Inkjet Intelligence. Presented by. Contents Red River Paper

Transcription

1 Inkjet Intelligence Presented by Contents Red River Paper

2 Table of Contents Introduction to Inkjet Inks... 3 Cost of Inkjet Printing... 4 Intro to Inkjet Paper Types... 5 Intro to Inkjet Paper Weights and Measures... 8 Color Management The Essential Knowledge... 9 Printing with Profiles in Photoshop Installing Printer Profiles Using Printer Profiles Soft Proofing in Photoshop Color Management Terminology Cleaning Your Printer Custom Media Size Management Feeding Heavy or Double Sided Papers Resources Video Library Red River Paper Page 2 of 40

3 Introduction to Inkjet Inks Dye Inks Dye ink is still the most prominent type of ink used in today s printers. Dyes dry fast, work with all inkjet papers, and have the best color gamut. They are not particularly suited to long term display. Prints can begin fading in a few months to a few years depending on the media and display conditions. Red River Paper recommends a dye inkjet printer when long term display and fade resistance is not critical. Pigment Ink Depending on display conditions and media type, you can expect pigment ink prints to resist fade for many years. When displayed in a frame under glass, you can expect your pigment inkjet print to match and exceed the fade resistance of the modern photo lab print. Papers, Ink, and Compatibility Here are some tips and warnings regarding paper and ink compatibility: Not all papers are compatible with pigment inks. Check on compatibility before you buy RC glossy papers (see explanation below) may exhibit some gloss differential and bronzing with pigment inks. Printer applied gloss optimizer or spray coatings will correct this issue. With pigment inks, matte and fine art papers can scuff easily in dark areas of a print. If you intend on making a portfolio or book with this combination you might consider spraying prints or using interleaving sheets to minimize the issue. Dye inks will work with virtually any paper. If your needs do not call for fade resistant prints, consider a dye based inkjet printer. The better color gamut and expanded media compatibility might be best for your needs Red River Paper Page 3 of 40

4 Cost of Inkjet Printing Red River Paper conducted a series of print tests to determine the cost in dollars of a typical photo print. A series of reports were written (and more are being completed) to address the concerns and arguments about the true cost of ink in desktop photo printing. Using the Epson and Canon desktop printers, we conducted a series of print tests to determine how much ink is used in a full coverage 8 x10 print. From that figure, we extrapolated ink usage per square inch. The objective is to share a realistic cost per print vision with inkjet users. The choice to pursue photo inkjet printing is in the end an individual economic choice. Current reports available: Epson Pro 3800 / 3880 R3000 R2000 R2880 R2400 R Canon Pro-100 PRO-10 PRO-1 Pro9500 Pro9000 ip4820 Selected Results Printer 4x6 5x7 8x10 11x14 13x19 EPSON R2000 PK $0.20 $0.29 $0.67 $1.29 $2.07 R2400 MK $0.23 $0.33 $0.76 $1.45 $ PK $0.14 $0.21 $0.48 $0.92 $1.48 CANON PRO -100 $0.26 $0.38 $0.87 $1.68 $2.70 PRO-10 $0.34 $0.49 $1.12 $2.16 $3.47 You can read all of the available reports here Red River Paper Page 4 of 40

5 Introduction to Inkjet Paper Types RC Papers (resin coated) You may see this type of paper labeled resin coated, micro-porous, nano-porous, photobase, or PE. RC paper looks and feels like traditional photo lab paper. It is the best selling type of inkjet media today. In this category are three sub-categories: Glossy - traditionally called "F-surface". An example is Red River Paper s 68lb. UltraPro Gloss. Luster / Satin traditionally called "E-surface". This type has a textured, repeating surface that can vary in depth. An example is 66lb. Arctic Polar Satin. Semi-Matte You may see this paper referred to as an "N-surface" by photo labs. This surface is in-between a glossy and matte surface and has some reflectivity. RC papers are compatible with all printer and ink types. You will find most are bright bluewhite. Some, like Red River Paper s 68lb. UltraPro Satin have a slight warm tone. You cannot print on the back of RC media. They will accept some types of writing pen inks for signing prints. Matte Papers Matte inkjet papers have inkjet coating and no gloss or reflective sheen. The base stock is usually alpha cellulose (virgin wood pulp). Today s matte paper is capable of high photo quality and deep saturated colors. Mattes are available in many weights, and may come in double-sided versions. Examples are Red River Paper s 50lb. Premium Matte Double Sided and 60lb. Polar Matte Red River Paper Page 5 of 40

