Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/10/06
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Hi All,
This article is quite long, But excellent in its simplicity for explaining
the process and the cost. For those verging on purchase or who have the
finance (definitely not me!), this might be of interest.
Take care,
Gary
PRINT MEDIA / Dye Sublimation & More
by Danny Kay
The next course on our hi-tech menu is dye sublimation printing. Dye subs
are the veal parmigiana of color printers. They are used almost exclusively
for high-end photographic reproduction and pre-press proofing.
"Sublimation" refers to the process of a solid substance turning into a gas
without first becoming a liquid. (e.g. ice turning into steam without
becoming water.) In dye sub printers, a hi-density thermal head is used in
conjunction with a color ribbon.
The ribbon consists of a plastic substrate coated with a layer of solid
dye. As in all types of color printers, the colors used in the ribbon are
Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and sometimes Black. These process colors are laid
out on the substrate in large rectangular panels that are equal in size to
the printer's maximum rated print size.
The thermal head consists of a line of tiny heating elements, usually 300
per inch (hence the term "high density" above), each one of which can
generate a precisely regulated amount of heat.
The number of elements in the thermal head determines the resolution of the
printer. When an image is sent to the printer, it is broken up into blocks
equal to the printer's resolution. The printer's controller determines how
much of each of the process colors is needed to create that block of color.
The corresponding thermal element is heated up to sublimate the requisite
amount of dye to achieve the desired color. The vaporized dye is
transferred to the print substrate (i.e. the paper or transparency) which
has a special coating for this purpose. The paper is generally pulled
through the printer three or four times, depending on whether the ribbon
has a separate black panel or not.
The nice part about this process is that the sublimated dye spreads out
into the special coating, making the picture look continuous. In addition,
the dye is absorbed into the coating virtually becoming part of the paper.
The Proof is in the Print
The end result is a near photo quality print. Eastman Kodak, the
manufacturer of a particularly high quality line of dye sub printers, even
makes "Kodak paper" which simulates the look and feel of an actual photo,
complete with the Kodak logo on the back. Kodak and others also make
ribbons that contain an additional panel of plastic laminate that is
applied in an extra pass through the printer. This laminate layer provides
protection from fingerprints and from harsh lighting as well as the threat
posed by those of us who have a tendency to tip over our respective morning
coffees.
Picture Perfect
In many areas of the photography industry, dye sub prints are used
interchangeably with conventional photographic prints. While consistently
quite good, there are class differences in dye sub print quality. In higher
end models, from companies such as Eastman Kodak, QMS and Imation,
individual "blocks" of color are almost indiscernible even under an 8x
loupe. On lower end models some 'patterning' may be visible even with the
naked eye.
Dye sublimation technology is also very popular in the pre-press industry.
With careful control, a dye sub printer can be used to closely mimic
different substrates and press conditions.
Solid Contenders
Overall, dye subs are an excellent choice for photographers, graphic
designers and printers. Their print speed, durability and quality compare
favorably with "photo quality" ink jet printers. The only major drawback is
price. Media costs tend to be high-$4 for letter size prints, and up to $10
or more for tabloid size. The printers themselves aren't cheap either. At
the real low end they start at around $500, what you would pay for a good
ink jet unit. On the other end there are "megadollar" units going as high
as $20,000.
Even with their high cost, dye subs have a solid (albeit limited) market.
Photo related businesses that require fast print speeds and true photo
quality are a good example. Prepress proofing is another key market. Dye
subs are considered the premiere choice for pre-film proofs. (Although the
new Epson 5000 ink jet proofer threatens to change that.)
Pictrography - Is It Live or Memorex?
The most direct competition to dye sub technology is that employed by Fuji
in their Pictrography series of printers and copiers. Rather than the
standard method of using separate ink and paper, Fuji has developed imaging
media with the CMY dyes embedded into the surface, just like conventional
photographic paper. Whereas regular photo paper is exposed in a darkroom
from light passed through a film negative, the Pictrography uses artificial
means to expose the picture directly onto the paper. A high-resolution
light source that simulates exposure to natural light is employed to draw
the picture. The exposure causes the dyes to be released from the surface
of the paper and passed to a receiver stock. The resulting print is nothing
short of astonishing. It is almost indistinguishable from a
photograph-indeed, it actually is an artificially created photo.
