# Can I print half tones with this laser printer?



## Ken Styles (Mar 16, 2006)

Konica Minolta PagePro 1350W printer friendly version - Laser Printers - CNET Reviews




> *Basic specs for Konica Minolta PagePro 1350W*
> 
> Printer type-- *Personal printer*
> Technology-- *Laser*
> ...


*s*


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## macmiller (Jul 23, 2007)

find out if there is a post script driver for it. that's what does halftones.


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## RichardGreaves (Nov 7, 2006)

The 1350W is $149 personal printer. I doubt very much that it can shape halftones you can control. It may very well halftone an image, but it would be something like 85 line 45 degree angle dots.

This is why it is so important for graphics printers to have a Postscript driver that will translate the Postscript output of a graphics program and translate it into the Konica or Epson printer language. Any printer could theoretically shape halftones, but somebody has to write the printer driver for that function.

The CNET review says that you shouldn't expect good photos and "need it now line graphics", only. That is a very bad sign.

Even more important is the amount and kind of toner. Will it stop UV-A energy?

Since the only laser printer I know that can produce 2.0 UV density and has Postscript on a chip on the printer motherboard is the Xante ScreenWriter that sells for $1,999, I doubt that a $149 printer can take replace it.

For more discuss of laser printers for screen making positives, search this forum for "laser printer".


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## Ken Styles (Mar 16, 2006)

Good info Rich.
Thanks!

Ken

BTW...I sent you a PM


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## macmiller (Jul 23, 2007)

i have a little samsung 2571, it was about $179, i think. it has a post script driver. it's not ideal, but in corel you can get decent control of the dots, but i don't print really complicated stuff, so i'm not sure how much control is out there. the only drawback on the samsung is that it doesn't lay down much toner, i have to spray some toner enhancer.


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## Ken Styles (Mar 16, 2006)

I found a laser printer in Craigslist with Adobe PostScript 3 chip.

I have adobe photoshop. Will this work for printing good halftones?


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## rrc62 (Jun 2, 2007)

I print good quality halftones on a cheap Brother laser using Ghostscript. I just bought an Oki C8800 and have not tried printing halftones directly, but it does have a postscript driver.


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## RichardGreaves (Nov 7, 2006)

Ken Styles said:


> I found a laser printer in Craigslist with Adobe PostScript 3 chip.
> 
> I have adobe photoshop. Will this work for printing good halftones?


... and the name of the printer???? And how much to they want? And how old is it? Postscript 3 on a chip is a very good sign.

Photoshop is excellent for manipulating photographs, but it requires practice to separate the thousands of colors in a digital photo or scan into 4-6 colors, because you have 4-6 heads on your press.


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## Ken Styles (Mar 16, 2006)

Sorry, It is a xante accel a writer 8300 not sure what year
It has 600 x 600 dpi res.

not sure if that is enough for half-tones


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## tpitman (Jul 30, 2007)

I had a Xante 8300 and it makes great halftones. When I first started out that's what i used with Casey's vellum and toner spray to output art for screenprinting. I sold mine because I went to inkjet and clear film for my output. 600x600 dpi is plenty for any halftone you're going to be outputting for screenprinting.


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## RichardGreaves (Nov 7, 2006)

Ken Styles said:


> It is a xante accel a writer 8300 not sure what year
> It has 600 x 600 dpi res.


The Xante Accel-A-Writer 8300 is about 10 years old and was designed to make offset plates. Xante replaced it in theie line with the PlateMaker and ScreenWriter 3 and 4 models.

600 x 600 DPI is plenty, IF you have enough memory to support it. If this printer only has 32Mb of RAM, you might have to upgrade.

Check the number of prints on the drum and life of printer with the Postscript Startup Page.

How much? A new Xante ScreenWriter4 is $1999, and a refurbished EPSON R1800 can be gotten as low as $349 with EPSON 1 year warranty. Add a RIP for US$495 - US$595.


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## camscam (Apr 1, 2007)

Keep in mind you have to have a RIP that you can control if you want to adjust the screening. When the guy says he uses a "postscript driver" He means a OUTPUT DRIVER where he exports the graphics to a RIP then uses postscript output from the RIP. If you can control the RIP and the way the file is screened, meaning you can change the LPI (lines per inch) and the angle of each color then you could use any postscrip device.


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## Ken Styles (Mar 16, 2006)

It looks like he already sold that printer 

However, I think I might pick this one up..

Print speed 21pages per minute (ppm) simplex, 15 images per minute (ipm) duplex 
First page out 12 seconds 
Processor/PDL PowerPC 133MHz RISC processor, Adobe PostScript 3, PCL6 and PCL5e emulations 
Memory 32 MB up to 192 MB RAM 
Print resolution True 1200 x 1200 dpi, 600 dpi, Xerox Image Enhancement, Xerox Quad Dot Technology 
Bi-directional parallel, USB, (Token Ring, Serial, 10Base2 optional) 
Paper input capability 550 sheet tray 
100 sheet bypass feeder 
Paper output capability 500 sheet face down tray


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## BlazinGraphix (Mar 20, 2009)

will this work for half tones?? Epson Stylus® 1400 Wide-Format Photo Printer | Staples®


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## RichardGreaves (Nov 7, 2006)

*Re: Can I print half tones with this Epson ?*



BlazinGraphix said:


> will this work for half tones?? Epson Stylus® 1400 Wide-Format Photo Printer | Staples®


The Epson Stylus 1400 is a US$299 (US$219 after rebate from Staples and US$219 including free shipping directly from Epson without a rebate), inkjet printer designed to print photographs on smooth glossy opaque white paper with transparent ink.