6 Fine Art Papers Fine art inkjet media are usually 100% cotton paper with an inkjet receptive coating. This class of paper offers an elegant look and generally higher perceived value. You will find them available with moderate to rough texture, and in white or natural shades. Art paper divides into two categories: A) Vellum / Hot Press papers have a smoother texture. B) Velvet / Cold Press media feature deeper surface texture. You will be able to notice the texture from standard viewing distance. Specialty Papers There are many fun and exotic coated media. Silver and gold metallic, translucent, clear plastic, fabrics, glow-in-the-dark, and even tattoo material are just some of the choices available. Fibre Base / Baryta Papers This class of inkjet paper is relatively new and mimics the look of air-dried darkroom paper. The surfaces range from smooth to semi-smooth, and glossy to semi-matte. The base stock can be tree fiber or cotton rag. The paper s brightness comes from a substance called barium sulfate, which is very stable material. The result is a warm tone paper that maintains its base tonality over long periods. An example of San Gabriel Semigloss Fiber. Cast Coated Papers - These papers have a smooth glossy surface and a plain paper or matte coated backside. Although rare, Red River Paper carries a number of cast coated glossy papers for use in inkjet greeting cards, graphic design projects, and other business uses. Cool Tone vs. Warm Tone Papers All papers have a shade, or tonality. The majority of inkjet media are cool tone and bright white. They owe their look to materials called Optical Brightening Agents (OBAs). Papers that have low or no OBA content are warm tone. Knowing that shade differences exist, and having a choice of cool or warm tone adds greater flexibility to your creative toolkit. Your subject may look best reproduced with warmer, more natural color. Alternatively, it may need that colder, higher contrast look. If you are not sure what tone paper you have, compare it to a sheet of plain copy paper. Standard plain paper is going to be cool toned and hence brighter white. Place your inkjet paper next to it in shaded sun light for a comparison. Paper Shade and Contrast Contrast is the difference between the maximum whites and blacks in an image. The greater the difference, the higher your image contrast will be. If you are looking for the most contrast Red River Paper Page 6 of 40

7 from your inkjet prints, use cool tone papers. The cooler tone causes your brain to perceive a brighter white. This brightness makes the difference between whites and blacks appear larger, hence more contrast. Optical Brighteners in Paper To make paper appear brighter white, manufacturers add chemicals to the base stock or coating. The chemicals, called Optical Brightening Agents (OBAs), convert ultraviolet light and re-emit it in the visible blue spectrum. They "fluoresce" at a point that is just barely within our ability to see. This additional light forces you to perceive the paper as bright white. Without OBAs, most paper would have a warm, almost crème color. Good or Evil? Much argument and conjecture over OBAs exists on internet forums and in professional circles. The main argument is that these chemicals will burn out over time, leaving the paper with a warm or dull appearance. In turn, whites and light colors in an image will shift. You have seen this in action with most old photographic prints. The question is do OBAs mean your prints will fade or otherwise fail earlier than a traditional photo print. Bear in mind that OBAs require exposure to UV light to exhaust their potential. Prints stored in the dark, or those under UV inhibiting glass will not experience the same shift over time. Now consider that OBAs exist for a reason. It is the end users of photo papers drive supply. The demand for bright white paper moves manufacturers to put OBAs in the majority of inkjet media. As a group, we call for bright white media, and that is what we get. Finally, OBA technology is quite refined. The chemicals used today are more stable than ever before. If you treat your photo prints with respect, storing and displaying them properly, you minimize potential problems. For those still unmoved by the arguments defending OBA use, warm tone media is the answer. Low and no OBA content fine art, Baryta, and even RC paper to are readily available. Check with the manufacturer to determine which papers are in this category. Choosing a paper surface for your images REVISE REVISE REVISE This may seem obvious, but your choice of inkjet paper makes a big impact on the look of your print. It is important to know that different types of inkjet paper exist, and that the surface look and texture are important factors to consider when making a purchase. Here are the main types of photo inkjet paper: RC (resin coated) - This type of paper is referred to as micro-porous, nano-porous, or photobase and represents the vast proportion of photo inkjet paper sold. RC papers look and feel like traditional photo lab paper. In this category are three sub-categories: Glossy, Luster / Satin, and Semi-matte Red River Paper Page 7 of 40

