T-RIP and Filmmaker 10 inkjet film output software.

Click the link at the bottom of this page for details.
T-RIP Update 3-27-23

Short history and update for T-RIP by Scott Fresener. 
In 2000 I developed one of the first affordable RIP’s for T-Shirt printers. It was based on a little used program from a company called CadLINK. They had no idea what they had and they had no interest (or knowledge) in the T-Shirt printing market. I made an exclusive deal with them to be able to modify their software and sell to the screen printing market. For almost ten years I sold abouit 9,000 copies of FastRIP

In 2009 my company, U.S. Screen Print, went out of business. CadLINK decided to rebrand FastRIP as Filmmaker and sell to the T-Shirt market. In 2010 I decided to again rebrand CadLINKs product as T-RIP and I competed with Filmmaker.

As Filmmaker gained much more market visibility it became increasingly hard to compete with “my own product.” That is why I decided to simply bow out of the RIP market in April of 2022 and encourage people to simply buy Filmmaker direct from CadLINK.

At that time CadLINK had a special offer to T-RIP users to upgrade to Filmmaker at a reduced price. That offer was promoted on this website and through mailings to customers. The special offer ended on March 1, 2023.

I am still supporting T-RIP users but as new printer drivers are need you will have to move to Filmmaker.  If you have T-RIP and need a download link because you changed computers simply check the Support page.

Thanks to my thousands of loyal FastRIP and T-RIP users. You will be in good hands with Filmmaker and CadLINK. And, you will feel right at home because T-RIP was a branded version of Filmmaker.

You can order Filmmaker directly from CadLINK. Make sure you order the DTP Plus version which is designed for printers that are 24″ wide or less. You don’t need the XL version unless you have a wide format printer.

Also, if your older printer has died make sure BEFORE you buy a new printer that you check the Supported Printers list. Not all printers and/or brands are supported by Filmmaker.

Click HERE for all the details. 

Filmmaker10
It is VERY important to check this list of supported printers before you buy a printer. And, Epson has been discontinuing popular models.

If you have T-RIP 1.2 or 2.0 and are not sure what printer drivers those versions support – the easiest way is go to Devices/Manage Devices and install a new printer. You will see a complete list of supported printers in the drop down list. If the model you want to use is not there then you will have to upgrade to Filmmaker 10.

FilmMaker 10 DTP (up to 24″ wide) supports the following printers

Canon: iPF510, iPF605, iPF610, iPF650, iPF655, iPF670, iPF680, LP17

Epson: 1400, 1410, 1900, 3800, 3880, 4400, 4450, 4800, 4880, 4900, Artisan 1430, D120, SP-1400, SP-1410, SP-1500W, SP-2200, SP-2880, R1800, R1900, R2000, R2400, R3000, SC-1520, SC-3000, SC-P400, SC-P600, SC-P700, SC-P800, SC-P900, SC-P5000, Stylus 1100, Stylus Pro 4000, WF-7015, WF-70xx, WF-75xx, XP-15000.

Ricoh: GX-7000, GXe-3300, GXe-7700, SG 3110, SG 7100

FilmMaker10 XL (over 24″) supports the following printers:

Canon: iPF510, iPF605, iPF610, iPF650, iPF655, iPF670, iPF680, iPF710, iPF750, iPF755, iPF770, iPF780, iPF810, iPF815, iPF820, iPF825, iPF840, LP17

ECOJET

Epson: 1400, 1410, 1900, 3800, 3880, 4400, 4450, 4800, 4880, 4900, 7400, 7450, 7700, 7800, 7880, 7890, 7900, 9400, 9450, 9700, 9800, 9880, 9890, 9900, 10000,10600,11880, Artisan 1430, D120, SP-1400, SP-1410, SP-1500W, SP-2200, SP-2880, R1800, R1900, R2000, R2400, R3000, SC-B60xx, SC-1520, SC-3000, SC-P400, SC-P600, SC-P700, SC-P800, SC-P900, SC-P5000, SC-P7000, SC-P8000, SC-P9000, SC-T3000, SC-T3200, SC-T3270, SC-T5000, SC-T5200, SC-T5200D, SC-T5270, SC-T7000, SC-T7200D, SC-T7270, Stylus 1100, Stylus Pro 4000, Stylus Pro 7600, Stylus Pro 9600, WF-7015, WF-70xx, WF-75xx, XP-15000.

Mutoh: VJ-1324

Ricoh: GX-7000, GXe-3300, GXe-7700, SG 3110, SG 7100

Roland: RS-640, VP540

Filmmaker 10 and T-RIP Help and Support

Filmmaker Support: Direct support for Filmmaker is from CadLINK. CadLINK has an excellent Support section with video tutorials HERE.
CadLINK Support Phone:  1/888-744-6522
CadLINK eMail Support:  techmail@cadlink.com

T-RIP Support:  We are still supporting T-RIP. Basic support is free. If support is needed from CadLINK there is a $75 per support call fee. If you upgrade to a newer OS and/or need drivers for a newer printer then you will have to upgrade to Filmmaker from Cadlink. The upgrade fee is only $195 (for the DTP up to 24″ version) until June 30, 2022. Click HERE for details. 

