Head strikes on Epson 3880 and Ilford Gold Mono Silk 17x22

[mseawell]

Last night I wasted 4 sheets of Ilford 17X22 Gold Mono Silk on my Epson 3880. Head strikes in multiple places, ugly. I set the thickness of the paper to 3 and tried various platen settings (except widest). After killing that tree I tried printing on Harmon Glossy 13x19 same imgae.....not a scratch on it, perfect. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Tired of killing trees!

Mark

[howardm]

it would be helpful to know where the strikes occur (mid page, edges, trailing edge, dark areas, etc etc).

The paper is 2.7mm so setting to 3 is the absolute minimum and I'd probably shoot for 4.  Also, 'Widest' may be a win
too.  have you tried smaller sheets and seen the same problem?  Have you put the sheets on a flat surface and checked if the paper has curls or buckling?

[mseawell]

The strikes are located in the upper left and the right bottom and the ink itself on the paper looks smeared! Again, I printed a Harman Gloss Baryta 13x19 and it came out pretty much flawless. I will put the paper on a flat surface and see if there are issues. Thanks for the response!