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

Canon i9900 and Ilford Galerie Smooth Gloss and Smooth Pearl gives wonderfully incredible results.

I originally was having fits with Canon paper, but recently have been getting much better results when letting Photoshop manage colors -- this requires knowing which profile matches which paper since digging that information out of the Canon website takes some serious searching.

I have found that for printing 19 X 13 prints on Epson Presentation paper that the Ilford Smooth Pearl paper profile works wonderfully well. Set everything up the same as with Ilford paper including setting the paper type to Glossy Photo paper in the printer control panel.

When using Photoshop to manage colors it is important to set the printer so that it is not also trying to manage colors.

Bill Boehme wrote in post #9274416
Canon i9900 and Ilford Galerie Smooth Gloss and Smooth Pearl gives wonderfully incredible results.

Bill - This is what I did for a few years, then I tried Red River Arctic Polar papers. They're right there in Dallas - you ought to give their AP Luster a try. Brighter than the Ilford papers and about the same weight.

Tony-S wrote in post #9275110
Bill - This is what I did for a few years, then I tried Red River Arctic Polar papers. They're right there in Dallas - you ought to give their AP Luster a try. Brighter than the Ilford papers and about the same weight.

Thanks for the suggestion, Tony. I have been considering it and Arlington Camera does carry the paper.

One expensive paper that I would suggest avoiding is Harman FB AI. The colors were just plain wrong when using their printer profiles. I may try to salvage it by creating a custom profile on my scanner.

René Damkot wrote in post #9270825
S
Do you have an image of this setup? Sounds interesting.

Less interesting than it sounds, I'm afraid.

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I am new to photograpy and really new to printing my images but I use a canon IP4600 and Illford smooth pearl paper. Set the paper type to glossy and I always get great results. I love my 8.5x11 prints.

Hen3Ry wrote in post #9279084
Less interesting than it sounds, I'm afraid.

Thanks
May have to try that on my 2880

Methodical wrote in post #9251522
...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.

Just to clear things up about using HP paper in Epson printers. The HP Premium Plus paper used by the 7560, 8450 and 8750 is a "swellable type" for HP Viveza dye inks of that generation only. It takes forever to dry but its longevity is incredible. You absolutely can't use pigment inks with this paper and it doesn't work well with newer HP printers. I'm pretty sure that Ilford makes this paper for HP as it's very similar to their Galerie Classic Pearl. Some people don't like these papers because the paper feels somewhat like plastic.

That would explain the results I got over the weekend. I downloaded & installed the icc profiles for Ilford Galerie Gloss, plus any for glossy paper that Red River had, and cut 3 sheets into 4 X 6's and tried them all. Red River profiles printed poorly looking like a major lack of ink had been applied. The Ilford profile was way too wet & off color (too dark). Maybe I'll try the profile for the Pearl on the one remaining piece I have, plus on the proper paper. (I have some 4 X 6 Ilford glossy & paerl). The print I made using the Ilford profile was still very sticky several hours later when I put all of them into the recycle bin.

I've been using a Canon i9900 for the last few years until recently upgrading to the Canon Pixma Pro 9500 Mk II. I've always used Canon papers and had pretty good results, but after reading this thread, I'm wondering if I need to branch out and try some other papers. Has anyone had great success with particular non-Canon papers with the 9500, and what ICC profiles did you use with them? I've been mostly printing portraits (using Pro Platinum paper recently) and am interested in that type of print and doing landscapes on 13"x19" fine art paper. I've just started experimenting with the photo rag and museum etching Canon fine art papers. Thanks.

Yes, branch out by all means and the profiles that you use are the ones created specifically for the paper you are using in your printer. Go to the paper manufacturers website and locate the proper profiles for your printer and the paper that you are using. Before you buy paper, make sure that there are profiles available. You won't find them for cheap paper or for paper marketed by the printer makers (i.e., no Canon profiles for Epson paper). I can strongly recommend the Ilford paper and I am about to try out the Red River paper.

FlyingPhotog wrote in post #9210878
Canon 9000 + Ilford Gallerie Smooth Pearl paper = Much Printing Joy

Canon i9950 + Ilford gallerie Smooth Pearl and Gloss with Ilford profiles for A4 and upwards, Canon 7x5/6x4 paper for proofs, using Canon ink's for all papers,

As 'FlyingPhotog' above excellent results every time,,

cicopo wrote in post #9282299
That would explain the results I got over the weekend.... ...The print I made using the Ilford profile was still very sticky several hours later when I put all of them into the recycle bin.

Be aware that the Ilford Galerie "Classic" group is the slow drying swellable type. Galerie Classic Pearl is a completely different paper than the Galerie Smooth Pearl or Smooth Gloss fast drying type. You're advised to not even try to use the Ilford Classic media unless you have an HP dye ink printer designed for HP Premium Plus paper.

FlyingPhotog wrote in post #9210878
Canon 9000 + Ilford Gallerie Smooth Pearl paper = Much Printing Joy

Ditto, awesome results!

Just got some Ilford Gallerie smooth pearl for christmas, but I noticed that most people here use this paper mostly with canon printers. Any tips with the r2880 and this paper? I usually stick with the epson premium photo paper so I hate wasting. I appreciate the comments made here in this thread, maybe a sticky would be great.

squaresnappr wrote in post #9287343
Just got some Ilford Gallerie smooth pearl for christmas, but I noticed that most people here use this paper mostly with canon printers. Any tips with the r2880 and this paper? I usually stick with the epson premium photo paper so I hate wasting. I appreciate the comments made here in this thread, maybe a sticky would be great.

Just go to the Ilford web site and get the profile for the Smooth Pearl paper that matches your model printer. You will need to register first and then you will receive an email reply that will allow you to download the profile. They have profiles for most of the high-end printers.