8 Reasons to choose: Excellent color saturation, sharp details, resistant to handling, the look and feel of a lab photo, cost vs. top quality output. Matte These are coated papers with no gloss or sheen. The base stock is usually alpha cellulose (virgin wood pulp). Today s matte paper is capable of reproducing accurate colors and sharp detail. However, because it is a non-reflective surface matte prints will always appear more muted and subtle than prints on glossy, or luster. REVISE REVISE REVISE Reasons to choose: Subtle look, focus on detail in the image (no distracting texture or reflections), low cost, variety of weights, many choices in double sided, extended fade resistance. Fine Art Usually 100% or partial cotton content papers with inkjet receptive chemical coating. This class of paper offers a more elegant look as well as the added dimension of a surface texture. Art paper comes in two surface types. Vellum, or Hot Press papers have a fairly smooth finish while Velvet or Cold Press media have a textured / bumpy surface. Reasons to choose: Fine art look and feel, added value to a printed image, base material offers long term archival quality. Fibre Base / Baryta This class of inkjet paper is relatively new and is designed to mimic airdried darkroom paper. The surfaces range from smooth to semi-smooth, glossy to semi-matte in appearance. The base stock is alpha-cellulose. Paper brightness comes from a layer of barium sulfate instead of the typical optical brighteners seen in RC and Matte inkjet media. Reasons to choose: Subtle look, focus on detail in the image (no distracting texture or reflections), low cost, variety of weights, many choices in double sided. Cast Coated - These papers have a smooth glossy surface and a plain paper or matte coated back. You will find this type of paper used in graphic design comps, proofs, and Red River s unique line of inkjet greeting cards Red River Paper Page 8 of 40

9 Introduction to Paper Weights & Measures You can quickly determine if an inkjet paper is suitable for your project if you know its weight and thickness. Weight A number of scales are available to measure a paper s weight: Pound Weight We are all familiar with 20lb. weight copy paper. Most inkjet papers will show weight measured using this, the bond basis scale. As an aside, we weigh x22 sheets of a paper stock. That weight becomes the bond weight of that product. Copy paper is around 20lb. Photo glossy or luster is around 66lb. Fine art paper can be as much as 120lb. Grams per Square Meter (GSM) Most of the world, as well as all paper mills, use this scale. A typical photo paper is 260gsm, copy paper 120gsm, and fine art paper 300gsm. Copy paper is around 120gsm. Photo glossy or luster is around 260gsm. Fine art paper can be as much as 330gsm. Thickness The term mil describes the thickness of a paper. One mil is a thousandth of an inch. Below you see the typical paper thicknesses. Size Inkjet paper comes in many sizes. When you access you inkjet printer s driver, you will see the compatible size options that include many European and metric equivalents. Below are many sizes you will encounter when shopping for photo paper: 4x6 5x7 8x10 8.5x11 11x14 11x17 13x19 16x20 17x22 A4 8.3x11.7 Super A3/B 13x19 US C 17x Red River Paper Page 9 of 40

10 Color Management The Essential Knowledge Color profiles (ICC profiles) are data files that describe the way a particular device (camera, monitor, printer) reproduces color. You can think of profiles as color translators. They explain how to reproduce color from one device like Photoshop to another like your inkjet printer. In your everyday photography life, you will interact with three distinct profiles: 1. Input Profile (Camera and editing software) An example is the profile used by your editing software such as Photoshop or Lightroom. It is also called the Working Space of your software. Typical working spaces are Adobe RGB (1998), ProPhoto RGB, and srgb. 2. Display Profile (Your monitor s profile) A display profile tells your monitor how to reproduce the colors of your image. A generic display profile may be provided with your monitor. Creating a custom profile, part of the monitor calibration process, requires specialized hardware and software. (See below) Do not use a monitor profile in Photoshop or during the printing process. 3. Printer Profile (Also called Output Profile) A printer profile is specific to a printer, paper, and ink combination. It provides photo software with the range of colors and tones that the printer, paper, and ink can reproduce. Using a paper profile will yield consistent results that are accurate to your image file. Do not assign or convert an image file using a printer color profile Red River Paper Page 10 of 40

11 Installing Printer Profiles Where Do You Get a Printer Profile? Most inkjet suppliers will provide profiles for their papers. You will download these profiles from the paper company s website (ex. You can also have them created for you by an independent specialist such as Chromix Finally, you can make the profiles yourself using specialized hardware and software from Datacolor or XRite. What Happens Once You Have These Profiles? The first step is to install the profiles. In this case, installation means placing a copy of the profile into a specific system folder on your hard drive. Your photo editing software looks into this folder for all available profiles. Windows Profiles are not programs. They are small data files. Do not double click on the profile. You can right click on a profile and choose the Install Profile option. You can also install profiles by placing a copy of the profile into your system profile folder. Windows Version Windows XP Win7 Win8 Windows 2000 Windows 98 Profile Folder Location WINDOWS \ system32 \ spool \ drivers \ color WINNT \ system32 \ spool \ drivers \ color windows \ system \ color Mac Hard Drive \ Library \ ColorSync \ Profiles Storing profiles in \Library\ColorSync\Profiles allows access by all users. An alternative area, for users without administrator privileges, is \Users\<username>\Library\ColorSync\Profiles. Profiles stored here are available only to the current user. Tip: You may need to restart your editing software in order to see the newly installed profiles. Detailed Help for Profile Installation Go to for step-by-step instructions Red River Paper Page 11 of 40

