Luminous Landscape Forum
Raw & Post Processing, Printing => Printing: Printers, Papers and Inks => Topic started by: StudioL on July 09, 2013, 01:32:39 pm
-
We have been printing on breathing color's vibrance rag which we love. Our last 2 Canon large format printers strted scratching the paper after about a year of use. Canon will not repair it because it is not their paper and we have had a very hard time finding someone who can. We are looking into buying another large format printer but would like some feedback as to what is good out there right now for a thick paper like vibrabce rag. Good customer service is important too!
On a side note, can anyone recommend a good tech company in the LA area for large format printers like Canon's 8100 and 8300?
Thank you!
-
BC Vibrance Rag gives beautiful prints on our Epson 4900 and 9900 machines. As for whether you should buy one of those machines, that's a bigger question than Vibrance Rag results naturally.
You sure you've worked through the surface scratch issue, meaning ruled out head strikes and all the things to do on your machines to treat head strikes?
My contact at Breathing Color suggests that Vibrance Rag may require reformulation in the near future. The BC sales consultant admitted that the (high) Vibrance Rag price is viewed by the BC company as an explanation for below-predicted sales of that paper. I believe, based upon my conversation, that Vibrance Rag may be replaced my another paper at lower cost at some point. Probably wouldn't replace a printer based upon using that particular paper formulation. Just a thought.
John Caldwell
-
What about a Roland solvent-based printer, or one using UV-cured inks? These can print on much thicker media than the regular offerings.
Is there any possibility of raising the print heads to accommodate a thicker medium?
-
BC's Vibrance Rag is a nice thick paper, but it is also susceptible to an incredibly harsh curl, which may be exacerbated by changes in humidity---that harsh curl can mean more head strikes/scratches, even with the vacuum level turned up higher.
-
I have zero issues with it on both an iPF8400 and an Epson 9900 (though we're working in ideal temp./RH). Which Canon media type are you using to print? Or have you created your own with Canon's MCT? I have heard of this issue before and it's typically solved by highest head height and vacuum strength. Also, keep the paper in the plastic bag if you aren't printing onto it...greatly reduces curling.
-J
-
....and that last five feet or so of the roll is where the curl is worst (if present). I've thrown out that last bit before just because of the curl.