If you need help or support with T-RIP send email to support@tbiznetwork.com with details about the problems or issues. You can also call us between the hours of 8:30am to 5:00pm Mountain Standard Time. Keep in mind that we have a limited staff and you may have to leave a message. Email is always a quicker way to get support and our email is monitored even after business hours and on weekends. Send email to support@tbiznetwork.com.

General Support Details and Fees: Support for full versions of T-RIP or Filmmaker 10 is free to the original purchaser of the program for six months from the purchase date. Support for upgrade versions of T-RIP or Filmmaker 10 is for three months from the purchase date. After that time support is charged at the rate of $75 per incident or $200 per year for a support contract. If “support” is simply a setting issue or setup issue then it is normally a free call. If there is a technical problem that is often caused by Windows updates or changing computers then there will be a support call charge if the issue is out of the warranty/support period.

Download T-RIP PDF Manual.
Although this manual was written for T-RIP it will also be very helpful for Filmmaker.

If you have T-RIP 2.0 and need to do a reinstall you can download it HERE

If you have T-RIP 1.2 and need to do a reinstall you can download it HERE.

T-RIP Video with Troubleshooting Help
Here is a 34 minute video about T-RIP that covers features, installation and troubleshooting.  At around 27:00 minutes there is a short troubleshooting section. This video was created using T-RIP 1.2 but it works the same for the newer T-RIP 2.0. This video will work for Filmmaker 10 also!

Problems and Solutions for T-RIP 1.0, 1.2, 2.0
Filmmaker/T-RIP is very trouble free and easy to use. But, due to the wide range of printer models and computer operating systems there can occasionally be communication issues between the printer and Filmmaker/T-RIP. Here are the three most common errors or problems and suggestions on how to fix them.

1.  “Holding” error
The most common error you can get when printing to Filmmaker/T-RIP is a “holding” error. This can happen when you release a job to print (right clicking on “pending”) and the job will start to go Active and may even say Printing and then it goes to Holding. You can “clear” this error with a right mouse click and try again. Holding errors are almost always communication issues and fixes are covered below.

2.  Job starts to print and then stops part way through.
Filmmaker/T-RIP will start to print a job and may show 5% or more and then simply stop.

3.  “Unable to Start Queue” error or similar “can’t open” error.
All three of the above  errors usually mean there is a communication issue between the printer and Filmmaker/T-RIP. It is not uncommon for you to be able to print directly to a printer using the Epson driver – but not be able to print to Filmmaker/T-RIP. Typically this means you have not yet “installed” the Filmmaker/T-RIP printer driver or selected the correct port. See Troubleshooting Suggestions #3 below.

4. Printer prints half pages or has ghost images.
This a common “problem” with the Epson 1430 and can be a problem with newer models. It is not really a problem but more of a quirk. The Epson 1430 (US version only) has an Ink Status Monitor that can stop the communication to the printer. It must be turned off. See Troubleshooting Tip #7 below.

General Troubleshooting Suggestions for Filmmaker/T-RIP
Please read and try these suggestions before calling for support. These suggestions are listed in the order of effectiveness from the easiest and most likely to fix an error to fixes that are not always as obvious.

1.  Make sure your printer will print using the Epson driver. This at least rules out a general communication or cable issue.

2.  Make sure your printer is turned on and there are no lights flashing. On most inkjet printers, flashing lights mean either a job is being sent (and maybe hung up), paper or film is jammed in the printer, or the printer is out of a particular ink color.

If a color is entirely empty the printer will not print. Some older model printers like the Epson 3000 will not print or will print stretched images if the ink levels are low.

T-RipINSTALL-Printer3.  The most common “fix” for communication issues is to “refresh” the printer driver. This one is easy. Go to Queue/Manage Queues. Select your “queue/printer” from the list. Scroll over to the right and click on Remove. Your computer may ask for you to approve this. Next, in the same screen, click on Install. You have just refreshed the printer driver.

If you have installed a new printer driver or possibly removed the main Epson driver for your printer you will need to perform this step. MAKE SURE THE PORT SETTING IS SET FOR AN EPSON PORT. The port must NOT be set to “NULL” (nothing) and the button to the right must say “remove” after you have clicked on “install.” This make the T-RIP driver that you see when in your application like Corel, Draw, AI or Photoshop. Click on the image on the right for a larger view.

