Epson 7600 printer, best paper

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

nobody wrote:
> Which paper gives the best results with the Epson 7600? (for
> landscapes, scenery, buildings and the like).

I like a nice matt finish depending on where they will be displayed.

There are many good papers. It is almost like asking what fruit gives
the best results with corn flakes. I like bannas.

I suggest you srart with Epson ink and paper until you know which one of
those works best for YOU. After that I suggest you may want to consider
trying different combinations of non-Epson if you like. Be forewarned that
the life expectancy of non-Epson products may be iffy.

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia's Muire duit

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

>Which paper gives the best results with the Epson 7600?

There is of course no universal answer for this because tastes vary and
different scenes seem to go better with different papers.

That said, for portraits and such we use Premium Luster (on a 4000 but
with the same ink set). You might also try the PGPP and Premium
Semi-gloss but the PGPP shows the bronzing effect more than the others.
Luster seems to be a good compromise.

For fine art prints our favorite paper is Velvet-Fine Art, which
combines a pleasing slightly rough texture with high whiteness and wide
gamut. Unfortunately it isn't available in larger sizes, the biggest
is just 13x19".

For larger fine art prints we prefer Arches Infinity Smooth (with the
Epson Fine Art Smooth ICC profile since the Arches 4000 profile is
off), or Hahnemuehle Photo Rag (316 gsm). Epson is positioning their
Ultrasmooth Fine Art as their main fine art paper (has a matte finish)
but supplies are still a bit limited after 2 years and it doesn't have
optical brighteners so it's a bit more yellow than the others
mentioned. You might also try the Epson Smooth and Textured Fine Art
papers (I didn't because they don't come in sheets in the sizes I
prefer).

For proofing we keep a 50 ft roll of Enhanced Matte in the 4000 most of
the time, it's relatively cheap compared to the fancy fine art papers
(about 1/6 th as much to print a 16x20" proof compared to Arches or
Ultrasmooth, for example) and gives excellent results. For all these
matte and fine art papers you should be using the Matte black inks ...
you can use the Photo black inks on these but the blacks aren't as
deep. You can't use the Matte black inks on the glossy papers though.

Really you should buy sample packs of the different papers and print
something like Atkinson's test file or similar and compare
side-by-side. That's what I did and it was a very useful exercise.

You should also get Atkinson's ICC profiles for the 7600 for the Epson
papers, they are much better than the ones Epson provided.

Bill

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

> in this "little village" called London (16 million inhabitants for
Greater
>London, ie. including suburbs) I could not find anybody to print
>commercially larger than A3+.

Interesting ... a Google entry of "lightjet london" gives the following
links with info on Lightjets in London (sounds like a Warren Zevon
song) ...
http://london.photobloggers.org/blog/_archives/2005/2/1...
http://www.warrens.co.uk/new_large_format2.htm
http://www.spectrumphoto.co.uk/about_lightjet.html
http://www.professionalphotographer.co.uk/labs.cfm (one LJ listed)

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

Thank you again Bill. In the end I am likely to go for the 7600 for a
variety of reasons, and this despite the fact that I don't really have room
for it. One of the reasons is that, believe it or not, in this "little
village" called London (16 million inhabitants for Greater London, ie.
including suburbs) I could not find anybody to print commercially larger
than A3+. I have a Gretag Macbeth eye-one profiler (now being repaired),
hopefully I should be able to rely on my own profiles, shouldn't I?
Nobody




On 23/4/05 10:16 pm, in article
1114290978.282947.64200@l41g2000cwc.googlegroups.com, "Bill Hilton"
<bhilton665@aol.com> wrote:

>> Which paper gives the best results with the Epson 7600?
>
> There is of course no universal answer for this because tastes vary and
> different scenes seem to go better with different papers.
>
> That said, for portraits and such we use Premium Luster (on a 4000 but
> with the same ink set). You might also try the PGPP and Premium
> Semi-gloss but the PGPP shows the bronzing effect more than the others.
> Luster seems to be a good compromise.
>
> For fine art prints our favorite paper is Velvet-Fine Art, which
> combines a pleasing slightly rough texture with high whiteness and wide
> gamut. Unfortunately it isn't available in larger sizes, the biggest
> is just 13x19".
>
> For larger fine art prints we prefer Arches Infinity Smooth (with the
> Epson Fine Art Smooth ICC profile since the Arches 4000 profile is
> off), or Hahnemuehle Photo Rag (316 gsm). Epson is positioning their
> Ultrasmooth Fine Art as their main fine art paper (has a matte finish)
> but supplies are still a bit limited after 2 years and it doesn't have
> optical brighteners so it's a bit more yellow than the others
> mentioned. You might also try the Epson Smooth and Textured Fine Art
> papers (I didn't because they don't come in sheets in the sizes I
> prefer).
>
> For proofing we keep a 50 ft roll of Enhanced Matte in the 4000 most of
> the time, it's relatively cheap compared to the fancy fine art papers
> (about 1/6 th as much to print a 16x20" proof compared to Arches or
> Ultrasmooth, for example) and gives excellent results. For all these
> matte and fine art papers you should be using the Matte black inks ...
> you can use the Photo black inks on these but the blacks aren't as
> deep. You can't use the Matte black inks on the glossy papers though.
>
> Really you should buy sample packs of the different papers and print
> something like Atkinson's test file or similar and compare
> side-by-side. That's what I did and it was a very useful exercise.
>
> You should also get Atkinson's ICC profiles for the 7600 for the Epson
> papers, they are much better than the ones Epson provided.
>
> Bill
>

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

Being close to France as you are...
Canson make some nice paper. I use their Semi gloss (which is not all that
much different from Gloss) for general purpose work. It is both affordable
and relatively long lasting and lends itself to laminating and block
mounting. If you need some custom profiles I have a few for Epsons.

About 70% the cost of Epson paper in Australia. Their Arcival matte is
pretty good stuff too. but at the end of the day you need to spend a few
bucks on samples and decide for yourself.

Douglas

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

Thanks.
Nobody


On 23/4/05 8:33 pm, in article Xpxae.9501$0V2.6408@tornado.ohiordc.rr.com,
"Joseph Meehan" <sligojoe_Spamno@hotmail.com> wrote:

> nobody wrote:
>> Which paper gives the best results with the Epson 7600? (for
>> landscapes, scenery, buildings and the like).
>
> I like a nice matt finish depending on where they will be displayed.
>
> There are many good papers. It is almost like asking what fruit gives
> the best results with corn flakes. I like bannas.
>
> I suggest you srart with Epson ink and paper until you know which one of
> those works best for YOU. After that I suggest you may want to consider
> trying different combinations of non-Epson if you like. Be forewarned that
> the life expectancy of non-Epson products may be iffy.

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

Thanks Bill, I shall check each of one them, and see if I have to take my
words back... Still, few or them are likely to be open between 1.30am and
3.30am, when I often do my printing... :-)
Nobody (the real one, there seems to be somebody else with the same name!)


On 24/4/05 4:01 am, in article
1114311599.018571.97180@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com, "Bill Hilton"
<bhilton665@aol.com> wrote:

>> in this "little village" called London (16 million inhabitants for
> Greater
>> London, ie. including suburbs) I could not find anybody to print
>> commercially larger than A3+.
>
> Interesting ... a Google entry of "lightjet london" gives the following
> links with info on Lightjets in London (sounds like a Warren Zevon
> song) ...
> http://london.photobloggers.org/blog/_archives/2005/2/1...
> http://www.warrens.co.uk/new_large_format2.htm
> http://www.spectrumphoto.co.uk/about_lightjet.html
> http://www.professionalphotographer.co.uk/labs.cfm (one LJ listed)
>

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

Joseph Meehan <sligojoe_Spamno@hotmail.com> wrote:
> nobody wrote:
>> Which paper gives the best results with the Epson 7600? (for
>> landscapes, scenery, buildings and the like).

> I like a nice matt finish depending on where they will be displayed.

> There are many good papers. It is almost like asking what fruit gives
> the best results with corn flakes. I like bannas.

That's right. One very good although expensive option is Epson
semimatte photo paper (280 gsm).

Andrew.