Printing positive film for screen printing

hi mates,

what do you mean RIP in screen printing terminology.

what type of mrinter do you use, inkjet?, and is the print just a normal print?

That sounds like a salesman speaking to me!

I use a hp laserjet 5000n. I just print my image onto vellum then use toner aid to darken the toner on the vellum before I burn my screen.

The new OYO TechStyler Wide-Format Thermal Imagesetter gives screen printers an exceptionally affordable, new wide-format film output solution enabling the efficient printing of full body graphics right to the edge while producing full-size 600 x 600 dpi film up to 14” wide. OYO’s Closed Loop Registration (CLR) control ensures tight registration and delivers both accuracy and consistency.

The OYO TechStyler is capable of producing professional, on-demand, film separations right in your own shop without a darkroom, processor or chemicals. OYO’s thermal imagesetter technology offers clear, compact, environmentally friendly solutions to artwork production, enabling you to eliminate outsourcing of large-format films and bring production-control in-house. OYO’s unique, chemistry-free, dry-imaging ThermoImpression® film requires absolutely no fixers, developers, inks or toners while providing UV densities that exceed industry standards.

You can get over 4.0 OD on an inkjet.
Now OD=1 stops 90% of the light
OD = 2 stops 99% of the light
OD = 3 stops 99.9% and
OD = 4 stops 99.99%
Anything over 3 is fine for screenprint, laser films can often be down towards 2, it just gives you a poor exposure latitude.
It makes no difference what the lpi is for resolution because on the scale of the wavelength of light 120lpi and 40lpi are both HUGE.

But there are many ways to produce film and whatever works for you...

Lets see, how many printer have I used??

Had an old Epson but I don't remember the model. Worked good if I remember. Then we upgraded computers and had a compatibility issue.

Next was a Lexmark E312. THAT THING WAS A TANK!!!! Worked great for about 8 years with no issues and then decided to retire. RIP.

Before the E312 died, we had already bought a Xante AW1200. We needed to be able to use 11x17 media. WORKED WONDERFUL!!! We actually rolled over the page counter. Shame they don't make it anymore. I can't see spending $4000 on the new one they offer. Oh well.

Now we have a Ricoh. Works great. Only thing is it only has one tray and a manual feed. Wish I'd have gotten one with two trays.

Basically anything laser will work. We use Casey's Page Mill vellums and go straight from screen to screen with our stuff.

very good info for me too
thanks to all that gives actual real and authentic info!
Can someone tell little more about filmoutput pricing in his own area?
I mean its selfprice and final-to-customer pricing.
What I am considering is to know if I can use that same USA inkjet technology too, will it be effectivly working for me.
I live on another side of the globe..
Or nearby :)

Your film output device choice may depend to some degree on what you intend on printing and how much volume you expect to have. We use an Agfa 800 Imagesetter. We went that route for a couple reasons. First, we print mostly CDs/DVDs and other higher resolution hard surface items. Films from an imagesetter have higher density (blacker dots) then what you'll get from an ink-jet. We consider anything with a density below 3.9 to be on the light side. You'll be lucky to get that dark ever with an ink-jet. Thats important when producing the higher resolution halftones (100/120 LPI) that we do. Also, those higher resolutions demand tighter registration tolerances. Imagesetters are specifically designed to produce separations very accurately so the dots in your C M Y and K films will register accurately. Finally, there's the cost. We can make 14" wide films for about $0.80/foot as a flat cost. This is not dependent on coverage as would be the case with an ink or toner based system - so large areas of solid black don't increase the cost's per film. If you're going to produce lots of films or need high resolution, consistent results for process printing I would go this route ... or look at a direct to screen imager. These Imagesetters can be picked up on the used market for about $3000 including the imagesetter, RIP and film processor. You'll have to deal with the wet chemistry, but we've found thats not to big of an issue and the benefits outweigh the inconveniences.