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

Hen3Ry,

Like Rene, I'm also interested in trying this idea. My problem is that my R2880 sits on a shelf with absolutely no room behind - the printer electrical connections are pressed against the wall and I cannot use the standard paper support. I could make room on the shelf above for your method, but thinking about the paper path I'd be printing on the wrong side of the paper - I think!

I assume you feed the end of the paper roll in afresh each time?

Due to this thread, I might have to go pick up some Ilford paper.

Does anyone have a place they recommend to buy Ilford paper? Since I am in NYC, I might take a trip to B and H.

diputs wrote in post #9288616
Due to this thread, I might have to go pick up some Ilford paper.

Does anyone have a place they recommend to buy Ilford paper? Since I am in NYC, I might take a trip to B and H.

i ordered some off of amazon thats shipping from Adorama. i am excited to try this paper.

I went to the Ilford web site yesterday and noticed that the Galerie Smooth Gloss Paper and the Galerie Smooth Pearl Paper have been discontinued. This is really buried information and not easy to find anything on their site. However, do not despair -- these papers have been replaced with Galerie Smooth Gloss Sheets and Galerie Smooth Pearl Sheets (also rolls for these two papers). The new paper is just an improved version of the old and has some improvements to the nanoporous surface that helps especially in the very dark areas to improve darkness and reduce artifacts like bronzing. The new papers have a revised ICC profile for some printers (has the number "11" rather than the number "9" in the profile name). Apparently, for some printers the profile is still the same -- for my printer (Canon i9900), the profiles are still the same.

I noticed that they recommend using the Classic paper for dye based ink jet paper for greatest longevity of the colors, however, I like the "instant dry" feature of the Galerie Smooth Gloss and Pearl Papers.

I looked at the Red River web site and found that they have a wide assortment of papers. What are the ones that people recommend for dye based ink jet printers?

My favorite RR paper is Arctic Polar Luster. If you want more high-end, you should try Innova's FibaPrint White Glossy. It's a really nice paper (and expensive!).

Bill Boehme wrote in post #9290003
I noticed that they recommend using the Classic paper for dye based ink jet paper for greatest longevity of the colors, however, I like the "instant dry" feature of the Galerie Smooth Gloss and Pearl Papers.

My advice is still DON'T use the Classic papers unless your printer specifies a swellable type paper.

Bill Boehme wrote in post #9290003
I looked at the Red River web site and found that they have a wide assortment of papers. What are the ones that people recommend for dye based ink jet printers?

I was looking at the RR site a couple days ago and found an obscure statement that they don't offer a swellable type paper for the HP dye based inkjet printers that require it. More Epson bias!

Bill Boehme wrote in post #9290003
I went to the Ilford web site yesterday and noticed that the Galerie Smooth Gloss Paper and the Galerie Smooth Pearl Paper have been discontinued.

I am not sure if I am reading the site correctly, but it looks like the paper still exists but that they changed the part number for some reason.

B and H has a discontinued version.
http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …ets&N=0&Initial​Search=yes

And a new version.
http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …Galerie_Smooth_​Pearl.html

I am not sure, but they seem to be the same paper.

diputs wrote in post #9290409
I am not sure if I am reading the site correctly, but it looks like the paper still exists but that they changed the part number for some reason.

B and H has a discontinued version.
http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …ets&N=0&Initial​Search=yes

And a new version.
http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …Galerie_Smooth_​Pearl.html

I am not sure, but they seem to be the same paper.

I think that if you search some more that you will find a press release that lists the changes. There is also a brief technical paper that has a bit more detail. Basically it has to do with the way that the polymer beneath the nanoporous top layer reacts with the ink to produce the colors. Since nano pigment in ink jet printers are becoming more prevalent, I am sure that this change is oriented primarily towards that segment of printers and probably does nothing for dye based ink jet printer -- in fact the change could possibly mean that dye inks may not perform as well with the newer paper. The new paper also has a more transparent top layer that does not scatter light as much, resulting in better contrast. Their new emphasis on Classic paper for dye based printers may have something to do with the new design of the Galerie paper. While it is picking at nits, according to their description of the Classic paper, it is not actually the paper that swells, but the subsurface polymer that swells to encapsulate the ink. Regardless of the details, however, it the paper is messy to handle and requires a long drying period, then that is an undesirable feature. Since I go through lots of paper, I might get one small box of the Classic just to get an opinion. It may not be great, but it could not be any worse that all of the off brand paper that people give me as a "thank you" gift.

