Paper and Inks

A new range
of papers
from
Fotospeed

WHAT PAPER AND INKS SHOULD I USE ?
This is a question that I get asked quite regularly and the easy answer is:
the papers and inks that your printer manufacturer recommends.
HOWEVER
There comes a time when the inks and papers recommended by the printer manufacturer do not meet your requirements in terms of INK COSTS, TYPES OF INK, TYPES OF PAPER, or LONGEVITY. Let us look at these requirements one by one.

INK COSTS

If your printer uses color cartridges where all the colours are in one cartridge, as soon as your printer detects that ONE of these colours need replacing, it will tell you to replace the cartridge and because the usage of each colour can vary greatly, depending on the subject you print, it will be most likely that you will be throwing away the other colours of ink that haven't run out.

WAYS OF REDUCING INK COSTS

1. CARRY ON PRINTING (even though your printer says change the cartridge)
I know people who do this by lifting out the cartridge and putting it back in again and they get away with it because your printer tells you to change the cartridge before any one color runs out. On chipped cartridges, this will involve purchasing a chip re setter (£10 from Fotospeed).
The problem with this is that if you are half way through a print and it does finally run out the cost loss of the sheet of paper (especially if it is an A3 size art type) can be more than the cost of the ink you have saved.
Also this method can result in a hard to remove air lock in your system.

2. When you buy a printer look for one that has a cartridge for each colour of ink that it uses
This is much better way of reducing ink usage and keeping ink costs down but even then, you have to throw away the cartridge with a small amount of ink in it. (so you don't get air in the system)

4. Fit a Bulk Ink Feed System.
This is the most cost effective way of saving on ink usage and the way which I have chosen.
This type of system works by piping ink from bottles outside your printer to a modified ink cartridge
There are a few different makes of Bulk Ink Feed Systems on the market but the one I have chosen is by: FotoSpeed

click on the image for details
TYPES OF INK

1. STANDARD DYE BASED INKS
These are the inks that are normally supplied with the printer and can be best described as Plug-N-Play inks due to the fact that they do not require any special profiles for normal use.

2.HIGH STRENGTH DYE BASED INKS (FOTONIC)
Fotonic inks use unique, specially developed high strength dyes to increase the display life of inkjet printed images.

MANUFACTURER'S QUOTE

The colour gamut of Fotonic ink is matched to the colour gamut reproducable using traditional photographic processes. By matching to this standard Fotonic inks are able to provide a colour gamut approximately 20% wider than most ink sets can offer
Using Fotonic professional-standard colour inks to print your images ensures that the range of colours you are able to scan can be reproduced through your printer.

Using the standard inks offered by the Original Equipment Manufacturer you are immediately throwing away 20% of your scanned colours (all of the extra colour range in the yellow, green, red, pink and blue areas above which can be printed by Fotonic inks) as you will be unable to represent these colour ranges upon printing.


3. PIGMENT BASED INKS
 These are the inks that you should use if you require high print permanence and are intending to sell your prints but they are expensive and almost certainly need print/paper profiles to get the best out of them.
They also provide a slightly smaller colour gamut.
Most of my prints are printed using Fotospeed's Ultra 4K Pigment Inks on Acid free, pH Neutral papers from Fotospeed's EG range


TYPES OF PAPER

At some time you may want to try out different papers so let us look at the different types available.

1. MATTE
This is the type of paper that is used for printing with pigment inks because they absorb the ink into the paper more than the Gloss,Satin or Pearl papers thus increasing print longevity. There are also no reflections to distract from viewing the print. On the downside, some brands of Matte papers make the image flat looking (low contrast).

2. SATIN,PEARL or LUSTRE
These are the types of papers preferred by some wedding photographers.
They give the image a softer feel(not necessarily less sharp)than a glossy paper would and there are less reflections from the surface, which make viewing easier.

3. GLOSSY
A lot of people still think that this is the main type of paper for Photographic printing. Glossy Papers make the images look crisper, and used to be the first choice for printing images containing fine detail, but the continuing improvements in paper producing technology and coatings mean that even the heavyweight Art Papers can now hold fine detail.

4. ART
In the past few years these papers have advanced from being smudgy printed watercolour papers to first class true Photographic Art Papers capable of retaining fine detail.
There are many types now on the market and only by trying some of them out will you find one or more to suit your personal requirements.

5. PHOTO QUALITY GLOSSY FILM (Epson)
This printing media is as the description says Film and Epson's description is: Brilliant white high gloss film that is designed for dazzling eye-catching color, up to 1440dpi.
The last time that I used this was almost 3years ago. Why did I stop using it? PRICE
Today it costs in the region of £5.70 per A3 sheet.
If you buy some, drop me a line and let me know what you think of the present quality.

Choosing your papers


What are best Papers to use?
Paper choices are very personal, and I would recommend you try various papers until you find the ones that suit your needs in terms of Appearance, Sharpness, Feel, Price and how they print with your equipment and inks.
By all means take note of recommendations but try for yourself.

Here are some of my personal favorites.

UNGLAZED GLOSS
1. Fotospeed DWFB PLATINUM GLOSS (UNGLAZED) 290g
This paper has a new finish and is just what the digital world has been waiting for.
It looks like a Fibre based, dark room paper and the B&W pigment ink prints that I have printed on this paper using an Epson R2400 printer and the PHOTO Black ink (and a free Custom Profile supplied by FotoSpeed) are the closest prints to wet processed darkroom prints that I have seen. Also a WARM TONE version of this paper is now available

MATT
1. Fotospeed EG DW Photo FB Matt 280g
Modeled on traditional FB darkroom papers this Matt paper with it's white ultra smooth surface, enables digital workers to get the same feel and look as achieved in the dark-room. Water & scuff resistant and accepts dye or pigment ink.


ART

1. Fotospeed EG High White Smooth 315g.
pH Neutral-100% Cotton Rag Paper, very smooth & white.
Makes this paper an excellent choice for images that need to last a long time. This paper is very revolutionary in its coating and feel.
Water & scuff resistant and accepts dye or pigment ink.

2. Fotospeed EG Natural Soft Textured 315g.
 100% acid free, slightly textured and natural in colour, makes this paper a classic choice for images that need to last a long time.
This paper is very revolutionary in its coating and feel.
Water & scuff resistant and accepts dye or pigment ink.

3. Hahnemuhle Photo Rag 308g.
This paper is a Fine Art Paper. It is a smooth pH Neutral-100% Cotton Rag mould made art paper that gives excellent sharpness. Although this paper is heavy it doesn't present loading problems like other papers of this weight. Another bonus point with this paper, is that it has waterproof properties.

4. Hahnemuhle Torchon 285g.
This paper is a Fine Art Paper.It is an acid free, mould made paper with a parchment-like surface. Water resistant, accepts dye/pigment

LUSTRE

Fotospeed Pigment Friendly Lustre 270g
As the name of the paper says, it is excellent for use with pigment inks - particularly when ICC profiled (Fotospeed will supply you with a FREE custom profile for any of their papers that you buy)
This fast dry product can also be used with dye inks where it is instant dry.

GLOSSY
Fotospeed Pigment Friendly Gloss 270g
Instant Dry microporous Gloss inkjet paper on a resin coated base.
Water resistant and compatible with most inkjet printers.
This paper when used with Fotospeed's Superfine Dye Inks gives superb prints without any trace of a surface bloom.
As the name of the paper says, it is excellent for use with pigment inks - particularly when ICC profiled (Fotospeed will supply you with a FREE custom profile for any of their papers that you buy)