Buddy, Can You Spare a Dime?
Don't worry, though, the Pictrography series starts at around $10,000.
That's just for the letter-sized variety. Tabloid size bumps the tab up to
$24,000. For those budding photo lab proprietors, there may be some minor
purchase you can postpone in order to snap up one of these babies - like a
house or a new car.
Brave New World
Despite their high price tags, photo quality printers are definitely the
harbinger of things to come. Indeed, even now a reasonably techno-savvy
consumer can snap some photos on a digital camera and knock them out on a
consumer-model photo printer. Of course there is still a huge hit in price
versus performance. A basic camera/printer combination runs about $1000,
and individual prints will set you back roughly a dollar apiece. This is a
quantum leap above dropping your film at the local K-Mart.
But prices are falling, and quality is increasing. Sooner rather than
later, we will be dragged, perhaps kicking and screaming, into the 21st
century.
"The kino is a vulgar modern entertainment and I doubt if it can tell us
anything serious about the modern condition."
-Sigmund Freud
Gary Elshaw
Post-Grad Film Student
Victoria University of Wellington
New Zealand
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<div><font color="#000000">Hi All,</font></div>
<div><font color="#000000"><br></font></div>
<div><font color="#000000">This article is quite long, But excellent
in its simplicity for explaining the process and the cost. For those
verging on purchase or who have the finance (definitely not me!),
this might be of interest.</font></div>
<div><font color="#000000"><br></font></div>
<div><font color="#000000">Take care,</font></div>
<div><font color="#000000">Gary</font></div>
<div><font color="#000000"><br></font></div>
<div><font color="#000000"><br></font></div>
<div><font color="#000000">PRINT MEDIA / Dye Sublimation &
More<br>
by Danny Kay<br>
<br>
The next course on our hi-tech menu is dye sublimation printing. Dye
subs are the veal parmigiana of color printers. They are used almost
exclusively for high-end photographic reproduction and pre-press
proofing.<br>
<br>
"Sublimation" refers to the process of a solid substance
turning into a gas without first becoming a liquid. (e.g. ice turning
into steam without becoming water.) In dye sub printers, a hi-density
thermal head is used in conjunction with a color ribbon.<br>
<br>
The ribbon consists of a plastic substrate coated with a layer of
solid dye. As in all types of color printers, the colors used in the
ribbon are Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and sometimes Black. These process
colors are laid out on the substrate in large rectangular panels that
are equal in size to the printer's maximum rated print size.<br>
<br>
The thermal head consists of a line of tiny heating elements, usually
300 per inch (hence the term "high density" above), each
one of which can generate a precisely regulated amount of heat.<br>
<br>
The number of elements in the thermal head determines the resolution
of the printer. When an image is sent to the printer, it is broken up
into blocks equal to the printer's resolution. The printer's
controller determines how much of each of the process colors is
needed to create that block of color.<br>
<br>
The corresponding thermal element is heated up to sublimate the
requisite amount of dye to achieve the desired color. The vaporized
dye is transferred to the print substrate (i.e. the paper or
transparency) which has a special coating for this purpose. The paper
is generally pulled through the printer three or four times,
depending on whether the ribbon has a separate black panel or not.<br>
<br>
The nice part about this process is that the sublimated dye spreads
out into the special coating, making the picture look continuous. In
addition, the dye is absorbed into the coating virtually becoming
part of the paper.<br>
<br>
The Proof is in the Print<br>
The end result is a near photo quality print. Eastman Kodak, the
manufacturer of a particularly high quality line of dye sub printers,
even makes "Kodak paper" which simulates the look and feel
of an actual photo, complete with the Kodak logo on the back. Kodak
and others also make ribbons that contain an additional panel of
plastic laminate that is applied in an extra pass through the
printer. This laminate layer provides protection from fingerprints
and from harsh lighting as well as the threat posed by those of us
who have a tendency to tip over our respective morning coffees.<br>
<br>
Picture Perfect<br>
In many areas of the photography industry, dye sub prints are used
interchangeably with conventional photographic prints. While
consistently quite good, there are class differences in dye sub print
quality. In higher end models, from companies such as Eastman Kodak,
QMS and Imation, individual "blocks" of color are almost
indiscernible even under an 8x loupe. On lower end models some
'patterning' may be visible even with the naked eye.<br>
<br>
Dye sublimation technology is also very popular in the pre-press
industry. With careful control, a dye sub printer can be used to
closely mimic different substrates and press conditions.<br>
<br>
Solid Contenders<br>
Overall, dye subs are an excellent choice for photographers, graphic
designers and printers. Their print speed, durability and quality
compare favorably with "photo quality" ink jet printers.
