Printing large on a 7800

[Todd Lockwood]

I've been making beautiful prints on a 7800 with Epson Velvet Fine Art paper and K3 inks. Moving to larger size prints has not been as easy as I had hoped, however. I need to print up to 20x24 and prefer sheets over rolls. I'm using matte black ink.

First I tried Epson's Somerset Velvet which is available in 24x30 sheets. The prints are reasonably close to the VFA prints, but they have unacceptable glazing in the d-max areas. I later discovered that this paper is NOT made by the same paper company as the Epson VFA.

From there, I tried Epson's Ultra Smooth Fine Art paper in 24x30. Again, the prints look good, but in this case I've noticed small white dropouts in the d-max areas where pigment has detached itself from the paper. These tend to appear after the print has cured for a few weeks.

Does anyone have a suggestion for a large stand-in for Epson Velvet Fine Art? I'll move to roll paper if I have to.

Thanks!

[Ted Harris]

Try the Hahnemhule (sp) smooth fine art or Crane Museuo Max.

[Stephen Best]

I've been making beautiful prints on a 7800 with Epson Velvet Fine Art paper and K3 inks. Moving to larger size prints has not been as easy as I had hoped, however. I need to print up to 20x24 and prefer sheets over rolls. I'm using matte black ink.

Epson recently announced the availability of VFA in 17"x22" sheets which is close to your requirements. I haven't used it myself but you may want to try Arches Infinity Textured White. There's any number of similar papers. Look for Bright White and Rough or Textured in the description if you're after something close to VFA.

[john collins]

Crane makes a Museo Portfolio Rag that I use now in place of Epson Ultrasmooth Fine Art. I haven't had any problems with the Portfolio Rag - I recommend it.

[Susanne]

Todd -

If you have not done so already, you might try brushing (with an anti-static brush) or spraying (with a can of compressed air) sheets of Epson Ultrasmooth before printing. This significantly decreases the odds that you will have flaking later. Flaking is caused by dust and other particles on the sheets before printing. Many people have the same flaking problem with Hahnemuhle photo rag and their other FA papers, and the same treatment is recommended.

-Susanne

[Todd Lockwood]

Thanks everyone for the input. I'm going to try Susanne's suggestion first. Hopefully that will solve it.

Cheers, Todd