ZBE CHROMIRA User manual

Rev. 3/2005
ZBE CHROMIRA PRINTER
User’s Manual

Chromira 2
Breakthroughs happen…
CHROMIRA MANUAL CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................. 5
ABOUT ZBE ........................................................................................................................ 6
GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS............................................................................................... 7
GETTING TO KNOW THE CHROMIRA ................................................................................ 9
INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................. 9
CHROMIRA SOFTWARE................................................................................................... 10
CHROMIRA PRINTER..................................................................................................... 10

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STARTING IT UP........................................................................................................... 10
THE CHROMIRA PRINTER MAIN SCREEN ................................................................. 11
THE CHROMIRA PRINTER DIALOG BOXES ............................................................... 11
CHROMIRA WORKSTATION ......................................................................................... 17
INITIAL SETUP .............................................................................................................. 17
MAIN PRINT SCREEN.................................................................................................. 18
SUBMIT PRINT.............................................................................................................. 19
PULL DOWN MENUS .................................................................................................. 21
ICC PROFILES ............................................................................................................. 21
CHROMIRA BALANCE.................................................................................................. 24
INITIAL SETUP .............................................................................................................. 24
BALANCING THE CHROMIRA PRINTER .................................................................... 24
PROCEDURE............................................................................................................... 25
MAKING A CALIBRATION IMAGE OR TEST PRINT ................................................ 25
JUDGING THE TEST PRINT ....................................................................................... 26
PERFORMING A SCANNER ANALYSIS .................................................................. 27
PERFORMING A DENSITOMETER ANALYSIS.......................................................... 27
ADVANCE SETTINGS............................................................................................... 28
CALIBRATION PITFALLS........................................................................................... 29
D-MAX FAILURE....................................................................................................... 29
LINES THAT DO NOT GO AWAY ............................................................................ 30
TECHNICAL DOCUMENTS............................................................................................... 35
SIMPLE WINDOWS NT NETWORKING SETUP .................................................................. 35
CHANGING WIN NT TO ALLOW NON-ADMINSTRATORS TO RUN THE
CHROMIRA APPLICATION........................................................................................ 37
REPLACING CHROMIRA LINEAR ENCODER STRIP ....................................................... 38

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CHROMIRA SCALING FACTOR DIRECTIONS ................................................................ 41
CHROMIRA MOTION CONTROL RESET AND RE-BURN PROCEDURE.......................... 42
APPENDIX A: CHROMIRA DECK CONNECTOR FUNCTIONS....................................... 44
APPENDIX B: CHROMIRA COMPUTER REAR-PANEL CONNECTIONS......................... 45
APPENDIX C: MOTION CONTROL MODULE ................................................................. 46
APPENDIX D: X-RITE 810 DENSITOMETER COM PORT SETTINGS............................ 47
X-RITE 810 / 811 CONFIGURATION MENU SETTINGS ........................................ 47
X-RITE 820 CONFIGURATION MENU SETTINGS .................................................. 47
X-RITE DENSITOMETER RS-232 INTERFACE CABLE PINOUT ............................... 47
X-RITE 880 SERIES CONFIGURATION MENU SETTINGS ...................................... 48
X-RITE 414 CONFIGURATION MENU SETTINGS .................................................. 49
X-RITE 404 CONFIGURATION MENU SETTINGS .................................................. 49
ESECO TR-90 CONFIGURATION MENU SETTINGS ................................................... 50
JUNCTION BOARD REPLACEMENT PROCEDURE ................................................... 51
CHROMIRA AIR-SOLENOID INSTALLATION ............................................................. 52
INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................... 52
WARNINGS........................................................................................................... 52
WHAT YOU NEED ................................................................................................. 52
CHROMIRA AIR-SOLENOID INSTALLATION PROCEDURE ................................ 53

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WHERE TO CALL FOR HELP
For questions or comments, or if you have any troubles with your new Chromira printer,
please contact your local dealer, or ZBE directly at:

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ZBE, Incorporated
1035 Cindy Lane
Carpinteria, CA 93013
(tel) 805-576-1600 (fax) 805-576-1601
E-mail: [email protected]
Or visit our web site www.zbe.com for the latest Chromira information.

