White dust marks on inkjet prints?

[Bob_B]

I hope to get some advice. I've been using Canson pantine fibre rag (13x19) lately, although I have no reason to believe this problem is specific to this paper. The resulting prints from my Canon pixma pro-100 look great, except for one thing: each has one or two randomly placed white 'dust' marks, which detract from the print. I put the single quote marks around dust, as I guess that is what they are: small (~1mm long), white, thin (0.5mm width), irregular blotches on the print. They look like very small dust fibers. I attempted to use a microfiber rag to remove any dust from the paper prior to printing, but these marks continue to appear. (And, yes, they are random in their placement, and only one or two at most per print.)

As noted, I'm not 100% sure they are dust, but they sure look like dust. Other than, wiping the paper with a clean cloth prior to printing, is there anything else I can do? Any thoughts on what could be causing them (if they're not dust)?

I appreciate your help. Thank you.

Bob

[Mark D Segal]

is there anything else I can do?

Bob

Yes - use another paper. It appears to shed particulates and the one time I tried it, it caused major blockages in my Epson 4900. I experienced nothing to that extent again after going back to my usual paper with alpha-cellulose backing.

[Paul2660]

I use a lot of Canson papers. I always brush off the surface before a print. I agree they are more prone to shedding particulates. However I see this issue with many other brands also. Using a static brush from Kintonics seems to eliminate those random pieces of dust.

Paul

[Mark D Segal]

I do not have this issue either with Canson Baryta Photographique or with Ilford Gold Fibre Silk, both of which have alpha-cellulose backing. I did have it in spades with Canson Platine Fibre Rag in particular, which I strongly suspect springs from the cotton rag backing on this particular paper. I am not the only one.

[Mark D Segal]

I use a lot of Canson papers. I always brush off the surface before a print. I agree they are more prone to shedding particulates. However I see this issue with many other brands also. Using a static brush from Kintonics seems to eliminate those random pieces of dust.

Paul

Paul, how big is the brush? Isn't this quite a time-consuming nuisance if you are printing anything larger than letter size?

[Ken Doo]

I also use a lot of Canson papers. But it is also an issue that I see with other papers as well, no more so on Canson than other higher end papers. Sometimes you see it, sometimes not. It's pretty fast and easy to use a static brush as Paul suggests.

[Bob_B]

Thanks for the advice! I would not have immediately jumped to the conclusion that these fibers are shed from the paper, but it sure makes loads of sense.

I'll have to buy one of those static brushes. In the meantime, I have an old phonograph record static gun and a good quality print brush. So, I'll use those two and maybe some canned compressed air to try and eliminate the dust.

It sure is frustrating to spend the time, effort, and money to make a great print, only to see it ruined by this dust. Has anyone been successful in attempting to 'cover' the dust marks with marking pens or other post-printing solutions? My guess is that such attempts are futile, but I thought I would ask.

Bob

[Mark D Segal]

Futile. Will always show at some angle or another. Reprint.

[Jeff-Grant]

Can someone please recommend a good brand and model brush. A quick search turned up a lot of them.

[Bob_B]

Can someone please recommend a good brand and model brush. A quick search turned up a lot of them.

+1; I would also appreciate your advice on brand and model of static brush.

[hugowolf]

... Has anyone been successful in attempting to 'cover' the dust marks with marking pens or other post-printing solutions? My guess is that such attempts are futile, but I thought I would ask.

I spot with archival pigment ink brush/pens. There are several different brands available. There is some gloss differential, which lessens after drying, but I still have to use a protective spray, and a few coats will usually rid the gloss difference.

I use Hahnemühle Protective Spray, which I am led to believe is identical to Moab Desert Varnish and PremierArt Print Shield.

Brian A

[Richard.Wills]

We print a lot on the platine, as well as IFA49 and FBAl, all of which have a habit of shedding dust.

Try to keep the inside of the printer clean - sod's law has a speck of dust just waiting inside the machine to land in the middle of the print.

For spotting, I keep the old used print cartridges around, and use genuine Epson or Canon ink (push the valve with a match a scalpel handle or similar) with a finely honed 000 brush.

Every so often, our building (set above an historic market in Brixton) has infestations of Pharaoh's ants. Little monsters creep in and settle on the loveliest papers, then get drowned with ink. Leaves a beautiful white imprint of a bug, when you blow the surface with an air line. (They also seem to love to sleep on the diffuser of the Imacon scanner...)