12 Using Printer Profiles Simply put, you will instruct your photo software to control color output while turning off the printer s color management system. The Steps to a Color Managed Print 1. In the print dialog of your photo editor, set the software to manage color output. 2. Select the printer color profile in the same dialog. Some examples: Photoshop Photoshop Elements Lightroom Red River Paper Page 12 of 40

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14 3. Choose the correct media setting in your printer s driver dialog. The recommended setting will be included with the printer profile download. For illustrative purposes, your printer driver dialog may look different. Printer profile names do not show up in your printer driver. Only papers made by the printer manufacturer will appear in that listing. 4. Turn your printer s color management system off. This process varies by printer manufacturer. Some examples are below: Epson example Canon example Mac user note In most cases, your printer s color management will automatically turn off once you set your editing software to manage colors. We still recommend that you verify the fact when finalizing printer settings. 5. Set your paper size and print quality then print. Much More Help Available - We offer detailed help using printer color profiles. Instructions specific to operating system, editing software, and printer make the process a breeze Red River Paper Page 14 of 40

15 Tips for Matching Your Monitor to Your Print There are two truths, which will help you evaluate prints. Print Matching Truth #1 The default brightness setting of your monitor is likely too high. This means it displays images brighter than they really are as defined by the file. Put bluntly, your monitor is lying to you! When you make a print, it will often look too dark when compared to the monitor. Print Matching Truth #1b - Holding a print up to your monitor for comparison is not a great idea. The difference between the monitor emitting light and the print reflecting light is likely to overwhelm your objective senses. Print Matching Truth #2 With each step in the digital photography process you will lose some quality. From camera, to photo software, to printed image you should expect some loss in clarity and saturation. You should not expect ink on paper to reproduce the depth and color saturation originally captured by your digital camera or displayed on your monitor. With that in mind, there are some tools and tricks at your disposal to make matching monitor to print a bit easier. Tip 1 Properly Calibrate Your Monitor Calibrating your monitor requires specialized hardware and software from Datacolor or X-Rite. The process of monitor calibration is simple. It includes setting your monitor s brightness, contrast, and in the end creating a custom ICC profile for the monitor. The brightness adjustment may be one of the most important aspects of having a calibrated monitor. Monitors default to a pleasing high brightness setting for viewing the internet and movies. You must adjust brightness down so that photo and fine art files more closely match a printed document. Keep in mind that a monitor profile only describes how a monitor should display color information. Datacolor Spyder 4 spectrophotometer. Do not use a monitor profile in any other part of your editing or printing workflow Red River Paper Page 15 of 40

16 Tip 2 - Soft Proof Soft proofing is a fun way to evaluate output quality before clicking Print. You need to follow Tip 1 first in order for soft proofing to work. Programs like Photoshop, Lightroom, and Qimage are soft-proof capable. Below are some examples of how to set up your soft proof. Photoshop In Photoshop go to View > Proof Setup > Custom In the Customize Proof Condition dialog, choose the profile for your paper and printer in the Device to Simulate drop down menu. Experiment with rendering intent. Your choices for inkjet output are Relative Colorimetric and Perceptual. The results depend on the paper, printer, and ink that you are using. The Simulate Paper Color can be ON or OFF. This feature maps the White Point Tag in your profile. When this option is left off, the maximum white (RGB=255) in the file is mapped to the maximum white of the monitor (MonitorRGB=255). To simulate how the tone of your paper affects a final print, turn Paper Color Simulation on. Simulate Black Ink maps the Black Point Tag inside your profile to the monitor display in an attempt to reproduce the actual black density of your print. It will default on if you choose Simulate Paper Color Red River Paper Page 16 of 40

17 Lightroom Start in the Develop module. Click on the Soft Proofing check box in the tool bar below your image. When clicked, a Soft Proofing dialog will appear near the top of your develop controls. Start by choosing the printer profile from the Profile drop down menu. If you do not see your profile listed, click Other and then select it from a listing of all installed profiles. Experiment with the Intent to see which works better for your image. As with Photoshop, the Simulate Paper Color can be ON or OFF. This feature maps the White Point Tag in your profile. When this option is left off, the maximum white (RGB=255) in the file is mapped to the maximum white of the monitor (MonitorRGB=255). To simulate how the tone of your paper affects a final print, turn Paper Color Simulation on Red River Paper Page 17 of 40

