2200 vs 2400 question

[smieglitz]

Is either of the Epson 2200 or R2400 printers preferable for making digital negatives? It has been about 3 years since I made any diginegs on Pictorico OHP using a 2200. Today I started goofing around with the R2400 and it seems to not be as efficient at blocking UV as the earlier model. Should I expect the K3 inks to block more or less UV than the original Ultrachrome set of the 2200?

[clay]

Both printers work fine with QTR. Ike has developed a nice curve for the 2400 and I posted one here for both the 2200 and 2400. I think I would lean toward the 2400 because it is newer. I think the 2200s went out of production a few years ago.

Is either of the Epson 2200 or R2400 printers preferable for making digital negatives? It has been about 3 years since I made any diginegs on Pictorico OHP using a 2200. Today I started goofing around with the R2400 and it seems to not be as efficient at blocking UV as the earlier model. Should I expect the K3 inks to block more or less UV than the original Ultrachrome set of the 2200?

[ike]

Joe, your welcome to my curve, it's still somewhat a work in progress. I found last night I don't have enough density to prevent rebate fogging on Platine and Rives but it works well on Weston Diploma. This is pure Pd no restrainer. I just purchased a UV densitometer that I hope to get this week which should help me put the final tweeks on it. A little more yellow ink should fix this. Actually I am wondering if I should just mask my negs with rubylith instead of printing the mask as the 2400 just gobbles ink.
Ike

[clay]

I think you can just add a little yellow ink and/or increase the black boost. You may have to tweak the gray curve, but you are probably close. I feel the same way about wasting ink for printing a border mask. I just cut a mask from rubylith and tape the negative on top of the mask. This sound counter-intuitive, but if you put the mask down last, you can get light piping through the negative and you will end up with a thin gray line around your image area.

Joe, your welcome to my curve, it's still somewhat a work in progress. I found last night I don't have enough density to prevent rebate fogging on Platine and Rives but it works well on Weston Diploma. This is pure Pd no restrainer. I just purchased a UV densitometer that I hope to get this week which should help me put the final tweeks on it. A little more yellow ink should fix this. Actually I am wondering if I should just mask my negs with rubylith instead of printing the mask as the 2400 just gobbles ink.
Ike

[ike]

Clay, any preference between low-tack quick strip, high-tack and ruby vs. amber?

[clay]

My favorite stuff is the orange plastic opaque mask that you can buy from Badger Graphics. It is easier to cut, and seems more robust for masks that you use over and over again. I just use the regular low tack lithographers tape to attach the negative to the mask. Since I am laying the negative on top of the mask, it really wouldn't even need to be anything more than draftsman's tape.

Clay, any preference between low-tack quick strip, high-tack and ruby vs. amber?