4.  Check overall communication between T-RIP and your printer. Go to Devices/Manage Devices. Select your printer. Click on the fourth icon from the left which is a small printer “Device Properties.” If there is good communication this button will show you ink levels and maintenance options for your printer. If you get an error “unable to communicate….” then it is obvious that T-RIP is not talking to your printer.

Refer back to suggestion #2. Are there lights flashing on your printer? Is it out of paper/film? Is it low on ink?

Refer to suggestion #3. Try refreshing the driver with “Remove/Install.”

5.  Sometimes the Epson driver (not the Filmmaker/T-RIP driver) needs to be removed and re-installed. You might have noticed that with all inkjet printers you can often end up with a number of duplicate drivers. This is one of the issues when you turn off a computer and re-start it. Epson will often sense the printer is online and install a “new” driver – even though the older driver is already installed.

Go to the Start button in Windows and then to Printers and Faxe s or Printers and Devices. If you see multiple versions of the same driver (copy 1, copy 2, etc.) delete all but one of them and then re-start T-RIP. You may have to go back to suggestion #3 and do a “Remove/Install” to refresh the communication between T-RIP and the driver.

One almost fail safe method is to delete all the Epson drivers for your printer – other than the new Epson T-RIP driver. Unplug the USB cable from your printer for a few seconds and then plug it back in (the printer should be turned ON). Windows will install a new fresh driver. Got back to Step #3 and do a new Remove/Install.

6.  The Windows operating system can also have quirks. When you go to Queue/Manage Queues you need to make sure the printer is set to the correct port. This is often Epson…..USB2 or something similar. It is pretty obvious which port is correct.

But, for an odd reason and something that is not consistent – Windows will change the port setting to something like Unknown USB port. This most often happens when you shut everything down at night and in the morning turn things back on. As a reminder – if you do this – always turn on the printer FIRST and then the computer.

If you are having communication issues between Filmmaker/T-RIP and your printer, check the port setting in Queue/Manage Queues to see if it is still on the Epson port.

T-Rip-AllBlack14307. All Black setup instructions for the Epson
The T-RIP manual has basic All Black instructions that are somewhat generic (black ink in all slots using refillable cartridges or a continuous ink system). Here are settings that work well for the Epson 1430 and other Epson printers.

  1. Go to Queue/Properties. If you DO NOT have all of the following selections – go to Tools/Options and check Show Advanced Settings and Options.
  2. Select Print Mode Overrides and Printer Options.
  3. Check the upper left box Change default printer options. Change Color Plane to Multiple Black. Change Resolution to Big Dot 1440×720.
  4. T-Rip-VariableDotSettingsChange all six colors to #2 (dot size) and 15% for each color. Click on the graphics on the right to see a larger images.

 

8.  Film size and type mismatches can cause errors.
If you are using a printer that supports sheet and roll media and if you can control the type of media from the printer menu – make sure you have the same settings in Queue/Properties/Media Setup. You don’t want that menu to be set for sheet media and the printer to be set for roll media.

9.  Cable issues can cause errors. Older Epson printers like the 3000 and 1520 have a dated parallel port output connection. There are a number of third party parallel-to-USB cables on the market but some are not good. It may take unplugging and plugging back in these cables a number of times to get good communication.And, with some older printers and cables being a little fussy, if you have a USB hub with lots of connections this can cause communication issues. If you are using a USB hub try plugging the printer directly into the computer to see if it fixes errors.

10.  If for some reason you have uninstalled Filmmaker/T-RIP and then re-installed it – a number of times – there will be more than one T-RIP driver in Windows Printers and Faxes. Delete all but one and then again go  to suggestion #3 and do a “remove/install.”

11.  Some Epson wider format printers like the 7000 and 9000 series offer the option to print with either dye or pigment ink. The Print Modes in T-RIP are specific to dye or pigment ink for this Epson printer series. If you are using a Print Mode that is for Dye ink with a printer that is set to print with Pigment ink – you may get a “command error” at the actual printer.

12.  You can create Custom Page Sizes inside T-RIP to accommodate specific non-standard film sizes. These custom sizes will often not show up as an option in your applications like Corel Draw or Adobe Illustrator. To fix this go to Devices/Manage Print Media. Select Update Control Panel Now. Close this window.  Now all the custom page sizes will show up in your graphics software.

13.  A file will sometimes simply not print out as a separation but will print in color as a composite of all channels. This can happen if you have your application (Photoshop, Corel, Illustrator) set to print a composite rather than a separation.

You can have this same problem if you have not chosen a Print Mode (Queue/Properties/General) and have left the Print Mode set to Default.

14.  Certain printers (especially older models) will put down too much ink. The first thing to check is that you are using the correct side of the film. The sticky side (wet finger test) is the printing side. Make sure you have selected Standard Density or an SD Print Mode.