18 Tip 3 Wait it Out You know that inkjet prints are dry to the touch almost instantly. However, did you know it can take hours to completely dry? The ink carrier fluid, used to transport dye or pigment colorants, takes hours to evaporate from the surface of a print. During the process of drying, a print can change tonality and brightness. The degree of change depends on your printer and paper. While it takes about eight hours to cure, the bulk of a print s change will be in the first hour. We recommend waiting at least that long before you evaluate color balance, tonality, and brightness. Tip 4 Evaluate Your Prints in the Right Light Like a plant, a photo print will not truly come to life without proper light. Unlike a monitor, which emits light, a print relies on reflected light. This may seem obvious, but a common mistake is evaluating a print by the light of a monitor in a darkened studio. While quite bright, a monitor will not provide enough light to judge print quality. This habit leads to complaints that my prints are too dark and the ensuing efforts to correct the perceived problem. The fact is simply moving said prints to a north-facing window for viewing would solve the problem! If you prefer to stay seated, there are alternatives. You can improve the lighting in your studio with daylight balanced bulbs that provide enough illuminate without color cast typical of incandescent or fluorescent lighting. Daylight balanced lights emit light around the same color temperature as daylight, about 6500 degrees Kelvin. For more on the topic see For studio lighting, the most economical choice is available from OttLight For a bit more money, Solux lighting offers better illumination and color balance accuracy. Finally, a color balanced light box is the ultimate way to evaluate your prints. OttLite TrueColor Task Lamp Solux MR-16 Bulb GTI Light Box Red River Paper Page 18 of 40

19 Glossary Black Point Compensation This helps to preserve the tonal range during a color conversion. In many cases, this option can result in improved shadow detail when used in combination with the Relative Colorimetric rendering intent and an output profile. Bronzing The generic term for the reflective bronzed look in dark areas of a print when viewed at an angle. It results from ink buildup in dark areas of a print. Bronzing occurs primarily on glossy or satin papers with pigment ink. Color Gamut A color gamut is the range of colors an output device can reproduce. A number of variables come into play when defining a color gamut s size. The same printer and ink will reproduce a different color gamut for different inkjet media. Glossy, satin, luster, and photo metallic inkjet media produce the largest color gamut. Embedding Profiles When saving your RGB image file, Photoshop can tag the file with the RGB working space. It is important to recognize how these embedded profiles (profile tags) can affect your work. By embedding an RGB working space with your image when saving it in Photoshop you are recording how your images appear on your monitor as well as the raw data in your image file. As you see later in this document, you can set Photoshop to look for embedded profiles, and give you options for how to handle them when opening files. Do not embed, assign, or convert an image using a printer color profile. Printer profiles do not contain data necessary for monitor display or editing. Color Engine When color values are translated or converted from one color space to another a color engine handles the calculations. The Adobe Ace Engine is the default on any Photoshop installation. Gloss Differential Gloss differential usually occurs with pigment inks on glossy media. Highlight and white space appear as distinct reflective areas compared to their surroundings. Older pigment ink printers tended to leave highlights and white space nearly void of ink, hence the phenomenon. Newer pigment ink sets are less likely to suffer gloss differential than early generation inks Red River Paper Page 19 of 40

20 Rendering Intent Rendering intent is selected during the printing or soft proofing process. Your rendering intent choice will affect in a big way how any out of gamut colors will be handled. For inkjet use, Relative Colorimetric generally produces output that is more accurate. However, the choice between Relative Colorimetric and Perceptual can depend on your image. Soft proofing can help determine how the intent will affect your print. For those wanting the best quality most of the time, stick to Relative Colorimetric. Avoid Absolute Colorimetric and Saturation intents, as they are not useful in desktop publishing. Interested in the nuts and bolts of rendering intent? See below for in-depth definitions from Chromix, the experts in color profiles and color management. Perceptual: All ICC printer profiles have the four rendering intents built into them. Some people will want to preserve the relationship between colors that are close to each other, so any color changing will appear more "natural." or evenly spaced. This is great for portrait work. Facial colors will tend to have smooth gradients from one shade to another. Perceptual will tend to de-saturate colors though, so this is not so good for vivid scenery images. Perceptual will also tend to give you more shadow detail. Rel Col. and Abs. Col. are constructed along more or less mathematical lines. But creating good Perceptual and Saturation rendering intents is almost an art form. It's a bit tricky to preserve the differences between colors in a natural way and at the same time try to not de-saturate the colors too much when brought into gamut. You get different results with different profile-building software. Relative Colorimetric: For your eye-popping, maximum saturation images, you will want to use Relative Colorimetric. It will preserve as much gamut as it can, and it will only desaturate your out-of-gamut colors to just within your printer's ability to print. This will also mean that there might not be much difference between various shades of saturated pixels. A red fire engine will tend to blend into one blob of the same maximum red. In Photoshop, you can select "Black Point Compensation" in order to get the same preservation of shadow detail in Rel. Col. that you can get with Perceptual. Rel. Col. is a good choice for Fine Art reproduction work, as it will give you the most accuracy for colors that are already in-gamut for your printer. This is also a good allaround rendering intent for a printer with a wide gamut, which is expected to contain most of the colors of your images Red River Paper Page 20 of 40

