Paper for BW documantary prints on Epson 2200

[walterh]

Hello I need to print BW prints for scientific documentation (electron

microscopy). "True" details and tonality are most important. Some of

the images suffer from nearly blown out highlights and/or dark areas

in some areas. The printer is an Epson 2200. The images are digital

with backup, so a long shelf- live of the prints would be appreciated

but is not a major concern. Another problem is that I need to be able

to order from a "real" importer or dealer in Germany and most of the

ink systems and papers I read about could not be obtained here. Any

suggestions for paper and ink? Do I need to go for only black - grey

ink? It would be nice to have color available , at least with a few

minutes time to make the change.

[jonathan_traupman]

The Hahnemuhle line of papers are very nice with the Epson printers. They're made in Germany so should be available to you. The Epson Enhanced Matte paper might also be a good choice -- it has a very smooth surface that holds details well and inexpensive.

 

If you want glossy prints, the Epson glossy and semi-gloss paper range work OK with the 2200, but all glossy prints suffer from differential reflection (aka "bronzing") with the 2200. The ink reflects light differently than the paper, so looks odd when you view the print from an oblique angle. This may of less important with scientific images than with art photos, since the content trumps the presentation in importance.

 

For grayscale images, I highly recommend using QuadTone RIP ($50 shareware). It's nearly impossible to get a good neutral grayscale with the default driver. QTR does a good job and allows you to control the tonality (warm v. cool) of your image. It will work with the standard inks and you can easily switch back and forth between color and grayscale, but you can't do both in the same image.

 

Black-only printing (an option in the driver) will also work, but you'll be limited to the rather warm tone of the Epson black ink, and tonal separation isn't as great in the highlights.

[walterh]

Jonathan thanks for your input! Do you happen to have a name (or product number) of the Hahnem�hle paper at hand? I got a whole pile of different samples from them but looking at the surface the samples I got seem more appropriate to "art" printing. But I may be wrong and prejudice. Yes I tried with very disapointing results the drivers that came with the printer and what was available from Epson for the 2100 and 2200. I used and still use for private printing the Epson 1200 with very little problem. I was amazed how poor the results out of the box looked with the newer and more expensive model.

 

Cheers

Walter