15.  Can’t Import Job…..” “Can’t place job on page….” errors.

There are a variety of reasons for these errors. Here are things to check:

See if you have a print command hung up in the standard Windows Print Manager. This can happen when printing to your inkjet printer not using T-RIP and then cancelling a print job. It is like putting a kink in a hose. There is a job hung up and it needs to be cancelled from Windows Print Manager.

A job might be hung up in T-RIP. If you cancel a job or have errors on a job it might get hung up. Try shutting down T-RIP and re-starting it. If that doesn’t help, go to Queue/Manage Queues and Remove and then Install the Queue to refresh it.

16.  Rather than waste film troubleshooting printing errors, once you have made changes, try printing a Test Page first. The real test to see if everything is communicating correctly is to either print a Test Page, or go to Devices/Manage Devices – select your printer and click on the small printer icon (Device Properties). If you get the error that T-RIP is unable to communicate with your device then you know that your films won’t print.

17. WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS….Shut Everything Down (you might try this FIRST).

Certain devices and computers like to see things turned on in a specific order. Generally, you should turn the printer ON before you boot your computer. When all else fails there is nothing like starting fresh. TURN EVERYTHING OFF AND UNPLUG EVERYTHING FROM THE WALL OUTLET (computer and printer). Computers and printers still receive current when they are shut off. Unplugging them removes any current from reaching them and will often clear out any “bugs” that need to be shut down. Wait two minutes and then turn the printer ON and re-start your computer and T-RIP.

Other Dongle or RIP Conflicts
If you are printing to other devices that use a dongle, or if you have another RIP installed for other applications, there may be dongle conflicts (if using the dongle version). Try removing other dongles, or disabling other RIPs before printing to see if it resolves conflicts.

Re-Installing Filmmaker/T-RIP
Occasionally you simply need to try a fresh install. Before re-installing Filmmaker/T-RIP you should uninstall it first. Go to the Start button and then Control Panel. Click on Programs and Features. Find Filmmaker/T-RIP and uninstall it.

Help Files
There is much more information about Filmmaker/T-RIP in the Help system built into the program.

Film Has Lines or Banding
90% of the time the clear horizontal lines are caused by clogged Nozzles in the printer. This will happen over time and quicker because we are using film transparencies. Film transparencies show head problems much more than paper does. The ink will bleed slightly on paper and cover up banding. Film is much less forgiving. This causes clear lines to show more quickly. Try the following steps to see if you can get rid of the clear lines.

Head cleaning

1.  Run head cleanings 4-5 times.

2. Print a Nozzle Check from the Regular Epson driver on film. Look to see if there are any breaks in the black. If there are then run about 3-4 Head cleanings on the black. If not continue to step 3.

3.  Create a small, solid black box in a graphic program. Print this box through Filmmaker/T-RIP on film. If you still get clear horizontal lines run about 3-4 more Head cleanings.

4.  Print out the black box again through Filmmaker/T-RIP on film. If the clear lines improve, try running more Head cleanings. Print the Black box again. See if the clear lines are going away. If they are going away, then  try running more Head cleanings.

If the clear lines stay the same when the second black box is printed, then the Nozzles are clogged with dust/debris/dry ink. You need to have your printer professionally cleaned by an Authorized Epson Repair Service. They will need to fix the Nozzle/Head on the printer. They may be able to clean the Nozzle or they might need to replace the Head. When they replace the Head, it replaces the Nozzles on the printer.

If you do not know of anyone close to you, contact Epson Support. They can help you find someone close that is an Authorized Epson Repair Center. The Epson Support number is 562-276-7202.

General Tips, Tricks and Troubleshooting
The Epson small desktop printers are great for film output. The only real problem is that like most small inkjet printers, they don’t always like to print on film. They are designed for paper. Your best solution is to put only ONE sheet of film in the printer at a time. This is especially important if using waterproof film which can stick to itself and have a lot of static.

Also, the paper holders for some of the smaller Epson printers are not very good at holding large 13” x 19” sheets in place. You may have to actually place your hand on the film as it starts to feed to keep it straight in the print path.

You can also tape a small cardboard “guide” at the top of the paper feed holder to keep the film straight when being fed into the printer.

These printers will also sometimes advance the film through without making a print. They have sensors that don’t always like clear film. If that happens simply place the film back in the paper feeder and if necessary press the small “paper” icon (top button) on the printer.

The Epson 1430 and some newer Epson printers use dye based ink which is great for film. Most Epson model printers use pigment ink which is better for full color longevity but is not as good on film. Dye based ink works best and you can use the standard Epson dye based ink on film. You can also buy third party dye ink and film from a variety of industry screen printing suppliers and if you print a lot of films you should look at getting a bulk ink system for your printer. With a bulk ink system you can put cleaning fluid in all the color slots so you won’t have to keep buying the colors.

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