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INTRODUCTION
Congratulations on your Chromira™ purchase! Chromira™ marks the beginning of a truly
new generation of large format RA-4 digital printing technology. Designed to be one of the
most affordable printers in the world, ZBE’s inherently reliable LED-based technology will bring
you years of profitable state-of-the-art large format digital RA-4 imaging.
Chromira will provide you ultra efficient productivity through ZBE’s unique workflow system,
which employs “Chromira Workstation” software. Chromira Workstation offers a user-friendly
suite of integrated features that makes the Chromira digital imaging system one of the most
productive digital solutions available from beginning to end. With this system, there are no
“front end” bottlenecks. Whether you have 20 workstations or just one, print jobs can be
submitted and prioritized from any workstation on the network. With a system that requires
no front end operator, Chromira can deliver continuous, unattended imaging 24 hours / 7
days a week.
Other productivity enhancing features of Chromira Workstation include intelligent
user-defined prioritized image nesting for minimal paper waste, Real Time Interpolation for
sizing and rotating jobs on the fly, and ICC Profiling to allow the user to apply a profile directly
to an image while Chromira prints. In addition, Chromira’s advanced sharpening function
does away with the lower color fringing created by many printers, making images look more
natural. Chromira Workstation also has built-in image controls like precise image sizing,
rotation, border creation, add crop marks, and convenient global corrections for color,
density, or contrast manipulation.
Adding affordability to Chromira’s other attributes makes Chromira a profitable investment.
It images on cost-effective RA-4 photographic materials to yield low material costs with high
profit margins and it reduces labor costs so that a highly trained dedicated technician is
unnecessary. Furthermore, cost of acquisition and cost ownership is a fraction that of
competing products, offering a significant competitive advantage over imaging systems.

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In addition, Chromira offers an open architecture system and does not require expensive,
dedicated RIPs. Chromira printers can utilize any RIP that outputs an RGB TIFF, with seamless
and automatic integration into an existing RIP’s workflow. This means that operators can
select the RIP solution that best meets their needs and budget.
Chromira™: Made for affordability, productivity, quality, and reliability. ZBE thanks you for
choosing Chromira for your digital imaging needs.
Chromira™: The Best Printer in the World, by Design.
ABOUT ZBE
ZBE was founded in 1980 by Zac Bogart to design camera and motion
control systems for special effects that have been used in many feature
length motion pictures, including: "The Right Stuff", "Star Wars", "The Twilight
Zone", "Top Gun" and others, as well as hundreds of animated short films and
television commercials.
In 1985, ZBE developed a line of photographic laboratory equipment
controls. These products provide higher quality control and increase
production efficiency in professional color processing labs.
In 1990, ZBE developed the CC Reader Color Calibrator for color light
sources. Thousands of CC Readers have been sold worldwide.
In 1991, ZBE developed the VC-CLS Light Source for variable contrast B&W
printing. It is highly acclaimed in the field of Fine Art printing and is used by
some of the world's most famous photographers.

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In 1992, ZBE developed the Starlite 55 Colorhead. The Starlite 55 has gained
the reputation of being the brightest, and fastest, professional color light
source available.
In 1994, ZBE developed the Sentinel Auto-focus Enlarger. The Sentinel is
known for being the fastest professional enlarger available.
In 1996, ZBE developed the ColorPro Automatic Color Analyzer. The ColorPro
sets a new standard for automatic color analysis in the field of custom photo
enlarging.
In 1997, ZBE released the Satellite 3-D Digital Scanning System. The Satellite is
the first scanning system with the ability to scan all types of images from small
films to large three-dimensional objects.
In 1998, ZBE introduced the Chromira Large Format RA4 Digital printer.
Chromira marks the beginning of a truly new generation of large format
digital printing technology. By doing away with expensive and finicky lasers,
the new technology in Chromira brings large format direct digital RA4
printing into a price range for everyone.
Today, ZBE is the world leader in innovative products to meet your needs.
Our corporate headquarters in Santa Barbara, California houses our
state-of-the-art manufacturing plant, our software development group, and
our technical support and training team, as well as our sales and
management staff.
Please come and visit us for a complete facility tour.
Remember, ZBE makes Intelligent Products for Intelligent Choices.
© 2000 ZBE, Inc. -All Rights Reserved
GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS
Material Size: Roll to Roll, with width up to 30” and length up to 275’. Loading or
unloading time: less than 1 minute.

