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Digital printing

RobL
Posted 11/03/2021 - 17:55 Link
I enjoy printing my best photos on a dedicated photo printer and when I get it right the results are amazing. My printer is an Epson Surecolor SC400 with 8 cartridges and my indulgence is fine art paper. However like anyone here who does printing knows there are issues which can be frustrating, most of which are avoidable or preventable. First up, I have found a website which is really helpful and sells all sorts of accessories for printing; they also do Youtube videos showing all sorts of helpful stuff including the very technical if you are so inclined: link.

So, I was prompted to google search and come across this site because I was finding one or two tiny white spots appearing on some prints some time after printing and reprinting every time is expensive and not guaranteed to improve. It turns out this is caused by dust on the paper preventing the ink from adhering and after a while it comes away so now I always brush down the paper on both sides before loading it. The print rollers also accumulate dust and deposits from the paper coatings so this firm sells a product for cleaning them, it is a pump spray called Magic Bullet. This is sprayed on "special" paper supplied which is actually 200g photo paper but any equivalent weight paper will do, and fed through a few times. I have just used it and it did pick up some marks so I guess it worked ok. My other bright idea was to get some special photo touch-up inks from Fotospeed and see if I could carry out repairs but unless you get a perfect colour match it is just as obvious, so a waste of around £38! They can be used on prints for artistic effects so I might just try that one day.

I have been using Hahnemuhle 310g Rag Bright White fine art matt paper recently, colours are really bright and clear, and images pin sharp even though the paper has a slight texture like watercolour paper; however the printer was struggling to feed that thickness paper in the normal way. After persevering and swearing for a while I decided to read the instructions, always the last resort, and found I have an extra accessory for feeding thick art paper which was still in it's wrapper! Another range of Hahnemuhle paper I love is their Natural Line, made of hemp, bamboo or agave, all of which are quite a warm white so great for flowers and portraits. They also do a rice paper which gives suitable subjects a lovely delicate appearance like oriental water colours.

Having just ordered a new set of ink cartridges I found the Marrutt site sells refillable cartridges which work out much cheaper; I am generally happy to pay for manufacturer's printer inks as substitutes can be a false economy but does anyone have experience of these refillable ones?

Enough rambling, anyone with print-related topics or questions please chip in.
Edited by RobL: 11/03/2021 - 17:57
SteveF
Posted 12/03/2021 - 16:52 Link
Rob

Imaging Warehouse, of which if I remember correctly we are both customers, sell CIS ink systems, specifically for Epson printers. The Permajet inks supplied are said to be colour matched to Epson's own inks. Worth a look, given that they are so close? I've not gone down that route myself but the day may come....
Edited by SteveF: 12/03/2021 - 16:52
RobL
Posted 12/03/2021 - 18:21 Link
SteveF wrote:
Rob

Imaging Warehouse, of which if I remember correctly we are both customers, sell CIS ink systems, specifically for Epson printers. The Permajet inks supplied are said to be colour matched to Epson's own inks. Worth a look, given that they are so close? I've not gone down that route myself but the day may come....

Thanks Steve, but they don't do the refillable inks for my printer model. I have had a bad experience recently with their Permafix spray coating, I used it on Hahnemuhle matt paper and a few weeks later it started coming away if I touched it, leaving the surface looking dusty but luckily it all brushed off with a microfibre cloth. Maybe it is ok on their own papers but it is something to be aware of.

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