova is however not available at present in 24 inches width.
The printer can also be used for color proof copies. It is used in Technova’s Polyjet System also though the maximum dpi of 2880 x 1440 may not be high enough for 150 lpi. The cost of ink at 100 percent coverage comes to about Rs. 40 at 1440 dpi. The cost of the printer is around Rs. 200,000/-
The printer does not have a maximum printing length which depends only on the supply of ink and paper but we have experienced that some complications arise when printing at more than eight feet length. It may be because of the software. I have not been able to find out for sure.
Continuous Ink Supply Systems
At the start of this year we had installed a CISS from SplashJet Print Technologies in Mumbai, India. The continuos ink supply system is VERY VERY cost effective compared to regular inkjet cartridges. The initial cost of setting up the system in your printer is under Rs. 3,000 or something close to that. Each of the four cartridges is connected to containers containing maximum 100 ml of ink. We use a Hp K850 inkjet printer with our CISS. It does not work with all inkjet printers. The quality of the print deteriorates somewhat but it is good enough for everyday office documents. Photos also don’t come out that bad.
The ink containers are refillable. Refillable bottles have inks of 200 ml each. Black Ink is available in 300 ml and 200ml. The four bottles of 200ml ink each comes under Rs.800/- for all four.
Novadom Plate and Smart Plate
Novadom plates are manufactured in India by Technova. The plates come in Legal, B4 and A3 sizes. They are polyester based plates output through a laser printer such as Hp 5200 laser printer. They may be output through a photocopier also but the result may not be that good. They are ideal for short run spot color printing.
We have been using Novadom plates for a couple of years and they are basically the only alternative to metal plates. They are very cheap compared to the metal ones which comes in about Rs. 60 or 70 per plate. Novadom plates in legal size are available in packets of hundred for under Rs.750/- per packet. The B4 and A3 sizes comes under Rs.15 per plate.
Novadom plates are known as Smart Plate in the US. They are distributed there by Hurst Chemical Company. These plates have the limitations of common laser printer plates that I discussed in my post under “Difficulties With Laser Polyester Plates.”