Printers / Photo paper / ICC profiles: What's working best for you?

Absolutely. Been there, done that. I spent too much money, ink and time with Canon's papers with my i9900 printer. They are junk. They also fade within a few months.

Thanks for the info Tony. I will use the info when I relocate the HP 7960 to my other computer for photo printing.

Do you happen to know where to find the ICC profiles for HP paper so that I can download for use on the Epson printer? I searched their site but was not successful

Thanks...Al

tonylong wrote in post #9245618
I don't know about the HP 7960, but the ICC profiles for my 8450 were installed with the printer driver. According to the HP support site, you need the version 5.1 of the driver to get ICC support:

http://h10025.www1.hp.​com …e=c00063336&pri​ntable=yes

I've been trying to find that info too. I've tried the search function at HP a few times and checked every page it led me to without finding even a hint of an ICC profile. Until then I'll just use what works perfectly, which is the Epson paper and I've got more on order that should arrive today. I find it strange though that by ordering paper & ink from Epson.ca it's all being shipped from the US facility. You'd think they might keep some here in Canada.

I doubt that you will find icc profiles for HP paper on an Epson printer...
They're competitors

You could have a custom profile made.

Methodical wrote in post #9250269
Do you happen to know where to find the ICC profiles for HP paper so that I can download for use on the Epson printer? I searched their site but was not successful

Thanks...Al

I sure don't -- I don't know if they exist. Epson, Canon and HP are pretty proprietary when it comes to paper/ink development so it's probably rare to see cross-profiling. However, I'm sure that there are "branded" papers that share characteristics, maybe are even identical, to other brands (same manufacturer) -- I've read about this here -- and if you could nail down a paper type that is the same between brands you could use that type to choose. HP drivers have an option for "Other photo papers" that is generic, although the results aren't as good as type-specific options (with ICC profiles).

Rene, Tony Epson has it's ICC profile on its website for anyone to download for their photo paper or maybe the download is printer specific. Oh well, I guess HP doesn't want to sell it's photo paper... or just want to sell only to those with HP printers. I've also seen other photo paper companies with their ICC profiles available for download.

Methodical wrote in post #9251522
Rene, Tony Epson has it's ICC profile on its website for anyone to download for their photo paper or maybe the download is printer specific. Oh well, I guess HP doesn't want to sell it's photo paper... or just want to sell only to those with HP printers. I've also seen other photo paper companies with their ICC profiles available for download.

But remember the ICC profile has to be specific for the paper/printer combination, and, depending on the printer, also includes ink (actually, ink is an important factor in any profile, but some printers have special use ink cartridges that get profiled). So either the paper manufacturer or the printer manufacturer has to profile the paper for the specific printer/ink use to get the right result.

I use an Epson 3800 printer with Epson Exhibition Fine Art paper. I created my own printer/paper profile using the ColorMunki Photo monitor & printer profiler. Whoever said that prints don't look as good as on the monitor screen are wrong. I was blown away when my first portrait print emerged from the printer. I believe the prints look better, not worse, than the monitor. Although the color and exposure is a match, somehow the prints just look richer.

I use mostly Epson Ultra Premium Luster, in a 100 foot rolls, 13x19 and 8.5 x 11 on an Epson R2400. I also use sometimes use Galerie Smooth Pearl and Gold Silk, but the latter has its own color cast that it adds to images, making it suitable for some pictures, but not others - for example it adds a slight green cast to gray stone.

Epson R1800 and Red River Papers, mostly the Arctic Polar Satin.

So what is it that you folks print? I'm starting to print my wildlife photos and have been using ultra premium gloss. Would another type of paper be worthy?

Thanks

Bamboo is working for me now, I'm using the profile "Enhanced Matte" to compensate for the lack of workable ICC profile from Hahnemuhle. I heard a lot about gold fiber silk being good but I'm leaning towards trying out epson's regular canvas for fine art, instead. Though it's a lot harder to retail gallery prints as canvas...at least that's what they tell me so I've always shied away from it considering the process is very expensive to do too.

Hen3Ry wrote in post #9257107
I use mostly Epson Ultra Premium Luster, in a 100 foot rolls, 13x19 and 8.5 x 11 on an Epson R2400. I also use sometimes use Galerie Smooth Pearl and Gold Silk, but the latter has its own color cast that it adds to images, making it suitable for some pictures, but not others - for example it adds a slight green cast to gray stone.

How many prints do you get out of the 100 foot roll, typically? since i don't have roll paper support on the 3800, I never got around to using rolls. What's the advatage of roll paper?

I recently learned there are 5 different types of epson's somerset velvet. Depending on the manufacturing plant (england vs the usa) they can differ pretty widely.

Karl Johnston wrote in post #9259129
How many prints do you get out of the 100 foot roll, typically? since i don't have roll paper support on the 3800, I never got around to using rolls. What's the advatage of roll paper?

The number of prints varies with the format. The roll is ten inches wide, so I set my basic paper size to 10x12, which is a good size for 11x14 frames. Throw in a panorama every once in a while, and you can lose count, but basically I get about 100 images per roll, which costs about 45 bucks - so, 45 cents per print. That's the primary advantage, plus the ability to print pans without breaking out the B3 size paper. Note that a 13 inch roll is 32 feet long, and costs the about the same as a 100 foot roll.

You don't need rollers, because the 10x100 roll comes in a very sturdy box, and my R2400 feed mechanism is very precise - it doesn't get crooked. I cut the top of the box off, put it behind the printer, feed the paper into the printer and start printing.

The

Hen3Ry wrote in post #9270627
You don't need rollers, because the 10x100 roll comes in a very sturdy box, and my R2400 feed mechanism is very precise - it doesn't get crooked. I cut the top of the box off, put it behind the printer, feed the paper into the printer and start printing.

The

So the printer feed mechanism is strong enough to drag the paper in then?
Hadn't thought that.

Do you have an image of this setup? Sounds interesting.

Never printed on roll paper, but I assume you just cut it as it comes out of the printer?

René Damkot wrote in post #9270825
So the printer feed mechanism is strong enough to drag the paper in then?
Hadn't thought that.

Do you have an image of this setup? Sounds interesting.

Never printed on roll paper, but I assume you just cut it as it comes out of the printer?

I don't have a photo, but I'll take one and post it.

The 100 foot roll comes in a very sturdy cardboard box, and the paper is mounted on nylon rollers. Pulling paper requires very little effort, and as I said, it's quite precise; once loaded, it pulls straight through the printer.

One of the buttons on the front of the printer doubles as a roll controller. When the print is finished, pressing this button causes the printer to stripe the paper with a one or two pixel wide cut line, then feeds an additional four to six inches of paper through the front and stops. Once cut, you press the button again, and it rewinds the extra paper and is ready to print. I generally wait until I have several prints, and then cut once with scissors, and use a paper cutter on the rest.