Film Output: Recommendations 2013

[lil_tuffy]

I'm in the market for a new film output device and was curious as to what people are presently using, their satisfaction level and where they buy film.

I'm looking for something that does 14" or wider.

[40ozGraphics]

Epson 1400 (13"x19" only). Fixxons film. Works well for me.

[Aaron Gein]

Epson 7890. Fixxons film. Works great! 24" wide max.

[lil_tuffy]

I'm looking at Epson Stylus Pro 3880.

[ISKRA]

Can anyone recommend profiles for a dense black??? We recently upgraded our contract proofing inkjet to an epson 9890 and hope to be outputting film as soon as I can find a way around the rip software... it is currently not allowing me to get the density i prefer for crisp exposures.

[vastagh]

Glad you started this tuff, I was just about to do the same.

I want something that will print full 18x26-ish sheets. so tired of tiling 13x18 films...

[fantasygoat]

The Epson 7800 I had was brilliant, once I converted it to pigment inks and ran it all black. The standard OSX driver worked perfect and I got very dense blacks.

[40ozGraphics]

I use the ultra premium glossy paper setting on highest quality and it works fine. I get great detail in my stencils and no undercutting. I'm using the regular cmyk inks and I just set my art for 100% black.

[furturtle]

The Epson 7800 I had was brilliant, once I converted it to pigment inks and ran it all black. The standard OSX driver worked perfect and I got very dense blacks.

I have been using the 7800 for about three years now. I have always used the standard inks and have been happy with the density. It might be in the top three best things I have ever bought for my process.

[kylewbaker]

I'm about to buy an Epson 7890. Everybody still loving their's?

One of the most attractive things to me is the promise of the new print head coating that "virtually eliminates clogs". The other is the warranty, though at 1-year (on site) it'd be a shame to need to use it. Anyone had any problems with their unit?

Anyone have any advice for me on where to buy?

I'm considering buying an Epson-refurbed unit from a top-rated Ebay seller (and certified Epson reseller) for <$2,200 including free dock-to-dock delivery. That'll save me ~400 bucks vs. buying new (based on what I've found so far). I don't love the idea of spending that much on 'used' but my experience with factory-refurbished equipment like this is that it'll be good as new, and since it comes with the same warranty as new I may go for it.

In the four years I've been printing I've moved up the posi ladder from oilies to stitching 13 x 19s on a couple different used units that eventually crapped out, to scoring a super-cheap used Epson 4000—which worked great for a season, then I'm pretty sure I damaged the photo black print heads beyond repair trying to flush the line with a syringe—and I've decided it's time to move up to 24" for the reasons stated above... But I also intend to produce some art prints on it (particularly for a really big project I've got coming up) and that kind of cinches it for me — If 36" x 24" giclees are going to cost me around 200 a pop anyway, and I'm blowing 100 every time I need to get 4 films for a demanding screen print, it's kind of a nobrainer.