Follow us on Twitter!
Follow us on Facebook!
 

Go Back   Pixtus - Photography Forum, Photographers, Photo Tips > Photography Information > Printroom


"They're Selling Us Crap Paper"

This is a discussion on "They're Selling Us Crap Paper" within the Printroom forums, part of the Photography Information category; "I've just finished printing up a bunch of "art quality" 11 x 14 prints for my Contributors, and I'm so ...

Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Display Modes
  (#1) Old
Rest in peace John...
 
johnastovall's Avatar
 
Posts: 10,238
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Dublin, TX,
Real First Name: Stovall
Camera: Leica M8/Leica X1/Canon 1DsMkIII/Canon 5DMkII/Leica M7/Leicaflex SL2/Ricoh GR-DIII
Can Others Edit My Photos: No
iTrader Rating: 17

Likes Received LIKES Received: 1
Likes Given LIKES Given: 0
"They're Selling Us Crap Paper" - 04-29-2010, 06:29 PM


"I've just finished printing up a bunch of "art quality" 11 x 14 prints for my Contributors, and I'm so frustrated I feel like tearing my hair out. (Yes, I have plenty to spare. What's your point?) The amount of time and money I waste because of shoddy inkjet paper manufacturing practices is appalling..."

Details by Ctein

---------------------------
"The market wants a Leica to be a Leica: the inheritor of tradition, the subject of lore, and indisputably a mark of status to own."
Mike Johnston
Reply With Quote
Sponsored Links

Premium Members do not see Google advertisements. SIGN UP today and help support our community.
  (#2) Old
You Can't Be Serious!!
 
venchka's Avatar
 
Posts: 13,010
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Houston mostly, Texas
Real First Name: Wayne
Camera: 6x7 Pinhole. Good enough for me.
Can Others Edit My Photos: Yes
iTrader Rating: 1

Likes Received LIKES Received: 71
Likes Given LIKES Given: 6
Send a message via ICQ to venchka
Cool 04-30-2010, 09:52 PM


Are you positive it's the paper? Jeff, Murph Ken print a lot. except for the odd glitch like Murph's run in with Bamboo, none of them fuss.

What paper gave you fits? Sending off to a link written by someone we don't know isn't as up close and personal as the problems you had. Printer. Profile. Ink. Paper.

I missed all of the quotes. So what????????????

---------------------------
Wayne
Deep in the darkest heart of the East Texas Rain forest. Fledging Apprentice Wannabe Analog Activist
My Gallery | FlickrMyBookTwitSpaceFace
Reply With Quote
  (#3) Old
tone-bending bas%@rd
 
jeffkohn's Avatar
 
Posts: 6,648
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Houston, Texas
Real First Name: Jeff
Camera: Nikon
Can Others Edit My Photos: No
iTrader Rating: 4

Likes Received LIKES Received: 32
Likes Given LIKES Given: 22
04-30-2010, 10:42 PM


I can't say that I've seen any glaring defects like the first picture in that article. Sometimes you do get some really subtle surface anomalies, that may or may not be noticeable depending on what gets printed on them. But definitely not to the extent where I'm throwing out half 1/4 the sheets in a box.

One thing I've seen is flaking with some of the cotton rag papers. Hahnemuhle Photo Rag in sheets has been bad about this in the past, I learned to brush the sheets off before printing on them (doesn't seem to be a problem with the rolls, thankfully). I think there's more opportunity for things to go wrong with cut sheets, whether it's cutting and packaging at the factory, or dinged corners during shipment. I've had fewer problems in general with roll paper.

Honestly though, if I have to throw out a print it's more often because of a kink, scratch or some other damage from clumsy handling on my part. Some of these papers are pretty delicate. For instance you really have to watch out for scuffs on the matte papers.

I do think quality and consistency varies by brand. Funny that Harman FB AL is the only paper he mentions by name. I found that paper to be extremely fragile; you can't even stack prints without fear of scratching. And I think the fact that it's so smooth and so glossy means any surface defects will show more than they would on a paper with a bit of texture. Most fiber-gloss papers are more durable than that in my experience; I've found Hahnemuhle Photo Rag Baryta to be pretty good (and with the new Lucia EX inks prints should be even more durable).

More than defects, what bugs me is batch variations. For instance, I currently have a 24" roll of Photo Rag 308 as well as a box of letter-sized sheets. There's a noticeable difference in texture between the two, with the roll being smoother; and it's not something subtle where I had to compare them side by side. First print off the roll I immediately noticed the smoother texture. I also measured the papers' white point with my spectro, and there's a small difference (Delta E of 0.3, which just barely qualifies as being perceptible).

I haven't been methodical about keeping track of this stuff, but my gut feeling is that the gloss and semi-gloss papers are a little more consistent than the matte papers.

---------------------------
Jeff Kohn | The Majestic Landscape | Blog | More Images
"The capacity to compose images is really the capacity to give coherence to sensed experience" - Robert Motherwell
Reply With Quote
  (#4) Old
Forum Regular
 
Big Dog's Avatar
 
Posts: 531
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Greater Cedar Hill, Texas
Real First Name: David
Camera: Sony a850, Mamiya RB67
Can Others Edit My Photos: No
iTrader Rating: 0

Likes Received LIKES Received: 0
Likes Given LIKES Given: 1
05-01-2010, 08:45 AM


I think Ctein often just needs something to write about with a weekly deadline. As usual, I could be wrong ...

In any event, I've been reading his stuff off and on for years and he seems rather AR about a lot of things.

---------------------------
David
Built a new darkroom for the betterment of mankind.

http://newdr.blogspot.com/
Reply With Quote
  (#5) Old
Supa Dupa Poster
 
Murph's Avatar
 
Posts: 4,379
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Real First Name: Murph
Camera: Nikon and Yashica TLR
Can Others Edit My Photos: Yes
iTrader Rating: 3

Likes Received LIKES Received: 44
Likes Given LIKES Given: 11
05-01-2010, 09:04 AM


I agree that Ctein needs to whine about something. I print a lot, not as much perhaps as some, but I print a great deal. I brush all my matte paper, especially the Moab, and Hahnenmuehl offerings. And while Ctein is anally retentive, he is an excellent printer for traditional black and white papers. Jeff's assesment is right on the mark. As is David's. Ctein is annoyed that ink jet paper does not work 100% as silver halide photo paper. And Mike Johnson has jumped the left wing shark, his site has gotten....boring.

---------------------------
Texas can exist without the United States, but the United States, cannot, except at great peril, exist without Texas. Sam Houston.
Reply With Quote
  (#6) Old
Member
 
sjordan's Avatar
 
Posts: 120
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Carrollton, Texas
Real First Name: Shane
Camera: Pentax 645D
Can Others Edit My Photos: No
iTrader Rating: 2

Likes Received LIKES Received: 4
Likes Given LIKES Given: 0
05-13-2010, 03:17 PM


I happen to agree mostly with this article. I do a ton of printing and have seen so many different paper issues.

Right now Epson seems to have the best track record in my case.

I have a roll of Ilford GFS that had scratches on the first 10ft! I didn't notice until I made a 16x20 print. I took it off of my 7900 and sure enough it looked like someone took the roll out and let it slide down a sidewalk. Still waiting for a replacement :(

---------------------------
ShutterShane.com
Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
theyre selling us crap paper

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On



Visit Our Sponsors
 

Google Sponsors

Premium Members do not see Google advertisements. SIGN UP today and help support our community.

Copyright ©2004 - 2011, Abel Longoria - www.Pixtus.com
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2012, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.