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Materials: RA4: Paper or Film.
Print Sizes: 30” x continuous. Image files scaled on-the-fly to any desired print
size.
File types: TIFF (Mac or Windows) or Windows BMP. Open interface from RIP.
Physical: 64” L x 36” W x 60” H (162cm x 91cm x 152cm). Access required on 3
sides, desirable on all four. Will fit through 30” (76cm) door, by
removing top of cabinet. Weight: 350lb. (159Kg) est. Daylight
operated. Darkroom loading.
Connections: 120/230VAC, 1000 W. Network connections 10base T or 100base T.
Compressed air (60-100 psi).
Platform: Windows NT (embedded in printer).
Print Head: LED Technology (Patents Pending).
Resolution: 300 PPI; 425 PPI visual resolution with ZBE’s proprietary Resolution
Enhancement Technology (Patents Pending). Color Depth: 36 bit.
Speed: 5” per minute for 30” paper, depending of file size and degree of
enlargement or reduction. Image scaling, rotation & color balancing
performed “on-the-fly” while printing.
Eq: 112 8x10 prints/hr from 30” material.
15 20x30 prints/hr from 30” material.

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7 30x40 prints/hr from 30” material.
62 square feet per hour.
2 100 ft rolls per 8 hr. shift
Throughput: Operation of the printer workflow is highly optimized for maximum
print throughput and fully unattended operation. The usual “front
end” bottleneck is eliminated by removing the “front end”. Each
workstation on the network now has full control of the usual “front
end” functions.
Print files may be printed from any location on the network. No
machine operator is required for printing. Printing begins
immediately and proceeds as the file is received over the
network. The print file need not be fully received at the printer
to begin printing. At worst, network delays will cause the printer
to pause with no resulting artifact in the print and no loss of
print quality.
The user interface for submitting jobs and controlling printing
parameters is refined for high throughput and particular ease
of use. Each workstation submitting jobs to the printer can
control all printing parameters as well as monitor the queue of
work being printed.
Throughput, Cont’d: Each workstation has full control of: print size, image
rotation, print job priority, borders, text notes on prints, color
balance, and number of prints.
Multiple Chromira printers are supported.
Open System: Compatible with all commercial RIP packages.
Dedicated RIP is NOT required. Compatible with any
off-the-shelf color management software.

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Sophisticated built-in Self-Diagnostics system.
Optional Automated print cutter. Automates cutting of
package prints and nested individual prints from roll.
Notes:
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class A digital
device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide
reasonable protection against harmful interference when the equipment is operated in a
commercial environment. This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio
frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instruction
manual, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. Operation of this
equipment in a residential area is likely to cause harmful interference in which case the
user will be required to correct the interference at his own expense. Changes or
modifications not expressly approved by ZBE, Inc. can void the user’s authority to operate
the equipment.
This Class A digital apparatus complies with Canadian ICES-003.
Cet appareil numérique de la classe A est conforme à la norme NMB-003 du Canada.

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ZBE, Incorporated’s Chromira Digital RA4 Printer and its assembly parts were
determined to conform with the European Community norms. The Chromira was
approved in all testing and evaluations necessary to verify compliance with the
applicable requirements of UL 1950, CSA 22.2 No. 234, EN 60950 following the directive of
73/23/EEC, and of EN 50081, EN 5022, EN 50082, and EN 61000 following the directive
89/336/EEC. This was determined by the Communication Certification Laboratory (CCL),
Salt Lake City, Utah, United States.
Warning: Do not access imaging mechanism when printing is in progress. Do not touch
printing mechanism with hands or other objects when machine is in use.
GETTING TO KNOW CHROMIRA
Introduction

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 Software
This next section is meant to familiarize you with the Chromira Printer’s
software system. This system is comprised of three programs:
Chromira Printer Controls all internal operations of the Chromira
machine. Performs all actual image data
processing. Manages the print job queue, under
the user’s direction from Chromira Workstation.
Chromira Workstation Main user-interface. Functions as “front-end”
for submitting work to the Chromira printer and for
monitoring the queue from anywhere in the
network.
Chromira Balance Allows user to calibrate the machine to get
optimal color balance and print quality.
Each of these three programs will be described in more detail. The
data flow between these programs, and the networking issues
associated with them, will be discussed after.

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THE CHROMIRA SOFTWARE
Chromira Printer
The Chromira Printer program, which controls the mechanical movements
and electronic activity of the machine, runs only on the computer installed in
the Chromira itself. It handles all of the image data processing as well as the
print management, maintaining a queue of jobs to be printed. The user’s
control of this queue is executed through the use of Chromira Workstation,
which is detailed later.
Starting it up
When you first start the Chromira Printer program (Chromira Printer.EXE), a
start-up self-test screen will appear and will run through a comprehensive
battery of tests. If all is well at the end, the Chromira Printer’s main screen will
appear. If there are any failed self-tests, the self-test screen will remain,
indicating them in red.

