Sunday, November 28, 2004
Giclee printing: resolution and uni or bi directional
I want to clarify some misconceptions regarding a few printer characteristics that sometimes create confusion with perspective clients: DPI does not have to be the highest possible in order to create a great giclee print. The are professional printing systems that cost tens of thousands of dollars which rate between 200 and 400 DPI...Examples? The Lightjet (RA process) and the Iris (giclee and prepress)...Are these printers inferior to a $99 desktop printer rated at 1,440 DPI? Of course not. As a matter of fact, they are vastly superior in every aspect, including archival properties, color rendition, dot pattern etc. So, do not get stuck on DPI. It really doesn' t mean much.
Sometimes you will hear the terms uni or bi-directional, microweave, high speed in giclee printing. What this means is that the printer is capable to print in one direction or in both (when the carriage returns home). High speed, Bi-D printing is no better or worse: it is just faster because it can print another pass while the head is coming back. Bi-D printing is sometimes prone to vertical bending issues. This is mostly because the printer needs to make much more of an effort to stay on track when it is plotting in both directions.
Sometimes you will hear the terms uni or bi-directional, microweave, high speed in giclee printing. What this means is that the printer is capable to print in one direction or in both (when the carriage returns home). High speed, Bi-D printing is no better or worse: it is just faster because it can print another pass while the head is coming back. Bi-D printing is sometimes prone to vertical bending issues. This is mostly because the printer needs to make much more of an effort to stay on track when it is plotting in both directions.
