Digital photo papers

[jim kerr]

Hey, since digital photo paper is for all practical purposes just RC

paper without the expensive B&W emulsion on one side, shouldn't it

be somewhat cheaper to the consumer than regular photo paper?...Jim

[ronald_moravec1]

Not if there is not enough competition. Or there are other differences besides leaving the emulsion off.

 

I am using Epson heavyweight matt and am happy. Why does it need to be glossy or look like a photo. Some canvas textures are nice too.

[edward_hobin]

You mean in the same way that a bottle of coke should be 25 cents since it's only water and flavoring?

[bill_tuthill]

You mean inkjet paper? Check out Costco's Kirkland brand, which

is about 10 cents a sheet. It prints greener than Epson Premium Glossy

(or whatever they're calling it this month) but you should be able to

deal with it, considering that Epson paper was already too magenta.

There is a thread on the Kirkland paper with an open question about

Canon compatibility.

[jim kerr]

Ron, also, and having a dozen or more brands doesn't mean there's any real competition at work, just like there's none between crude oil companies.

[joey]

Not really--specific paper is formulated to be archival with specific inks. I can't tell you all the voodoo that goes into inkjet paper, but it's more than B/W RC paper with the emulsion stripped--a web search should turn up the technicalities.

[sean_murphy4]

Actually there is an emulsion on inkjet papers. Different emulsions work (or don't) with different ink. For instance, some Epson papers work well with dye or pigmented ink (archival) but not with Ultrachrome ink. That Costco paper sounds like Epson paper that has been exposed to low humidity. Not that I'm saying that they are palming off paper that is bad, but I've had experience in this area.When Epson papers, especially the glossy ones, dry out in environments with less than 45% relative humidity, they cast green.

There are only few mills in the world that actually produce the ink jet papers; but they do it per the design of the manufacturers. Epson paper used to be designed in here in Portland but was made in Japan at Mitsubushi's mill.

[almagnus]

Jim, digital photo paper has a considerable amount of R&D in it, and is quite far from RC paper. It is a complicated layering (sometimes up to 9 layers).

[bill_tuthill]

The Costco paper is made in Switzerland, according to the package.

So Sean Murphy: are you're saying my Epson paper color corrected

(it's way too magenta) by drying it out? Of course the corollary is

that you need to color-profile for every humidity level.

[sean_murphy4]

Hi Bill,

 

Epson papers have a humidity range generally from 40% to 60% relative humidity. A profile made under these conditions works fine. No amount of profiling and re-profiling can compensate for conditions out of this range. Over 60% inks won't dry properly or color is muddy, and under 40% the emulsion dries out and color will shift. Epsons glossy papers will cast green over the whole color range at <30% RH for example.

 

Ink jet papers do have a cast in the white point, usually blue, (to simulate a photographic look) the glossier the paper gets. In the printing industry Epson SemiMatte Proofing paper is used a lot, because the white point is more yellow cast, like commercial printing stock.

Are you getting a strong magneta cast overall, or just in neutral gray? If you are getting a strong magenta cast overall, that sounds like double profiles being applied during printing. If just in neutral gray then calibration of your printer could be incorrect for the profile of your printer.

[bill_tuthill]

No, Epson Photo Paper is not magenta overall. I'd characterize it

by saying that magenta (or some color in the magenta-red continuum)

is oversaturated relative to other colors. Could be just the batch.

It's a problem because cyan is the first Epson dye color to fade,

so the image gets even redder as the years go by.