21 Cleaning & Maintaining Your Printer To get consistent print quality, paper feed, and longer print life, inkjet printers require care and maintenance. Part 1: Software based maintenance Virtually all inkjet printers have functions called head cleaning and head alignment. The Nozzle Check prints a small pattern on plain paper, which verifies all nozzles are firing ink properly. Run a nozzle check before big print jobs, after a few days without printing, or if you suspect a head clog. Print head cleaning forces ink through the head to clear any obstructions. You should run a clean cycle if you notice a color shift, faint areas, or banding in prints. Head alignment ensures all nozzles are pointing the right direction. If you see white repeating lines, jagged edges or text, or a grid like pattern in solid colors you should consider a nozzle check. Finding Cleaning & Maintenance Mac Go to System Preferences» Printers & Scanners» Your Printer Model» Options & Supplies» Utility. At this menu level, you should see an Open Printer Utility button, which opens the printer maintenance options. Epson, Canon, and HP all present slightly different menus Red River Paper Page 21 of 40

22 Finding Cleaning & Maintenance Mac From the Printing Preferences dialog, click on the Maintenance or Utility tab. Part 2 Physical Cleaning The feed roller is the powered wheel that pulls paper into a printer at the beginning of the print cycle. If you use your printer often, and especially if you use double sided or matte papers, proper maintenance of the feed roller is important. Paper leaves behind dust and coating which over time can reduce the effectiveness of the feed roller. You may eventually notice inconsistent feeding or sometimes the printer will not feed at all Red River Paper Page 22 of 40

23 Cleaning the Feed Roller Available at local drug stores If you put your fingers in the feed path, you will feel one or more rubber-coated rollers. Take an alcohol pad and hold it on the roller with your finger. Now, push the paper feed button on your printer - the rollers will move. Do not be alarmed if the roller tugged on your finger a bit. It will not be pulled into the printer! Cycle the paper feed a few times and make sure you clean each roller. Canon printer note - Canon printers do not have an on demand paper feed button. Clean as much of the roller as you can. With some light pressure, the roller may turn and allow for more thorough cleaning. Cleaning Internal Rollers There are a number of powered and passive rollers and wheels along the paper path. If ink overspray contacts these rollers, black streaks may appear on the top or bottom of a print. To clean the internal rollers, take an 8.5x11 sheet of plain paper and spray one-half lightly with household glass cleaner. Try to leave the edges of the paper dry. Run this sheet through your printer 2-3 times front and back. When running the alcohol soaked sheet through, Canon printer note - Canon printers do not have an on demand paper feed button. To run the plain paper, you will have to make a print. We suggest a text document with only one line or character. Red River Paper now sells cleaning sheets and packs that make this process easier and quicker. Finally Red River Paper Page 23 of 40

24 Use canned air to blow any remaining dust and debris from the print feed path and inside the printer. Be gentle with the air and do not get it too close to any delicate parts. Custom Paper Sizes There are a number of projects where you will need to make a custom paper size. Many sizes like 12x12, 13x38, and greeting cards are not included with your printer software. Below are tutorials for Epson, Canon, and HP printers for PC and Mac platforms. Epson / Windows Accessing the User Defined dialog will depend on your driver and printer model. Or Red River Paper Page 24 of 40

25 Older Epson printers require you to define width and height in increments of.01 inches. For a 7x10 card, you would define width as 700 and height as Enter a paper size name, and click Save. The new paper will be saved for future use in the media size drop menu seen above. Newer models allow you to enter dimensions in full inches. Enter a paper size name, and click Save. The new paper will be saved for future use in the media size drop menu seen above. Always set width to the smallest dimension and height to the largest dimension of your paper size. Example - on a 7x10 greeting card 7 is the width and 10 the height regardless of the print orientation. Note for 13 x 38 users Set paper width Most Epson printers do not allow for custom size borderless printing Red River Paper Page 25 of 40

26 Canon / Windows Go to the Canon printer properties dialog. You will choose "Custom..." from the Page Size drop menu. A small dialog will appear labeled "Custom Paper Size". Always set width to the smallest dimension and height to the largest dimension of your paper size. Example - on a 7x10 greeting card 7 is the width and 10 the height regardless of the print orientation. Canon printers do not allow for custom size borderless printing. Canon printers maximum custom height (print length) is between 23.4 and 26.6 inches Red River Paper Page 26 of 40

