Epson WT7900 Printer

[Bill W]

Greetings,

Anyone out there using the new WT7900 that will print white? If so:

1. Can it print on proofing paper as well as other Epson printer such as the 4880? I have been told is was optimized to print on clear and metallic media and does not print color managed proofs on paper as well as the printer such as the 4880.

2. Any other feed back would be appreciated. If we purchase one we will be driving it with a CGS rip.

Thanks in advance.

-Bill-

 

[caveman]

Hello Bill,

WT7900 doesn't use the light blacks and the matt black is not on board also (the space is used by the white ink and the 2 cleaning cartridges). Probably this is why there are claims that proofing on paper is not as good as on other models. What I can say is that it was very easy to match Fogras criteria (based on ISOCoated_v2) on a semigloss paper and the customer was very happy with the result. Also, printing is slower compared to other models (half of the printhead is reserved for the white ink even when you print on paper) and a bit more expensive since on shutdown of printer (which is mandatory) 3 or 5 ml of white ink is dispossed.
Have a look here : http://printplanet.com/forums/color-management/21138-epson-wt7900,
another thread with the same topic.

Hope it helps

 

[Luc St-Pierre]

From demo and salespersons pitch, not very good for proofing only. When used to its main purpose (white ink), substrates are an issue. Dramatic density losses on clear, worst on ultra-clear and I beleive foil media is still not available. I had an eye on that machine beeing in the flexo industry, but I decided to let the product mature for a while.

 

[caveman]

On Epson Clear Proof film the results are excellent. Vivid colors, almost opaque white (without adjusting it), excellent gradations. On Tecco clear film the results were poor but I didn't expect anything more. So yes, substrates are an issue if they are not Epson. Keep also in mind that the printing order is important as it affects density, saturation and overall appearance.

 

[Bill W]

Luc, when you say "not very good for proofing only" are you referring to process images on paper? Have you had a chance to compare a proof from the WT7900 using one of your profiles against your present solution using the same profile?

I am in the process of doing that with my CGS representative and am looking forward to comparing the proofs.

-Bill-

 

[michaelejahn]

WT7900 is excellent for proofing Flexo, have not yet tested others..

WT7900 is excellent for proofing Flexo, have not yet tested others..

Luc, when you say "not very good for proofing only" are you referring to process images on paper?

We have access WT7900 demo unit. We will have one in the Sacramento offices in a few days. We drive it with using Compose Star Proof, and the Compose team at corporate and our partner developer have had access to this unit for several months. It is a great device, and we have amazing samples to share showing the actual dots, trapping, overprint and pantone simulations - on the clear plastic.

To be totally honest - I have not loaded the PAPER we sell to customer interested in simulating GRACoL, so i cannot speak directly to this.

If you have never heard of Compose Star Proof, here is a link...

COMPOSE SYSTEM LIMITED

I will say that I believe it will print on paper, but because it's missing light black, the it may be that if you are sending greyscale only images (thats is 265 levels, black only) that i would think that the results might not be as photographic - but this is me making a wild guess.

blog pots about this;

Compose Color Blog: Sample print on the Epson WT7900

Compose Color Blog: The new Epson Stylus Pro WT7900 is here and Star Proof is ready

In the blog we speak about and show images of PDF - this PDF has many Pantone colors and has white ink -- for those of you not familiar with such things in a PDF - i attached that white ink PDF to this message - enjoy !

Hope this helps, will share more detail here as I gather it.

 

[Bill W]

Greetings Michael,

While we are a flexo printer, the location that is considering the WT7900 install is really more interested in expressing as many of the pantone colors (as well as accurate process images) over being able to print white on clear.

Any testing been done to see if the removal of the blacks on the WT7900 has compressed the pantone gamut compared to the 4880?

-Bill-

 

[michaelejahn]

Pantone simulation / Marking Engine, Ink set & Software

Pantone simulation / Marking Engine, Ink set & Software

...the location that is considering the WT7900 install is really more interested in expressing as many of the pantone colors (as well as accurate process images) over being able to print white on clear...

Hi Bill, if i am to understand your question correctly - if the location is looking for a proofing solution that simulates Pantone colors on paper, I am not sure I am understanding why they would not look more closely at the EPSON 7900 (as opposed to the EPSON WT7900).

Is this a SUBSTRATE concern - it should not be a thickness issue, they both handle the 12 lb bond up to 1.5 mm posterboard...

O, G, C, Lc, VM, VLm, Y, Lk, LLk + PK or MK - EPSON 7900 - offers a lot of options to get satisfactory simulations of Pantone colors - I just blogged about this here;

Compose Color Blog: With Star Proof 6 spot color matching is a breeze

Hope this helps.

 

[Luc St-Pierre]

When I sais not fairly as good for a contract proof, my main concern was black density. I generally proof simulations for flexo. Black is also an issue on my Epson 9600 and 9800 (reddish black). I believe the WT is a very interesting product, not quite there yet.

 

[michaelejahn]

Black on the EPSON 7900

Black on the EPSON 7900

When I sais not fairly as good for a contract proof, my main concern was black density. I generally proof simulations for flexo. Black is also an issue on my Epson 9600 and 9800 (reddish black). I believe the WT is a very interesting product, not quite there yet.

I would be very happy to take a PDF file - or set of 1 bit TIFF files - and pass it though the Star Proof application - to see if the black it creates is to your requirements.

I assume that you might understand that I would either need spectro data from the printed piece - or the printed piece. I will ship you a proof from the EPSON 7900, then later - when we have the WT7900 - send you a proof from that.

if you are interested in this exercise, contact me directly at [email protected]

 

[Johu]

As it so happens I am calibrating a WT7900 as I am writing this. The machine managed to surprise me with the gamut it can produce on the Epson Clear Film. I am installing this device for Flexo graphic proofing.
I reached the following densities (measured with i1, so they are not comparable with densitometer readings as there is no polarization filter in the i1)
C 1.4
M 1.1
Y 1.78
K 2.06

As they looked a bit small values I was a bit afraid how I could cover my customers target profile, but there were no problems, actually despite the density figures the gamut on this device was surprisingly large.

I have included my ECI 2002 measurement file for the clear proof film, so that you can see it for your selves. I already thought of increasing the amount of color put on the film, but after seeing the gamut I had no fear anymore.

 

[Colorworx]

Is there a norm for Flexo CMYK Ink Density?

Is there a norm for Flexo CMYK Ink Density?

Hi Johu, the ink densities looked a bit away from norm, is it? Is it based on Status T or E? What are the norm. of Flexo CMYK ink densities that you think?

 

[langfors]

I apologize if this is misplaced, but I am interested in some short run work on a WT7900 on clear vinyl. Please reply with rates. Thank you!

 

[Colorworx]

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