Bill Boehme wrote in post #9290003
I went to the Ilford web site yesterday...

<Snippage>

Bill,

FWIW, the packaging on the latest box of Smooth Pearl I bought from a local Brick & Mortar was different but I see no indication that the paper behaves any differently.

For prints on 13x19 and 8.5x11 paper I use a Canon i9900 and use Ilford Gallerie Classic Pearl and occasionally, Ilford Gallerie Classic Glossy papers. I downloaded and use the Ilford profiles for a Canon i9950 and buy the paper from Adorama.

For prints on 4x6 paper I use a Canon iP4300 and use Canon Photo Paper Plus and occasionally, Canon Photo Paper Pro or Canon Phopto Paper Glossy papers. I use the Canon profiles for a Canon IP4300 and get the paper locally.

To be completely flexible I do have the Ilford profiles for Gallerie Classic Pearl and Ilford Gallerie Classic Glossy papers for the IP4300 installed, but I rarely use 8.5x11 in it, as the i9900 does a better job.

Maxdave

Lowner wrote in post #9288566
Hen3Ry,

Like Rene, I'm also interested in trying this idea. My problem is that my R2880 sits on a shelf with absolutely no room behind - the printer electrical connections are pressed against the wall and I cannot use the standard paper support. I could make room on the shelf above for your method, but thinking about the paper path I'd be printing on the wrong side of the paper - I think!

I assume you feed the end of the paper roll in afresh each time?

Sorry to take so long to get back to this thread - actually, I generally do multiple prints, so once the printer starts printing, it spools a bunch of prints out the front onto an old (music) keyboard stand sitting in front of it. I suspect in your situation the paper path would be problematic. Mine is straight in, so the feed tractors inside the printer have a straight pull - no twists and turns to get the paper out of line. You may want to think about relocating your printer, or maybe extending the shelf enough to keep the printer where it is.

The spool of paper can be flipped so the "wrong" side of the paper is up rather than down, but pulling from the shelf above may not work as well as pulling straight into the printer.

The bottom line is that you get a lot more paper out of the ten inch roll at a good price - a price that lets you print a bit more freely than you otherwise might.

Hen3Ry,

This is how I'd have to arrange things. Two problems as I see it:

1. I'd have to manually unroll the spool and reload with the "emulsion" on the inside of the roll.

2. I am not at all sure that the top feed would not just continue to pump the whole roll through once the print was completed? The lower feed is probably unusable in this location.

The first I could live with, but the second might be the killer.

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1) Why?
If you'd leave a bit bigger gap above the printer, you could drop the paper in from straight above I think?
You'ld have to add a short shelf to hold the paper, or hang it otherwise.
(excuse the crappy graphic)

Rene,

Food for thought, thanks. So maybe some kind of open structured stand to raise the roll slightly is all I need, and thats easy enough to arrange. I must do some reading to see if the top feed is possible using a roll paper feed.

Lowner wrote in post #9404870
Rene,

Food for thought, thanks. So maybe some kind of open structured stand to raise the roll slightly is all I need, and thats easy enough to arrange. I must do some reading to see if the top feed is possible using a roll paper feed.

Well, not to be discouraging, but I can't see rolling 100 feet of paper off the spool and back on again and have it still be "spoolable." I suspect one reason the roll feeds straight through is because the roll itself is tightly wound.

I don't think the top feed will work. For one thing, the bottom feed feeds directly into the tractor - it's a straight shot - and the tractor grabs the paper and pulls it through the mechanism. I don't think, feeding from the top, that this will happen, but I don't know for sure. [edit]Actually, now that I think about it, the rear feed mechanism is triggered by stuffing the end of the roll carefully into the rear feed slot, but if you stick the end of the roll (or sheet paper, for that matter) into the top feed it just sits there - so I don't know how you can get the thing to start from the top: holding it with one hand while you click print with the other? [/edit]

Why can't you extend the shelf your printer is sitting on another foot or so forward? It may not be particularly elegant, but hardware stores precut pieces of plywood that would work for this. Or maybe the answer is a longer USB cable and move the printer elsewhere in your room. I just went and measured, and the distance from the back of the printer to the back of the box is just under nine inches, and it could be a little closer.