Hi All,
I am helping out with solving a problem on an Agfa Accuset 1000 imager at a small printshop in Windhoek, Namibia. The imager was working perfectly last year before closing for the holidays. Now all of a sudden all the films produced are about 10-20% darker in the mid-ranges - without obvious reason. I tried to calibrate the machine only to find that it seems virtually impossible - there are no tools available to produce a proper step wedge nor to properly calibrate it. The Accuset 1000 is connected to a Hardware rip Star 600. The guys use a mac mini which loads the classic Mac OS to image the files to the Imager. As for the documentation for the imager: it says to print out a density check (test 1) where different exposure settings are images at various levels in 100% and 50% blocks. Then one is supposed to measure them and find the one closest to what one wants: (where 50% reads 50% etc).
Have done test 1 and we found that the exposure where the 50% screen actually measures 50% - the 100% BUT black density is not dense enough
I have also tried to change the "working" density to a different value as per manual but it simply does not save the new values (press off-line, then cass, chose the param to change and change it, then back to top left in lcd display, enter to save - it then actually displays "saving" but then returns to the old values - have tried all sorts of combinations....)
To make matters worse the guys there have no disks or any software for the imager nor the rip. Surely there should be some kind of front end from where one can calibrate the device - I simply can not believe that agfa devices can not be calibrated properly. (It must have been a real schlepp in the old days to get a proper linearisation and calibration done…)
I do realise that this is old technology and an old machine, but it is still working fine and these gust don't really need anything bigger. They are however looking into getting some kind of software rip (Harlequin I would guess...)
What to do and where to get help is not the big question. If anyone out there can perhaps help me or point me in the right direction, would be highly appreciated.
By now i nearly know the user manual by heart and have also studied the service manual without getting any further. Needless to say support from Agfa is simply.... well same as trying to change the exposure on the Accuset - presently not possible.
Can anyone help us perhaps. thanks and happy imaging.
I am helping out with solving a problem on an Agfa Accuset 1000 imager at a small printshop in Windhoek, Namibia. The imager was working perfectly last year before closing for the holidays. Now all of a sudden all the films produced are about 10-20% darker in the mid-ranges - without obvious reason. I tried to calibrate the machine only to find that it seems virtually impossible - there are no tools available to produce a proper step wedge nor to properly calibrate it. The Accuset 1000 is connected to a Hardware rip Star 600. The guys use a mac mini which loads the classic Mac OS to image the files to the Imager. As for the documentation for the imager: it says to print out a density check (test 1) where different exposure settings are images at various levels in 100% and 50% blocks. Then one is supposed to measure them and find the one closest to what one wants: (where 50% reads 50% etc).
Have done test 1 and we found that the exposure where the 50% screen actually measures 50% - the 100% BUT black density is not dense enough
I have also tried to change the "working" density to a different value as per manual but it simply does not save the new values (press off-line, then cass, chose the param to change and change it, then back to top left in lcd display, enter to save - it then actually displays "saving" but then returns to the old values - have tried all sorts of combinations....)
To make matters worse the guys there have no disks or any software for the imager nor the rip. Surely there should be some kind of front end from where one can calibrate the device - I simply can not believe that agfa devices can not be calibrated properly. (It must have been a real schlepp in the old days to get a proper linearisation and calibration done…)
I do realise that this is old technology and an old machine, but it is still working fine and these gust don't really need anything bigger. They are however looking into getting some kind of software rip (Harlequin I would guess...)
What to do and where to get help is not the big question. If anyone out there can perhaps help me or point me in the right direction, would be highly appreciated.
By now i nearly know the user manual by heart and have also studied the service manual without getting any further. Needless to say support from Agfa is simply.... well same as trying to change the exposure on the Accuset - presently not possible.
Can anyone help us perhaps. thanks and happy imaging.