27 HP / Windows In the printer properties, click on the Features tab. Under the Paper Size Options, choose Custom Always set width to the smallest dimension and height to the largest dimension of your paper size. Example - on a 7x10 greeting card 7 is the width and 10 the height regardless of the print orientation. Many new HP printers no longer support custom paper sizes Red River Paper Page 27 of 40

28 Mac Setup Click on Page Setup or Printer Settings to manage custom paper sizes. Under "Paper Size" choose "Manage Custom Sizes". The below dialog will appear (Be sure to choose the right paper orientation for image layout) Red River Paper Page 28 of 40

29 Click on the + button to create a new size. Always set width to the smallest dimension and height to the largest dimension of your paper size. Example - on a 7x10 greeting card 7 is the width and 10 the height regardless of the print orientation. MARGINS - Start by setting all margins to 0.15". You can come back and adjust if necessary, but do not go below that 0.15 or your print job may fail. Now name and save the new paper size for later use. Canon printers maximum height (print length) is between 23.4 and 26.6 inches. Check your manual for the number. Setting height larger than the Canon maximum will cause the print job to fail Red River Paper Page 29 of 40

30 Feeding double sided, heavy, or thick papers Inkjet printers, even copies of the same make and model, are not identical. Some feed paper better than others. You should not expect every printer you buy to perform the same. About Double-Sided Paper - Both sides of double-sided paper reproduce photo quality. The coating makes each side very smooth and for an inkjet printer, this may cause a misfeed. Tip #1 Clean your printer s feed rollers after each box of matte, cotton fine art, or double-sided paper. To keep your printer clean you can do the following: Follow the do-it-yourself instructions Order a cleaning pack from Red River Tip # 2 Do not allow the paper tray guide to touch your paper. Instead, leave a small gap, no more than 1/4", between the guide and the paper. Incorrect Correct! Red River Paper Page 30 of 40

31 Tip # 3 Place stiff card stock or chip board as the bottom sheet in the feed tray. Note: Make sure to set your print count so that the printer does not feed the board. Tip # 4 Fan your paper before feeding placing in the printer. Simply fanning the paper will better separate the sheets, release any excess coating or paper dust, and introduces a little air in between each sheet. Tip # 5 Load no more than five sheets of heavy paper at one time. Definitions for heavy paper : Glossy, luster, satin Over 75lb. or 300gsm Matte & Fine Art Over 60lb. or 250gsm Red River Paper Page 31 of 40

32 Tip #6 Use your Printer's Thick Paper Feature Below is a summary of printer features for handling thick and heavy paper. Please refer to the printer manual for detailed information on your machine. These settings are useful for papers 11mil and thicker. Epson Pro Printers Platen Gap - Platen gap is the distance from the print head and paper. Setting it to Wide or Wider will prevent head strikes, scraping, and ink blobs on the edge of paper. Paper Thickness Measured in 0.1mm increments, the default of three corresponds to typical 10.4mil photo paper. For media over 13mil thick, set Paper Thickness to six to avoid head strikes. Windows users will find the control on the Paper Configuration menu. Mac users will look under Advanced Media Control in the Print dialog Red River Paper Page 32 of 40

33 Epson Desktop Printers For Epson desktop printers, the setting may be referred to as Thick Paper or Envelope. Windows users will find the control on the Maintenance tab of printer properties. Mac users should start in System Preferences > Printers & Scanners. Navigate to Options and Supplies for your printer and search under Options or Utilities Red River Paper Page 33 of 40

34 Canon Desktop Printers Canon uses the term Prevent Paper Abrasion for their thick media setting. Windows users will find the control on the Maintenance tab of printer properties. Mac users should start in System Preferences > Printers & Scanners. Navigate to Options and Supplies for your printer click on the Utility button Red River Paper Page 34 of 40

35 RESOURCES Color Management Color Wiki - Chromix Datacolor - spyder.datacolor.com/en X-Rite: Article on ProPhoto RGB - Guides & Learning National Association of Photoshop Professionals Photoshop Elements User Website - Digital Photography Tutorials - Basic Monitor Calibration SSC Service Utility A program that allows certain Epson users to better control head cleaning Video Library Red River Paper offers a number of videos that cover: Installing printer profiles Using printer profiles Setup and printing greeting cards Creating custom paper sizes Many more helpful videos are on the way. Get started at the InfoCenter: RRP TV can be found at: Red River Paper Page 35 of 40

