# Inkjet positive film recommendation?



## BlackSheepHybrid (Nov 19, 2006)

I have an epson printer that i'm printing my positive film on and i have rip. I'm working with fine detail and halftones and will be doing multi-color prints. I know extreme fine detail will be hard to achieve with this epson, but with what i'm working with- what would be the best medium(vellum, transparency, etc) to print a positive on?
A guy i talked to today said that vellum isn't that good for doing multi-color jobs and isn't the best for fine detail. And for inkjet transparency film- i'm confused about this- a lot of sites don't say if the paper is double coated or what. 
I'm also looking for something around the price or lower than $50 for a box of 100 sheets 13" wide- i'd also settle for 11" wide. If there is a product that is more expensive but highly worth the investment please suggest.
Anyone have any good recommendations ?


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## ftembroidery (Nov 25, 2006)

I use Kimoto Silkjet. It's available in a number of sizes. Where I buy it, 8½ x 14 is $51.24 for 100 sheets. It's a clear film, not a vellum, and I think it's WONDERFUL.


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## hon623 (Jan 17, 2007)

Depends on what model of the Epson Printer you are using. The Kimoto Silkjet is good for the Epson 3000 or some older gerneration Epson's printer. The newer Epson Printer used the pigment ink instead of the dye ink, so you need to use some waterproof film. You may check on the usscreenprinter.net's FastPositive, it work great on the Epson Printer, and my customer never had any complain of it.

HTH.
Hon


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## groggman (Jan 17, 2007)

I use a waterproof film made for inkjet. It truly is the bomb. I also have an epson rip setup.........You can find it at quikseps.com, they call it quikfilm. It dries instantly w/o any smudge or smear....It prints halftones like a laser. Hope this helps.


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## kryilic101 (Jan 17, 2007)

i went to pearl paint and was told acetate was th best to use. its the only thing i've used so far


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## VIParisto (Feb 24, 2007)

groggman said:


> I use a waterproof film made for inkjet. It truly is the bomb. I also have an epson rip setup.........You can find it at quikseps.com, they call it quikfilm. It dries instantly w/o any smudge or smear....It prints halftones like a laser. Hope this helps.


Does this film work with EPSON R1800, and do i have to use FAST INK or can i use the EPSON ink


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## groggman (Jan 17, 2007)

VIParisto said:


> Does this film work with EPSON R1800, and do i have to use FAST INK or can i use the EPSON ink


That I'm not sure of. I have a 2200 with a cis using non-epson dye inks w/o any issues. I can't tell you that, that is the way for you to go though. With any after market equipment you have to weigh the pros, and cons for youself. I talked with the people at quikseps recently, seems they are having a hard time getting the film from their supplier. I hope that it is a short term issue, the stuff great. It comes in sizes 8.5x11 up to 17x22, they have rolls too.


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## VIParisto (Feb 24, 2007)

groggman said:


> That I'm not sure of. I have a 2200 with a cis using non-epson dye inks w/o any issues. I can't tell you that, that is the way for you to go though. With any after market equipment you have to weigh the pros, and cons for youself. I talked with the people at quikseps recently, seems they are having a hard time getting the film from their supplier. I hope that it is a short term issue, the stuff great. It comes in sizes 8.5x11 up to 17x22, they have rolls too.


I hope so too because this is way cheaper than FASTpos, and I think about ordering this positive Monday. Hope they have it in stock


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## JeridHill (Feb 8, 2006)

We also have a waterproof inkjet film at a fraction of the cost. It works with the pigment or dye based inks.

I would not print on an inkjet without a RIP, though. It is necessary a for dense films. I do see you have a RIP, so that's the right direction.


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## BlackSheepHybrid (Nov 19, 2006)

i bought the quikseps paper- it was expensive agh for 139 for a box of 100- i bought it out of frustration of confusion about which film would be best

all in all- i definitely spent waay too much!!!!!!- $139 for a box of 100 sheets.... 
I could've gone with the kimono at like half the cost and i tried the kimono and got the same results. I should've listened to the person who recommended that- kimono seems to be the cheapest high quality film out there. if you know of others please keep suggesting. the guy who recommended quikseps probably works for them... thats the problem with a lot of posts on here- its too many company owners/workers trying to sell you their **** instead of real people recommending lowcost and quality products.....


regardless i still think this forum is extremely useful

quikseps is waterproof- thats the word that sucked me in- but what does waterproof really matter- i'm not using a waterproof ink if that matters and in the shop work area the chance of water spillage is minimal-
maybe waterproof does make a big difference and i'm ignorant on the subject- all of this is a possibility- but i question the on this- is it just a real neccessity for waterproof or is it for marketing purposes because people want to make money off of business owners- (which is key to the economy unfortunately but when your starting up its rough)


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## JeridHill (Feb 8, 2006)

One reason we actually started selling film was because of the high cost. Ours is waterproof that's why it may be a little more expensive than what you are looking for. I know one of the major brands of non-waterproof film is $97.50 for 100 sheets of 13x18 for 10 or more boxes, whereas their waterproof is $203 for 10 or more boxes.

