harlequin for epson ctp

joan2011

Member
Hi,

I discovered this page few days ago and i like it very much. That's my first post.

I'm working in graphic arts school in Mallorca (Spain).
I usually teach text and tipography, but now i'm helping to improve our prepress system. I'm not an expert on this and i have some doubts:

We are studying to acquire a Epson ctp inkjet system, like the Epson 7900 or similar.
In the Epson web the 7900 is offered with a Efi rip to manage the ctp.
We have a Harlequin rip (Xiflow 2.5 build 10 with Navigator 7.0r2 Build 7004, bought in 2005) that worked with an old Agfa Acuset (we have removed the Acuset yet).
The question is: ¿can we manage a Epson to obtain offset plates with our Harlequin?

- Another question: is the 7900 the unique Epson option for CTP or is there is another option with lower format (A2)?

Thanks for any help and congratulations for this interesting and helping forum,

Joan
 
Bona nit Joan,

I'm involved on inkjet CTP technology from year 2000. I'm located in Barcelona. If you wish talk about your doubts or questions don't doubt to contact me.
The iCTP from Glunz & Jensen also is based on Harlequin rip, with a special screening technology developed by G&J.
You have an instalation of inkjet CTP in La Lloseta, very close to Mallorca.

Best regards,

Josep M. Castany
 
Hi, You may use any rip capable to drive your printer, there is also good chance that you may be able to get a plug in for excising rip to drive the printer of your choice. and yes any EPSON printer with K3 Ultrachrome inks can be used to make plates as long it has a straight-trough opening, I am guessing you don't have a need for huge plates for huge press and looking at 4880 series or something similar/newer. Most important - you need a cooking unit, plates must undergo a 185c / 3 min curing/baking procedure before can be mounted on the press, and guess what - epson does not sell baking unit separately - believe me, I tried.
 
Hi,

Thanks everybody for answers. My local distributor of Harlequin tells me i need to upgrade my Harlequin to latest version and purchase a plug-in for the Epson (near to 4000 euros).
If this is true, maybe is better to migrate to EFi or another cheaper rip.
 
Vendors love to insist that we upgrade our products at the drop of a hat. I got burned by a Kodak salesman who insisted I needed the Preps 6 upgrade to work on my Mac OS 10.6 workstation. After spending the bucks I found out he was bullshitting me (or just wrong)!
While I cannot speak definitively about your Xiflow, there is a chance that it could RIP for Epson as it is. We used a very old Harlequin RIP to drive our Epson 7600 for 5 years before upgrading. We also have a 7-year old Oris Hofolder Manager in the loop as well, which can actually handle a great deal tasks on its own. I suggest getting the 7900 without the Fiery and try your Harlequin. Then you can always get something else if it won't work.
 

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