Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/04/15
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Doug Herr writes: > On Fri, 14 April 2000, "Joe Codispoti" wrote: > > > > Doug, > > just when I was ready to buy the new Epson printer, you come > > along and upset the apple cart with testimonials on the LightJet > > 5000 printer. I want one, I want one. So I called the company > > and after a brief conversation I am back to purchasing the Epson printer. > > Wow, $160,000 for the 5500 model. > > [...] > > Uhh... I forgot to mention it's not cheap... good for a > high-volume lab, not for us folks (unless Bill Gates is lurking on > the list). Remember that you _really_ don't need to buy a Lightjet yourself! In the digital realm you can do all of your personal magic with your image in the privacy of your own home (Tina's spoken about how she likes to be "out in the light"), proof it on a relatively inexpensive inkjet printer, then send it off to a lab to be printed. Unlike old-fashioned printing, the artistic abilities of the lab don't effect your print quality at all. They just need to keep their machines calibrated and their chemicals fresh, the rest is up to you. There's a bit of work setting up a color managed workflow so that this works, and an investment in a usable computer, but its _well_ below $160,000.... You don't even need a scanner, Kodak PhotoCD scans make wonderful LightJet prints (Doug's work is an existence proof). Great Big Prints, or slides with a wide dynamic range benefit from drum scans, which are still frightfully expensive but aren't that much more terrifying than having someone make an unsharp mask and fuss with a difficult Cibachrome print. And, once you have a version of the image that you're happy with, it's easy to make multiple _identical_ prints. g.