[Paul2660]

I agree with Mark on covering dust it unless it's pure black. I have gotten away with of touch ups on pure black.  But most times I just re-print. The key to the rag's is brushing off the paper face and the cover of the printer.  You would be surprised at how much of the junk is up in the cover (roll covers on Epson).  Also on Platine rolls, look inside of the roll and on the edges as a lot of trash gets up in there also.

A for a brush, as I mentioned earlier, the Kinentronics brand is excellent. 

http://kinetronics.com  I have used their brushed for years. 

You can also use a drafting brush, as long as it's not a very stiff bristle. 

Paul

[datro]

Can someone please recommend a good brand and model brush. A quick search turned up a lot of them.

I use the Alvin Draftsman's Duster # 2342 - nice and soft but effective.  It's not anti-static but for this purpose it works just fine.  You can find them at Art Supply stores.

[Bob_B]

I tried once again to get a dust-free print on my Canson paper. I carefully wiped the surface with a microfiber cloth, and then used a brush, followed by gently applied compressed air. I thought for sure no dust could be left, but the resulting print had a couple of dust marks. Mind you, these were minute compared to the dust I had seen. So, I guess I made some progress. I didn't pay any attention to the underside of the paper. Maybe that's where the dust is hiding? I think I'll try using my vacuum cleaner's brush attachment to lightly go over the paper front and back to remove any remaining dust. I also worry that dust is hiding in my printer, and plan to clean what I can soon.

I'll try again in a few days.

Bob

[howardm]

A guy I know uses a teknek.com hand roller but as I recall, they are silly expensive.

I also use an Alvin brush & compressed air (and gloves) to try to keep things dust free (w/ reasonably good success esp. since my pets are airborne dust generators).

[AlienAl]

This topic is related to a problem I had - flaking of the surface of inkjet prints made on fine-art paper with a Pixma Pro-1: tiny pieces (up to 1mm diam) of the print surface flaked off when I slid the print into a BOPP sleeve, or brushed the print lightly with the soft part of my finger or hand. Turned out it was a defective batch of paper, the Hahnemuehle William Turner 310. (Other textured papers may be prone to the problem.) HM replaced it for me, as it is a problem known to them, but what a waste - I had made several prints - which come out of the printer looking just perfect -  before discovering the problem. Seems that there are tiny protrusions from the paper which are very delicate and pop off with the least provocation. I suppose I wasn't the only one who got some of the bad batch - others will have already discovered the same thing, and others still are in for an unpleasant surprise. (Batch# B389516 is what I had.)

For details, see the long thread at the digital printing site across the street:  http://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3864792

[Some Guy]

Time to invest in a spotting kit.

I have a bunch of the old Marshall's Dyes that still work even for inkjet prints (And we sued tospot a lot even with older B&W papers too that had manufacturing issues at times.).  Freestyle Photo in Los Angles has a bunch of spotting supplies.  I think Fotospeed replaced the Marshall's sets at about $60 for the color set.

Here:  Photo retouch dyes.

I just leave the dyes in one of those cheap white plastic artist's palette trays (that have wells and look like an egg carton) where I keep sundry colors of dyes in all the bottoms.  Add water and they are alive again for spotting if they are dried out.  Need a nice tight spotting brush too.

I don't care for the pens or pencils as I cannot control the shade of the color as well (Too dark or too light, or just too sloppy.).  If it is a pock-marked divot, it can be built-up using thinned (water) Golden's Gels (Matte or Glossy) and tinted with the dye.  I work under a strong OptiVISOR for that sort of stuff too which seems to help me from going overboard and making it obvious.  Then over spray the entire print with something like Premier Art's PrintShield or similar as Brian above mentioned which holds it all together. 

It's extremely hard to detect the spot once it's done right - and practice makes perfect too.  One of our now closed local labs used to send a lot of work to some old-school retoucher woman who spotted and colored prints for a living for the local pros.  Stuff was amazing once she did her magic to them, even on serious emulsion cracks off stiff ferrotyped prints.

SG

[luxborealis]

I'm using Moab Entrada Rag Natural sheets. When I began to see dust specks the odd time, I started giving the paper a quick sweep with my hand or an anti-static cloth, holding the paper by one corner (away from the printer!). It's a 10-second addition to the process, but well worth it, even though dust is not a regular problem with Entrada Rag.