Complete newbie needs help - Epson WT7900

stansellj1983

New member
Hi there!

I'll start out by saying i greatly appreciate any help you guys are willing to give me. I feel kind of like a 3-year-old walking into a bar and trying to buy a drink... thats how little i know about the printing business.

So, here's what i'm trying to accomplish: Printing white ink in varying opacity (or solid, if it comes to that), with color printed over it, on the Epson WT7900. I've spent hours and hours searching for tips or tutorials online, and haven't even begun to find anything the least bit helpful.

For a little background, my business alters and sells collectible trading cards, which are usually colors printed on a holographic foil paper. I have been using a PixmaPro9000mkII to accomplish this, but recently have noticed others in my field have been printing both opaque colors AND transparent colors on the same sheet, creating a hybrid foil-and-nonfoil look. After looking into this, i realized that this print method is far out of my price range, with printers capable of this costing upward of $30,000. However, i stumbled upon a printer that seemed it could do what i wanted, and was far more affordable: the Epson WT7900. so after a bit of searching, i found a local print company that had one for sale, and was willing to part with it for only $1500. well, i jumped at the chance to keep up with my competitors, so i picked up the printer yesterday. Fast forward to today, and i realized i had NO idea what i was getting into. i thought i had properly researched the printer, but apparently i missed a few things. so here's what i need help with in numerical order: (i apologize in advance for needing so much help)

1. RIP Software: i know i need it, but i have no clue where to start. it's very expensive (for me anyway), so i can't afford to buy rip software that won't work with my machine, or won't work the way i need it to. there are so many different brands and add-ons, i feel totally lost when it comes to knowing which one to buy. i had never even heard of rip software till last week.

2. Editing software: I have Adobe photoshop CS6, and am at least slightly familiar with it, but since i'm new to printing this is another area where i'm lost. can i accomplish what i'm trying to do using photoshop? do i need Illustrator? Acrobat? some other software that i'm not aware of?

3. actually printing white: once i have the rip software (i currently have trial versions of EFI eXpress and ColorBurstx10), how do i go about setting up both the image files and the rip software to print the white underneath the colors? does the white need to be in a layer? a white spot color? both? neither? and there specific setting i need? am i missing some step in the edit-rip-print sequence?

i feel like what i'm trying to do can't be as complicated as it seems... but is it? have i bitten off way more than i can chew? should i just try to return or sell the printer? thank you very much

~James

PS im using Windows 7 64-bit
 
Wow, what have you got yourself into! ;)

You correct that most 'professional RIPS' that can driver a WT are expensive, more than paid for printer! which by the why I would say the price you got it for is a bargain although you should know that when it comes to metallic or transparent material you will be restricted to media made by Epson for this machine and be prepared to fall of seat when you order media and white ink!

For the RIP I would look at what RIP software Epson ships with the machine as this may be enough for your purposes, check the Epson web site. I would thought all Epson's would ship with software that can driver the printer. If you haven't got the software that was shipped with the machine contact where you bought the machine from, its probably sitting in a cupboard so where.

For setting up files you can use any software that is capable of creating / outputting colour separations, you can do this in Photoshop by creating an additional spot channel and naming it whatever the RIP software / machine is set to for printing the white which I am assuming would be called 'white'.

Good luck
 
The WT7900 does not come with a printer driver and you are correct that almost all methods are RIP driven solutions. We sell the Kodak Proofing Software to drive the WT7900 (one needs the Packaging Edition version and a license for the WT7900).

Proofing Solutions | Idealsolution

An Epson PDF listing some of the RIP options for the WT7900 can be found here:

http://www.epson.ca/_alfresco/proimaging/products/StylusProWT7900/CLJK0710_WT7900_PSET_FNL.pdf


There is one other option that I know of, it is not a RIP and it works as a plug-in to Photoshop - Mirage Design Edition:

Design Edition / WT7900 - Englisch


One can use clear media that is not from Epson:

Reverse or Surface Clear Film Proofing | Idealsolution
Inkjet Proofing Media | Idealsolution


Hope this helps,

Stephen Marsh
 

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