36 Signing Your Prints Pens Archival pens should use pigment-based ink so that they resist fade for the longest possible amount of time. Black ink is recommended because black is generally the most stable color. Using a pen is necessary if you are printing on glossy, satin, luster, or semi-gloss inkjet papers. Most of these papers are resin coated (aka photobase) which means they are plastic on both sides. Using a pigment based ink such is a necessity, especially if you want to write on the uncoated side of the paper. Sakura Pigma Micron Available in a number of line width sizes and colors Archival Gold CD/DVD Twin Tipped Marker Solvent-free, non-toxic, and alcohol-free Pencils Pencils are the most popular way to sign, date, or otherwise label prints made on inkjet matte or cotton fine art media. Look for "carbon pencils" which allow for smooth writing and darker, richer lines. One example is the General's Layout No.555 carbon pencil. You can find these at Amazon.com and other art supply stores Red River Paper Page 36 of 40

37 Your Working Space The Digital Darkroom Your room lighting level for working at a monitor makes a difference as to how you perceive brightness and contrast levels. The monitor at its brightest (white) should be the brightest white you can see when looking towards the screen. Ideally, artificial lighting should illuminate your room when you work. That means closing shades or blinds during daytime. Your goal is to have consistent light volume and direction any time you work at your monitor. Tip #1 Use color balanced lighting in your workspace. Incandescent and fluorescent bulbs are available as daylight balanced or full spectrum. Lighting solutions from Solux, mentioned above, offer more precise color temperature and are designed to illuminate artistic and creative spaces. Tip #2 - Avoid having a bright light (window / lamp) in your field of vision when working. Tip #3 Try to create a consistent lighting environment, day or night Red River Paper Page 37 of 40

38 Black & White Printing Recommended Papers for Black & White Printing The choice of paper for black & white printing is subjective and personal. While there are guidelines for what looks good with grayscales, in the end the choice depends on your likes and needs. Red River's line of photographic inkjet media includes a number of papers popular for black & white printing. While there are no black & white specific inkjet media on the market, some are better than others are at the task. Cool vs. Warm Tone Inkjet Papers Inkjet papers can be classified as either warm or cool tone. Cool denotes more blue cast and warm papers are yellowish. All paper is warm tone until chemical brighteners and whiteners are added to make them bluer, which the human eye perceives as bright white. Black & White Inkjet Printing Primer While there are no inkjet papers specifically designed for black and white printing, some are better able than others at reproducing grayscale images. This article will discuss what you should look for in a paper and other factors important in B&W printing. There are a number of variables at play in the black & white workflow. Aside from paper, we will cover image conversion and inkjet printers. These aspects are at least as important to consider as the paper you will use. The Paper The choice of paper for black & white printing is subjective and personal. While there are guidelines for what looks good with grayscales, in the end the choice depends on your likes and needs. Here are three important factors to keep in mind and test before deciding on a paper: The Ability to Reproduce Tonal Transitions Reproducing the black and white parts of an image is easy compared to reproducing the many shades of gray in between. Some papers handle these fine transitions between black and white better than others do. You should conduct tests to see which papers on your printer are able to handle transitions well. A paper seller should know which to recommend, but in reality, you have to try it with your particular system. This is where a test chart comes in handy Red River Paper Page 38 of 40

39 A number of these charts come with Quad Tone Rip (QTR) a specialty black & white printing program. You can download this program and the charts at no charge. (See resources section for more) Image courtesy Roy Harrington / QTR dmax dmax is the maximum density, i.e., the deepest black a paper and ink combination can produce. In general, the higher the dmax value the better. A dmax = 2.0 is considered excellent and approaches that of traditional photo processing materials. Your goal should be to exceed a dmax of 1.6 for matte/art papers and 2.0 for glossy/satin papers to achieve best all around quality under different display conditions. Glossy and satin inkjet papers have the best dmax potential. However, display conditions can affect the perceived depth of blacks in your image. For example, a glossy print under glass can have more reflection than a matte print. This might cause a perceived loss of black density. It is important to consider this when choosing a paper. Cool vs. Warm Tone Inkjet Papers Inkjet papers can be classified as either warm or cool tone. Cool denotes more blue cast and warm papers are yellowish. All paper is warm tone until chemical brighteners and whiteners are added to make them bluer, which the human eye perceives as bright white. The bottom line: For black and white printing, the base tone of your paper makes a visible difference. Consider your subject, your needs and likes, and then try different tone papers to see what works best. For much more information on Black & White printing, papers, and techniques go to Red River Paper Page 39 of 40

40 Storing & Presenting Prints Inkjet prints, like traditional lab prints, will benefit from display in a frame protected by glazing (glass or plexi). Protection from UV light, humidity, and moving air will greatly increase fade resistance. This is true for both dye and pigment ink prints. Tip For maximum on-display life, display prints in a proper frame under glazing. If you suspect your prints will be displayed Resources Frame Destination - Crescent - Rising Museum Board Red River Paper Page 40 of 40