We don't carry anything except waterproof film and one box is $175 and 10 or more is $125, pretty close to their non-waterproof costs. Waterproof film is just a better film, but to be honest, $50 for 100 sheets of 13"x18 is going to be hard to come by. Not only that, but you won't find it coated on 2 sides, it's not necessary.

Why was the film no good? Was it not dense enough? If it wasn't dense enough, are you using a RIP? If not, you won't get the density you need. One easy way to find out which side is coated is to wet your finger and touch a corner. Whichever side is sticky will be the coated side.

I know of one company that I used to buy film from that carries the Kimoto non-waterproof inkjet film for $98.50 for a box of 100, 13x18. If you want, let me know and I'll get their information for you.


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## groggman (Jan 17, 2007)

I'm the guy that mentioned quikseps. I do not work for them, and never have. If you look through anything Iv'e posted they're just responses of personal experience. I just re-read your original post. I did'nt than and still don't now see that you were really looking for both sides coated. I know Iv'e tried 3-4 different vellums to no avail, for what I'm looking for. Quikseps works for me, I am very happy with it, I do with it what you said you were looking for, halftones, fine detail, and multi-colored prints. It is costly, but for me it was cheaper than fastfilms. Jered Hill sounds like he might have what your looking for, and maybe closer to what your looking to spend. (I don't work for him either). I guess I just took for granted that you knew water proof films with your settup was going to be a bit costly. I might be interested in buying your quikfilms though.


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## JeridHill (Feb 8, 2006)

Hey Groggman, I was looking this morning for some other films that could help them out. I came across 13x19 for $50 something, then I looked closer and saw it was for only 50 sheets. They weren't waterproof either, so again, I just don't see someone paying only $50 for 100 sheets of inkjet film waterproof or non-waterproof.


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## groggman (Jan 17, 2007)

Yeah I did a few days, a lot of hrs. search for the stuff I use(I won't mention any names). It is hard to find anything much cheaper. I may have to try the kimono myself, Blacksheephybrid says he got the same result. Oh, and I noticed I spelled your name wrong in the last post. Sorry about.


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## OtakuClothing (Mar 6, 2007)

I used to use this printer called an alps. It printed with a water proof plastic. And I would go to office depot and buy plain tansfers (the clear plastic used for overhead projectors)... That was almost the best to use. Of course money well spent with an OYO positive printer. But then again you get what you pay for.


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## Fluid (Jun 20, 2005)

which oyo do you have Harold.
I have an eco pro and techstyler. Love'em.


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## OtakuClothing (Mar 6, 2007)

You know I don't remember the model. I got out of screen printing about 4 years ago and sold my press. And now I am doing pre-print and am thinking of doing the shirts myself again. So I am going to have to go up to my dads and dig it out with my newman roller frames and drying box.

You have an ecopro but thats not the EcoProDTS right? I am so thinking of dumping my money into that sweet machine. I drove all the way to Orlando to see it. It will revolutionize screen printing. I am just thinking wow team that bad boy up with those roller frames and I will be printing all sweet like.

The oyo I have has the sheet fed plastic that prints out the positives. I should look it up. But I really want the DTS. That is the cleanest system available. No dark room, curing, drying, flashing, washout or dehazing. Just think of the money I would save by not having to re-buy all that equipment.
And the help to the environment for not having to dump chemicals into the ground. But then again I sound like a sales person. I saw the machine and said "Man if they can make it good enough for automatic printers a lot of companies will be out of business."


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## Solmu (Aug 15, 2005)

BlackSheepHybrid said:


> maybe waterproof does make a big difference and i'm ignorant on the subject- all of this is a possibility- but i question the on this- is it just a real neccessity for waterproof or is it for marketing purposes because


I imagine that partly depends on your shop setup, and how careful you are.

The odds of water getting on my film is not insignificant. It's not _likely_ either, but it's possible enough that the more colourfast the film the better. On the other hand, I wouldn't pay more than double the cost for my film (i.e. $139 for a box of 100 sheets).


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## OtakuClothing (Mar 6, 2007)

Solmu said:


> I imagine that partly depends on your shop setup, and how careful you are.
> 
> The odds of water getting on my film is not insignificant. It's not _likely_ either, but it's possible enough that the more colourfast the film the better. On the other hand, I wouldn't pay more than double the cost for my film (i.e. $139 for a box of 100 sheets).


