Send high resolution data directly to printer?

[srialto]

I have been told there is a way to send pre-ripped image data directly to an Epson printer bypassing its own screening and resolution limitations. What I am after is a workflow for bypassing the 720 DPI limit that is commonly considered its native resolution and access the full resolution it is capable of 1440/2880. I have been told to look at prepress/proofing solutions and my initial scan of the topic is fairly overwhelming. If this is possible I would really appreciate some advice on where to start. The specific application for this is lenticular printing which benefits greatly from high resolution workflows.

 

[DYP]

You can't bypass the screening built into the Epson printers. You can try to simulate other screening using the Epson built in screening, but usually with less than quality results.

The DPI you are referring to is a function of the print quality you select in the OS level driver or the RIP driver. So whatever resolution the file is that you are trying to print does not change the resolution of the printer itself but does give it more data to rasterize to achieve the maximum quality that the printer is capable of given the print quality you set in the driver.

 

[srialto]

"You can't bypass the screening built into the Epson printers"
I believe Onyx has its own halftone screening which can be made to replace Epson's contone screening. I assume other rips might offer something similar and I was hoping some proofing solutions, with the need to preserve precise dot patterns, might expand this even farther.

With regard to the DPI it seems that all incoming data is fit through a 360 DPI or 720 DPI hole and then upsampled to the output resolution (1440x2880 or whatever). It is my understanding that if you send a 1440 ppi image to the printer it will be downsampled to the native resolution and then upsampled again to the print resolution. Ideally I would be able to get a 1:1 relationship between ppi and dpi at 1440 with no downsampling first.

 

[gordo]

On sidebar.
The DPI of an inkjet printer is not its resolution.
The DPI refers to the addressability grid of the device.
I.e. For a 720 "dpi" printer, the device can send a drop of unknown size to a target 1/720th of an inch.
It is the size of the drop of ink (usually measured in pico-litres) - the size of the splat of ink - in combination with the scale of the addressability grid that determines the device's resolution. Put another way, different 720 dpi inkjet printers may have different "resolutions".

 

[srialto]

No argument Gordo. Looking for different information though.

 

[DYP]

"You can't bypass the screening built into the Epson printers"
I believe Onyx has its own halftone screening which can be made to replace Epson's contone screening.

Simulation

 

[Puch]

In the EFI Fiery XF proof RIP, you can choose between CT (continuous tone) and HT (halftone?) screening (when using an Epson Stylus printer). Using the HT option gives you the ability to bypass the printer's color separation tables and perform an alternative one in the RIP. On top of that, there is an option (very expensive) which can mimic AM screening up to a practical limit (150 lpi?). That means there is a way to address the device raster somehow, just you have to find the source of info. What about asking Epson?

 

[Stephen Marsh]

Epson license an SDK to various RIP vendors. Some RIP vendors will use all or part of the SDK and may elect to use their own development in other areas.

I know that Kodak Proofing Software can use various symmetrical and asymmetrical resolutions (360, 720, 1440x720, 1440x1440 etc) and CGS ORIS Color Tuner Web has similar options.


Stephen Marsh

 

[srialto]

Stephen, so you are saying that 1440x1440 data can be sent by Kodak and others to the printer without it being downsampled to the native resolution (720) first? That is what I am hoping to find possible.

 

[Stephen Marsh]

Stephen, so you are saying that 1440x1440 data can be sent by Kodak and others to the printer without it being downsampled to the native resolution (720) first? That is what I am hoping to find possible.

I believe that this is so, when 1-bit proofing of high resolution separated plate files is used with KPS, one must use a 1440x1440 resolution media configuration (in KPS the media configuration controls most of the low level features of the printer).

KPS:

CGS ORIS Color Tuner Web:

Stephen Marsh

 

[michaelejahn]

I have been told there is a way to send pre-ripped image data directly to an Epson printer bypassing its own screening and resolution limitations. What I am after is a workflow for bypassing the 720 DPI limit that is commonly considered its native resolution and access the full resolution it is capable of 1440/2880. I have been told to look at prepress/proofing solutions and my initial scan of the topic is fairly overwhelming. If this is possible I would really appreciate some advice on where to start. The specific application for this is lenticular printing which benefits greatly from high resolution workflows.

You might reach out to this developer - they drive most Epson models ( and many other devices ) directly - when i worked for Compose systems, we would use the Compose ( Harlequin ) RIP to make the high res TIFF files then queue them to StarProof which drove the Epsons. Lost of label and flexo printers liked that they could use the spot color separations...

http://www.isigs.com/StarProof_1.html

https://www.compose.com.hk/starproof

 

[srialto]

Great stuff thanks. Looking into all this further.