Pigment inks vs. Inkjet Papers

[Wally]

I bought a Canon iPX 9500 printer, and some Ilford Gallery Pearl 13x19 paper to go with it, from B&H.

When the printer and paper arrived, there was a sticker on the paper that said "Dye inks only". Of course, the 9500 uses pigment-based inks. I went back and checked the B&H page for the paper and found, in italics, in small print, at the bottom of the "Features" tab:

Note: not compatible with pigment inks.

What kinds of paper are favorites with you folks here with pigment-based printers?

[jetcode]

I used Ilford Gallery Pearl on my Epson 2200 with no problems whatsoever. I am using Hahnemuhle Photo Rag 308 and Ilford Galerie Gold Silk.

[BarryS]

For matte, I like Moab Entrada Natural 300gsm. I also like the Inkjet Art microceramic lustre paper--very inexpensive and it's likely the exact same paper Epson markets as their lustre paper. Inkjet Art also has a lot of sample packs, so you can try out a bunch of papers for very little money.

[cotdt]

what about inkjet printing on silver gelatin, like Ilford Multigrade IV RC paper? what inks for that?

[Kirk Gittings]

what about inkjet printing on silver gelatin, like Ilford Multigrade IV RC paper? what inks for that?

You would not want to print ink on a traditional silver paper. It does not have the right coatings to receive the ink. Do you mean ink papers that have a traditional base like baryta papers? Say ILFORD Galerie Gold Fibre Silk?

[cotdt]

You would not want to print ink on a traditional silver paper. It does not have the right coatings to receive the ink. Do you mean ink papers that have a traditional base like baryta papers? Say ILFORD Galerie Gold Fibre Silk?

what about them? how well do they work with printer?

[Kirk Gittings]

They are designed for pigment ink printers. They work quite well if you want the look of a traditional photo paper base with the high d-max of a gloss or semigloss finish.

[Ted Harris]

I am in the middle of a months and months long project testing the new papers and concentrating on those that have the look and feel of traditional papers. Part I concentrates on the Harman, Ilford and Hahnemuhle papers with a baryta base. It's in the March issue of View Camera which will be o the newstands shortly. All of them are very nice papers and remove any doubt in my mind about ink jet quality for an air dried glossy look.

[Steven Barall]

As far as any of those plastic glossy papers go just use the papers recommended for your printer by the manufacturer meaning the Canon branded papers. You might be thinking that Canon is just trying to steal money from you and that might be true but at least you will be getting compatible papers and the ink won't slide off. When you figure out all the technical stuff you will be able to find similar papers from other makers that may be a few cents cheaper or may have slightly different surfaces.

Print and be happy. Have a nice weekend. Cheers.

[Wally]

I am in the middle of a months and months long project testing the new papers and concentrating on those that have the look and feel of traditional papers. Part I concentrates on the Harman, Ilford and Hahnemuhle papers with a baryta base. It's in the March issue of View Camera which will be o the newstands shortly. All of them are very nice papers and remove any doubt in my mind about ink jet quality for an air dried glossy look.

That may be worth the price of a subscription. Thanks.

[Ron Marshall]

That may be worth the price of a subscription. Thanks.

It's an interesting and informative publication, definately worth the price!

[mrladewig]

I print with an Epson R1800. Most of my papers are Epson, all are designed for pigment and all would work OK in your Canon but may require custom profiling.

That said, you simply chose the wrong Ilford version of that paper. The correct paper is Ilford Gallerie SMOOTH Pearl. I use this paper for portrait type prints. It has a nice feel and is designed for pigment inkjet printers. Its much cheaper than the fine art type papers.

I've printed sample packs from Hahnemuhle and Ilford. I've printed on Epson Ultra Premium Glossy, Premium Glossy, Premium Luster (13" roll), Epson Photo quality paper, Epson Enhanced Matte and Epson Velvet Fine Art. Each paper is a little different. I frame behind glass and prefer matte finish papers since they do not create a secondary reflection.

Epson Velvet Fine Art is what I mainly print on because of economy, not because it is my absolute favorite. I ended up buying this paper in a 2 for 1 sale around Christmas, making it $1.50/Super B sheet. I was planning to switch to Hahnemuhle before this deal came along, but hadn't finalized my paper choice. My complaint with Velvet Fine art is not with color or image quality. Its that the surface appears somewhat mechanical. And when you get into fine art papers, the surface may be one of your major deciding factors.

[John Berry]

I have recently tried out the Hahnemule Glossy fine art Baryta and found it quite nice. Although described as glossy it has a nice pleasing texture to the surface. I measured a D=max of 2.05 on my densitometer.

[jetcode]

Any combination yet that looks like Cibachrome/Ilfochrome classic?

To be honest I wasn't all that fond of the Cibachrome/Ilfochrome look.

[jetcode]

I have recently tried out the Hahnemule Glossy fine art Baryta and found it quite nice. Although described as glossy it has a nice pleasing texture to the surface. I measured a D=max of 2.05 on my densitometer.

Yes, and the Ilford Gold Silk is quite nice too and a shade warmer.