I have purchased more than 10 Refurbished Epson inkjets for making screen printing stencils directly from Epson's Clearance Center with the same 1 year factory warranty that covers new Epson products and they all were UPS ground shipped for free.

*Refurbished Epson 1400 for US$179 delivered*
Epson Stylus Photo 1400 - Refurbished, Overview - Product Information - Epson America, Inc.

As post #2 mentioned, halftone spots need an Adobe PostScript driver to create halftone spots from inkjet generated dots. The standard Epson driver doesn't shape halftones *you *can control. It may halftone an image, but it would be something like 85 line 45 degree angle dots.

This is why it's so important for graphics printers to have a Postscript driver that will translate the Postscript output of a graphics program and translate it into the Epson printer language. *Any printer could theoretically shape halftones, but somebody has to write the printer driver for that function.*

Even more important is the amount and kind of ink. Will it stop UV-A energy?

Transparent inkjet ink for color photographs has very meager UV opacity without a "screen printing RIP" (NOT a color control RIP), that increases ink density, by increasing ink deposit AND shaping and compensating those dots for dot gain. Only Epson piezoelectric heads can be hot-rodded with software by programmers.

_Article I wrote for Specialist Printing magazine_
What does a RIP do?

For more discuss of Epson 1400 printers for screen making positives, search this forum for "Epson 1400".

I recommend the Epson 1400 with a screen printing RIP for textile screen printers.


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## BlazinGraphix (Mar 20, 2009)

*Re: Can I print half tones with this Epson ?*



RichardGreaves said:


> The Epson Stylus 1400 is a US$299 (US$219 after rebate from Staples and US$219 including free shipping directly from Epson without a rebate), inkjet printer designed to print photographs on smooth glossy opaque white paper with transparent ink.
> 
> I have purchased more than 10 Refurbished Epson inkjets for making screen printing stencils directly from Epson's Clearance Center with the same 1 year factory warranty that covers new Epson products and they all were UPS ground shipped for free.
> 
> ...



will it work if i buy the Accurip software? do u know of any other software that will work that is cheaper?


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## Flagrant-T (Nov 11, 2009)

Accurip works with a Epson 1400. That is actually what the original Black Max system available at Ryonet was based on. I have that package and it makes excellent films. I've done plenty of 4-color and simulated process with those films. It does take a while to print out a 13X18" sheet, but for the money, its a great setup.


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## ScreenFoo (Aug 9, 2011)

Thank you for the excellent reference, Richard. That article could clear up a lot of misconceptions for many people.

Several posts make reference to dye based inkjets being superior to pigment, but it's great to know WHY.


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## RichardGreaves (Nov 7, 2006)

*Will an Epson 1400 work if I buy the Accurip software*



BlazinGraphix said:


> will it work if i buy the Accurip software? do u know of any other software that will work that is cheaper?


Yes, AccuRIP is an excellent "screen printing RIP".

No, I don't know of a cheaper "screen printing RIP". Always beware of shopping for the cheapest.

Download the free, 14 day trial and use it 'watermark free". 
Home

The All Black Cartridges system and AccuRIP software are products of Freehand Graphics. Ryonet is only a distributor, although a very large one for AccuRIP. You still download and install the trial from Freehand Graphics in New York and you can buy a serial number from Ryonet.
aBc Black

The All Black system isn't faster, it makes sure you use all your heads evenly so you don't waste 'never used' cyan, magenta and yellow ink. Your printer becomes a dedicated positive maker and doesn't print in color anymore.

AccuRIP doesn't use a hardware dongle. You can be printing excellent UV opaque halftones in less than 30 minutes after downloading the trial.


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## BroJames (Jul 8, 2008)

*Re: Can I print half tones with this Epson ?*



BlazinGraphix said:


> will it work if i buy the Accurip software? do u know of any other software that will work that is cheaper?


Do your color separations from Photoshop. Copy and paste each channel to a new file then convert it to grayscale mode and then to bitmap mode. During the bitmap conversion you will be asked for the halftone patter, lpi, screen angle, output resolution(1000-1200dpi). Print with matte paper and text settings. Some people suggest printing via a desktop publishing software. 

Or print to a postscript printer driver. Some print via ghostscript. Search this forum for the details.

Search for more details and try them. See how things go. These may not be the best but they certainly are the cheapest to start with(FREE). Then, proceed from there. The best option unless you need immediate productivity.

Whatever the shortcomings of the above methods many people have had relative success in the screen printing industry with them. "relative success" as in a screen printing career built around a satisfied customer base.

As to your question, as others explained, you need a postscript driver and a compatible printer, or a RIP to print halftones with ideal ink density. Some say their halftone dots are better. But you can create halftone dots first using a graphics program and print them with any inkjet or laser printer. As explained above, they may not be postscript or RIP perfect but many professional screen printers are doing it that way.


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## sben763 (May 17, 2009)

*Re: Can I print half tones with this Epson ?*

A rip makes it easy especially when starting out. I use a cheaper separation program that produces the halftone dots. Then I use a Epson 1400 all black dye ink all the separations are 100 k I change to 100 CYMK. Halftone dots are great and my films are super dark. I tried accurip and printed exact film couldn't tell the difference. Great for spot colors. I don't think I would try 4 color process with it. I have less than $500USD in printer, ink, ciss, and seperation software.


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