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So after a couple years of my wife bitching that I never print anything I shoot, I broke down and invested in the "low-end" Pixma Pro-100. I say low-end, as it is the least expensive of the Canon Pixma line at $499 (before the bundle rebate, if you are inclined to put a hurting on your credit card). When the printer arrived I began to work through a kink or two. Mainly the print driver needed a couple reinstalls before the dialogue would show anything beyond "Printer is offline" when trying to do anything wirelessly beyond aligning the printhead. So now my thoughts drift toward paper selection. The bundle required a box of Canon PLus Semi-Gloss 13x19, and a couple sample sheets of Luster 8.5x11. Doing some quick reading on the web I found that the Ilford paper that was highly regarded and lusted after for dyes (This Pixma is dye) was discontinued. I am finding very little info on papers beyond the ones Canon offers that are "swellable". Something that is recommended for dye print longevity. So are there any other folks out there printing with dye, and what papers are you having success with? I plan to at least take advantage of the 50% off deal for Canon paper offered once I registered the Pixma. On a side note: This printer is a huge beast.
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| # ? Dec 9, 2012 23:08 |
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| # ? May 24, 2013 03:14 |
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As a side note, for anyone who needs instant printing, the Selphy CP900 is on sale for $89 CAD right now, and will run you ~50 cents per 4x6 print, in under a minute. Dye-sub hotness, the prints are awesome.
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| # ? Dec 10, 2012 00:04 |
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I have a Pixma Pro 9000 and I use Hahnemühle/Canon (rebranded) Fine Art Photo Rag 188gsm. The printer came with a profile for it and thus my results are pretty much perfect every single time.
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| # ? Dec 10, 2012 01:21 |
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Hope you don't mind OP, but I gotta make the thread title a bit more fabulous.
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| # ? Dec 10, 2012 01:31 |
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SoundMonkey posted:Hope you don't mind OP, but I gotta make the thread title a bit more fabulous. Quite alright with me. I cannot wait to find out all the substances I can spray colors onto. MrBlandAverage posted:I have a Pixma Pro 9000 and I use Hahnemühle/Canon (rebranded) Fine Art Photo Rag 188gsm. The printer came with a profile for it and thus my results are pretty much perfect every single time. How do the colors stand up over time?
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| # ? Dec 10, 2012 03:34 |
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Hahnemühle photo rag baryta is a personal favorite of mine, although the Inkpress metallic Gloss is great for B&W with a higher contrast. Really though, if you have a non-poo poo printer I cannot recommend the hahnemühle sample packs enough. They have a matte pack and a gloss pack, each with two sheets each of 8 or 9 different varieties.
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| # ? Dec 10, 2012 03:39 |
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Is there a certain recommended supplier for the Hahnemühle? Is it what folks are referring to as "swellable"? I am wary of getting something that looks great once the dye dries, but fades in anything brighter than an album. Most/Many of what I will eventually be printing (after my spyder calibrator gets here and I iron out the workflow/profiles) will be framed and hung. Will I still have to worry about getting UV glass? Edit: People really seem to be missing the discontinued Ilford Galerie Classic Pearl . Fog Tripper fucked around with this message at Dec 10, 2012 around 04:12 |
| # ? Dec 10, 2012 04:01 |
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Fog Tripper posted:I am wary of getting something that looks great once the dye dries, but fades in anything brighter than an album. That's true of the Pixma dyes, period. Embrace it and just enjoy the prints on whatever paper you like while they last. It's not like you can't reprint them if/when you notice fading. Less worrying. More prints hanging on walls.
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| # ? Dec 10, 2012 05:58 |
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Molten Llama posted:That's true of the Pixma dyes, period. Embrace it and just enjoy the prints on whatever paper you like while they last. It's not like you can't reprint them if/when you notice fading. From what I've read, swellable papers encapsulate the dye so they are not as subject to fading. No worrying, just taking my time while calibration gizmos ship, and looking/researching to get the most longevity I can. Paper is not paper is not paper.
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| # ? Dec 10, 2012 15:48 |
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Swellable papers came about for much older dye formulas. ChromaLife 100 is a modern dye formula and is quite stable by itself; there are basically no swellable papers left on the market because newer inks don't demand it and professional and production users moved to the much more stable pigment. Swellable paper also had issues in more humid environments. ChromaLife was formulated to be stable (relatively speaking) when used with Canon papers, which are microporous, not swellable. In 2012, paper is paper is paper. Except completely uncoated paper, which will look like poo poo with dye inks. For longevity, really where you're aiming today is in your presentation practices. Use glazing in your frames, use archival materials, and seal the backs. Depending where you're hanging them, you may also want to opt for "natural" or "OBA free" papers, which lack optical brighteners and won't fade like hitting a brick wall—OBAs make the paper artificially blue (white), but will typically experience objectionable fade long before the ink does. ChromaLife 100 is rated for something like 30 years (by Canon's looser standards) when framed. That's using microporous papers, and Canon's relatively low-quality ones at that. They will experience gas or chemical fade much more quickly if framed shoddily, but if you're caring for your wall art, then (a) trying to find swellable papers and (b) limiting yourself to the crappy selection of swellable papers is tilting at windmills. If something happens, figure out where you went wrong and run off a new copy. Edit: For maximum longevity, you can also seal the prints with a quality varnish like Moab Desert Varnish or Hahnemühle Protective Spray. Even better results than swellable papers! Molten Llama fucked around with this message at Dec 10, 2012 around 20:48 |
| # ? Dec 10, 2012 16:28 |
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That's paper.
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| # ? Mar 5, 2013 19:15 |
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| # ? May 24, 2013 03:14 |
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Reichstag posted:That's paper. This, truly, is paper.
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| # ? Mar 5, 2013 22:26 |
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