The only major drawback is price. Media costs tend to be high-$4 for
letter size prints, and up to $10 or more for tabloid size. The
printers themselves aren't cheap either. At the real low end they
start at around $500, what you would pay for a good ink jet unit. On
the other end there are "megadollar" units going as high as
$20,000.</font></div>
<div><font color="#000000"><br>
Even with their high cost, dye subs have a solid (albeit limited)
market. Photo related businesses that require fast print speeds and
true photo quality are a good example. Prepress proofing is another
key market. Dye subs are considered the premiere choice for pre-film
proofs. (Although the new Epson 5000 ink jet proofer threatens to
change that.)<br>
<br>
Pictrography - Is It Live or Memorex?<br>
The most direct competition to dye sub technology is that employed by
Fuji in their Pictrography series of printers and copiers. Rather
than the standard method of using separate ink and paper, Fuji has
developed imaging media with the CMY dyes embedded into the surface,
just like conventional photographic paper. Whereas regular photo
paper is exposed in a darkroom from light passed through a film
negative, the Pictrography uses artificial means to expose the
picture directly onto the paper. A high-resolution light source that
simulates exposure to natural light is employed to draw the picture.
The exposure causes the dyes to be released from the surface of the
paper and passed to a receiver stock. The resulting print is nothing
short of astonishing. It is almost indistinguishable from a
photograph-indeed, it actually is an artificially created photo.<br>
<br>
Buddy, Can You Spare a Dime?<br>
Don't worry, though, the Pictrography series starts at around
$10,000. That's just for the letter-sized variety. Tabloid size bumps
the tab up to $24,000. For those budding photo lab proprietors, there
may be some minor purchase you can postpone in order to snap up one
of these babies - like a house or a new car.<br>
<br>
Brave New World<br>
Despite their high price tags, photo quality printers are definitely
the harbinger of things to come. Indeed, even now a reasonably
techno-savvy consumer can snap some photos on a digital camera and
knock them out on a consumer-model photo printer. Of course there is
still a huge hit in price versus performance. A basic camera/printer
combination runs about $1000, and individual prints will set you back
roughly a dollar apiece. This is a quantum leap above dropping your
film at the local K-Mart.<br>
<br>
But prices are falling, and quality is increasing. Sooner rather than
later, we will be dragged, perhaps kicking and screaming, into the
21st century.</font></div>
<div><font color="#007700">"The kino is a vulgar modern
entertainment and I doubt if it can tell us<br>
anything serious about the modern condition." </font></div>
<div><font color="#007700"><br></font></div>
<div><font
color="#007700"
> <span
></span
> <span
></span
> <span
></span
> <span
></span>
- -Sigmund Freud<br>
Gary Elshaw</font></div>
<div><font color="#007700">Post-Grad Film Student</font></div>
<div><font color="#007700">Victoria University of
Wellington</font></div>
<div><font color="#007700">New Zealand</font></div>
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