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Note: If there is no paper loaded in the Chromira, the “Tension Paper Test” will
fail. This is normal. Simply click Finish to close the self-test screen and proceed
to the main screen of the Chromira Printer program.

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The Chromira Printer Main Screen
This is the main operations screen of the Chromira Printer control program. This is the
screen that will be displayed most of the time while the machine is in use or
standing by. The various parts of this display are described here in more detail.
Control Button Descriptions:
Stop Print: This button will immediately pause printing action when clicked.
A dialog box will be displayed, giving you the choice of either continuing
the current print or canceling it.
Online / Offline: Like a standard desktop printer, this button toggles whether
or not the Chromira will continue to print after the current print (if any). This
can be thought of as a “hold-the-queue” button.
Emulsions: This displays the Emulsions Dialog Box, which allows you to select
or modify emulsion files. By keeping Emulsion Files, the Chromira can keep
The Chromira Printer Main Screen
Control Buttons:
Offer convenient access to various important functions and
dialogue boxes. (See below.)
Printer Status:
Reports the current status of the Chromira, or if any errors are
present (For example: out-of-paper).
Current Prints:
Displays the jobs that are currently being printed at any given
moment. Multiple prints will show up here if they are being
printed side-by-side (nested prints). “Jobs in Queue” displays
the number of prints in the Queue in addition to those currently
printing. “Time Remaining” displays the time remaining for the
current prints only.
Emulsion Information:
Displays information about the paper currently loaded in the
Chromira. Indicates the length of paper remaining on the roll
(“Supply”) and the amount printed since the last time paper
was unloaded from the printer for processing.

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track of different RA-4 materials. This function is described further in following
sections.
Preferences: Displays the Preferences Dialog Box, where you can set various
aspects of the Chromira’s behavior.
Test Print: Places a Chromira Test Image into the print queue. This is the
Calibration Image that you will use to calibrate the Chromira for optimal
print quality.
Diagnostics: Displays the Chromira’s Diagnostics Dialog Box, which allows
you to run an array of comprehensive Self-Tests and other diagnostics
routines.
Next, we will look at the various Dialog Boxes that allow changes to the
Chromira’s preference settings, and at the Emulsion files that allow Chromira to
track different types of photo material.

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The Chromira Printer Dialog Boxes
In this section we take a look at the various dialog boxes available in the Chromira
Printer software. These boxes allow us to modify various settings, such as those
pertaining to the type of papers we use in the Chromira.
The Emulsion Dialog Box
The Emulsion dialog box allows the
user to select the type of photo
material to be used in the printer.
The Chromira can accommodate
any number of different RA-4 type
materials. Each material’s settings
are held in an “Emulsion File” (.EMU
extension) on the Chromira’s hard
disk. This dialog box allows us to
make changes to these files, and
copy them for use with new
emulsions.
The various parts of this box are explained below.
Emulsion File:
The Chromira Printer uses Emulsion Files to
keep track of the different materials that are used in
the printer. These files are saved in the Chromira Printer folder on the computer’s
hard disk with a “.EMU” extension. Each material gets its own Emulsion File, which
holds all of the calibration information for it associated material.

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Clicking the Browse button next to
the Emulsion File readout will prompt
you to select an Emulsion File. From
the file browser window, you can
copy an existing emulsion file to use
as a starting calibration for a new
material.
To copy a file, use the right mouse
button to click and drag an existing EMU file to a blank part of the file list.
Click once (with the left mouse button) on the new file to re-name it.
Note: be sure to include the “.emu” extension, or Chromira Printer will
not recognize the new file.
Emulsion Profile:
The Chromira Printer can accommodate color profiles for precise
color management of your printed output. If you use color
management, and have a color profile for the Chromira, you can
select the color profile that is to be used with all prints from this
particular emulsion. You can do this by clicking the Browse button
next to the Emulsion Profile readout, and selecting an “.ICM” Color
Profile file. When first starting out with the Chromira, it is not necessary
to use color profiles.
Material Name or Emulsion Comment:
This field is simply a comment area that
can be used to name the material this file represents. This is the “Emulsion” name
that appears in the main screen of the Chromira Printer program. You can type
any words here that you wish, usually a description of the material, and perhaps
the emulsion batch number from the particular roll you are using.
Other Emulsion Information:
These settings are important for the
(Any blank
area in file list)