 Seriously it depends on your setup. I think a lot of people don't dedicate a lot of space to their darkroom. So the wash out bin can be close to the light table. And you might lay something down and move a wet screen over it.

But in truth the archivable bit of your positives is kind of important. If your doing it the cheap and easy way and tossing out your positive just planning on reprinting it the next time you need a shirt. Well then waterproof is not important. But if you store the positive then you might want to consider being really careful. I used the plastic sheets and stored them in a filing cabinet when I was done.


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## jasperketone (Feb 15, 2007)

we use autotype zeta 3 in various size rolls. i wish we had water proof film, sometimes the screen makers will put the film on a screen thats still a little wet and it will leave mesh marks on the film! i heard there was a spray to water proof them but i dont remember the site i read it on..

we've also tried a cheaper korean film but it had problems with our printer. i couldnt optimize the settings to work with it. it would clog the print head, jam up all the time and i think it would shrink and expand depending on the temperature and humidity.


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## OtakuClothing (Mar 6, 2007)

jasperketone said:


> we use autotype zeta 3 in various size rolls. i wish we had water proof film, sometimes the screen makers will put the film on a screen thats still a little wet and it will leave mesh marks on the film! i heard there was a spray to water proof them but i dont remember the site i read it on..
> 
> we've also tried a cheaper korean film but it had problems with our printer. i couldnt optimize the settings to work with it. it would clog the print head, jam up all the time and i think it would shrink and expand depending on the temperature and humidity.



Well you could buy some clear spray enamel. It dries quickly and makes things water proof. I used to use it when doing art in pencil or chalk. This way the image would not smear.... but I would test it first before using it on something really important.


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## BlackSheepHybrid (Nov 19, 2006)

JeridHill said:


> Hey Groggman, I was looking this morning for some other films that could help them out. I came across 13x19 for $50 something, then I looked closer and saw it was for only 50 sheets. They weren't waterproof either,


Hi Jeridhill, can you give me the link to this one? I really don't care if it's only 50 sheets or non waterproof this time .
Thanks


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## alan802 (Mar 24, 2008)

Davis International sells a waterproof film that works with the r1800. We are currently using it and have used ulano, fastpos and accufast in the past. Davis is by far the cheapest at $138 for 13X18 100 sheets. The ulano worked the best for us but we found the davis version so much cheaper. The fastpos is never in stock so we had to find other options.


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## beldecal (Aug 5, 2009)

We are a screen printing company here in Miami, Fl which employs over 530 people. 
We print on t-shirts, tote bags, ceramic mugs, travel mugs, glassware, portfoilios. We use the same film for our plates in pad printing also. We used to use Caseys film for xante printer before. We had to use casey spary to make postives dark. With this paper we do not need it as it very transparent. 
Check out this video for inkjet & laser positive film.
Prices are more than 50% less. 

DecalPaper.com - Decals - Waterslide decal paper or inkjet,laser printers Alps & copiers

Amin


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## vaughanjohnson (Aug 6, 2010)

They do sell the rolls of 13" x 100". It's about 110.00 for the roll. But you can cut it to size. It is waterproof. The best i have seen. Made specifically for the inkjet printers. Great blockout,


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## csharms (Feb 14, 2010)

Try wcfilmworks for reviewing the best options for inkjet film. Based on your printer there are economical ways to afford less expensive film. The newer printers will be waterproof only film. The luxury of older printers are that they will take non waterproof as well as waterproof. The epson 3000 is quite the work horse and as old as it is you have to way the options. It can be found refurbished for around $500.00. This gives you the option of using both types of film. Cartridges can run from 50-75.00 on genuine epson ink. There are bulk systems that can get you down to 17.00 per cartridge based on the same amount of ink. The key to switching over the system is to compltely flush the ink out as well as thoroughly clean the cleaning system. The inks can coagulate if this isn't done properly. Overall yes the newer systems can produce a cleaner dot but not any cleaner to the naked eye. Weigh your needs but from experience i can say we create high end seps and film to produce high end prints for some of the best licensed apparel printers in the industry.


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## endgameshirts (Apr 13, 2011)

I know this is an older post but when I went searching for film positives today I ran across this forum.
This site sells waterproof film positives 52$ per 100 8.5x11 sheets.

They work great. I usually run them through my printer twice (I use a hp 4400) But I think I only have to do that because my printer is so sub par.

here is the link: hope it helps!

8.5x11" WaterProof Film 100 Pk, R-FILM WaterProof Positive Film


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