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Thread: Inkjet - ink appearance on surface

  1. #1

    Inkjet - ink appearance on surface

    I recently had a small batch of transparencies returned from a lab. Scanned and printed to 8"x10" proofs, I have both Chromira prints and Epson 9600 prints for several of images.

    I'm going through the process of proofing and deciding which medium I prefer for each image. Interestingly, there isn't one absolute answer. The issues are several, including gloss and sharpness (and yes, at 1.5ft, you can EASILY tell which is sharper on an 8x10 - the 9600). But one issue is causing me a problem - seeing the prints slightly side on, the inkjet prints are obvious - the ink has a strange pattern, and the colours all seem to move to shades of blue and grey - regardless of the actual colour of the ink, while the Chromiras don't look any different.

    I'm trying to judge the strength of this effect in a room with inkjet prints of at least 20x24 (and preferably up to 50x40) on several walls (or even along the same wall - you tend to glance side to side then as well!), as you move around the room. Anyone with experience? Does this effect decrease once the prints are behind glass?

    On a lesser issue, where there are expanses of similar colours (sky with slightly varying shades of blue eg), the Chromira copes much better at producing a smooth image - the Epson looks slightly grainy, although I may be a bit close to the image. Others have commented on this before, and I'm interested in whether this is too much a matter of looking too closely at the image (because I'm proofing), and whether this effect decreases once matted and framed behind glass.

    I'll provide a summary of my experiences of the process and the lab once it's all over, and will be happy for UK residents to come over and see the images on the different media. In a couple of cases, it wil also be possible to see the images as Cibachromes.

  2. #2

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    Inkjet - ink appearance on surface

    Try using a UV protectant aerosol spray on your inkjet prints, it helps hide the strange pattern you see.

  3. #3
    matthew blais's Avatar
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    Inkjet - ink appearance on surface

    What paper are you printing your 9600 prints on? One thing I've been doing is to wax my 2200 prints on premium luster. It fills in those 'flat" white/bright areas and gives a nicer, smoother overall sheen. Sometimes under glass they will appear more even.
    "I invent nothing, I rediscover"
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  4. #4
    Kirk Gittings's Avatar
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    Inkjet - ink appearance on surface

    "to wax my 2200 prints " What wax are you talking about? Is it archival?
    Thanks,
    Kirk

    at age 73:
    "The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
    But I have promises to keep,
    And miles to go before I sleep,
    And miles to go before I sleep"

  5. #5

    Inkjet - ink appearance on surface

    What you are seeing is called "bronzing" by Epson Ultrachrome printers everywhere. It is the bane of the Ultrachrome pigment inks on RC type papers.

    You might try printing on Epson Enhanced Matte or another matte paper. I personally love the matte paper look and you don't get secondary reflection under glass. Others prefer RC papers and try different things such as the spray, or even look at different printers such as the new HP 130.

    Good luck in your search for the perfect print!

  6. #6

    Inkjet - ink appearance on surface

    I don't print on glossy paper using my Epson 2200 because of the differential gloss effect you described. The effect is much less pronounced on luster papers such as Ilford Smooth Pearl. This effect entirely disappears when using matte papers, which as Matthew said also have the advantage of no secondary reflection under glass. Personally, I much prefer the look and feel of Somerset Velvet Enhanced watercolor paper to Epson matte paper.

  7. #7

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    Inkjet - ink appearance on surface

    The technical term is "metamerism," and is a result of the finely divided pigments in the archival Ultrachrome inks reflecting light from certain angles. You can find lots of info on the Flaar website, as well as may other places on the web.
    jbhogan

  8. #8

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    Inkjet - ink appearance on surface

    Richard, the bronzing problem is easily solved by spraying the print with an archival protectant. This is recommended anyway; in addition to solving the bronzing problem, the spray almost doubles the archival life of the print. The sprays are available from inkjetart.com; the PremierArt Print Shield is cheapest but my personal preference is Lumkjet Imageshield which seems to go on slightly smoother. These sprays totally eliminate bronzing, and also deepen the blacks and colors slightly. I prefer to print on Premium Semimatte because of its nice velvety texture; the sprays work perfectly on this paper, and also make it more resistant to damage. I put a long post up a few months back about spraying technique; with the proper technique it can be applied with perfect smoothness. Feel free to e-mail or phone me privately if you want some tips.

    The grainier look of the Ultrachrome prints is likely an artifact of the sharpening process your printer used (i.e., they over-sharpened the images). These prints are not inherently grainy at all, and can be made to look beautifully smooth with the right Photoshop technique.

    ~cj

    www.chrisjordan.com

  9. #9

    Inkjet - ink appearance on surface

    As regards the HP printers: Since the recent reviews of the 130 I am intrigued. Especially given the info Uwe has provided on his site, Outback Photo:

    Link

    The report of the measured reflectance by Charles Cramer as regards the black .... is revolutionary to me. The HP dyes beat everything else out there. By a large factor.

    Now if HP's swellable papers actually do provide decent longevity ..... AND they can make a printer that doesn't chew up photo paper ... Epson is going to lose some money. So is my lab.

    Does not HP make larger more advanced printers that use the same dyes ... that don't put roller marks on the paper?

  10. #10

    Inkjet - ink appearance on surface

    Thanks for these quick answers, people. Some more info:



    The paper is Epson Premium Glossy Photo Paper

    I had heard about people waxing their prints (although not in this context), but I thought it was difficult to get the wax on evenly?

    The file sent to print was the same for both the Chromira and the Epson 9600, so over-sharpening of one isn't likely to be the issue. I thought there were general problems with inkjets and larger areas of similar colours anyway?

    I know a couple of people here - especially Chris Jordan! - will have seen very large Epson 9600 prints displayed on the wall. Is the consensus then, that once treated with such a spray, you don't get this effect by viewing the print slightly side-on? I like the sounds of the deeper blacks and generally saturated colours - this is (only just) an area in which the Chromira trumps the Epson 9600. What effect does this have on the general glossiness of a print, especially once behind glass, where differences are usually minimised anyway?

    While this can sound like an over-fussy effort, there are a couple of reasons for it. The lesser reason, is that given the effort and expense LF photographers go to (esp. 8x10 e6 photographers!), we should make sure the print is as good as it can be. But mainly, I'm changing over from using Cibachromes because of the difficulty in getting cibas made up from 8x10 in the UK (and the lack of quality consistency for other sizes); and a growing reluctance to send out a transparency whenever I want a new print made up. Hence the immersion and the comparisons. It's not a cheap process, having multiple prints made up of each image, but it is educational.

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