Printing onto uncoated papers.

[Garry Sarre]

I print from time to time onto textured uncoated papers.

The results have been 'good enough' for the purpose. Usually just pricelists and thank you cards.

I'd like to get a little more serious photographically with it. I have an Epson 9900 and I don't personally profile my own papers. But if need be, I would start.

Currently I mainly use Canson Photographique, but if the image subject matter suited the flatter and softer affect of uncoated, I'd like to try it out on some lovely textured water colour papers.

Has anyone had a go at profiling uncoated art papers, and if so, what have been your thoughts about it.

[Simon J.A. Simpson]

You can profile any paper.  It really depends on how it takes the ink and whether there is any significant bleeding.

[Mark D Segal]

I print from time to time onto textured uncoated papers.

The results have been 'good enough' for the purpose. Usually just pricelists and thank you cards.

I'd like to get a little more serious photographically with it. I have an Epson 9900 and I don't personally profile my own papers. But if need be, I would start.

Currently I mainly use Canson Photographique, but if the image subject matter suited the flatter and softer affect of uncoated, I'd like to try it out on some lovely textured water colour papers.

Has anyone had a go at profiling uncoated art papers, and if so, what have been your thoughts about it.

I recently saw some photographs printed on Arches uncoated paper. For the subject matter the media was appropriate and they succeeded in creating what must have been the intended effect. It is of course rather flat, and as toned B&W they probably didn't challenge what would be the limited gamut. Such papers must be custom profiled and the photo edited under soft proof to get predictable results from them.

[Garry Sarre]

Okay, looks like I'll jump in and start profiling my self. Not my most knowledgable field. Thanks Mark and Simon.

[Mark D Segal]

Okay, looks like I'll jump in and start profiling my self. Not my most knowledgable field. Thanks Mark and Simon.

Garry, you may wish to look into the alternatives of creating your own profiles versus ordering a custom profile from a reliable provider. To make high quality profiles you need to invest in equipment/software and learn how to use it. It comes at different price points depending on your needs, but if you only intend on needing the occasional custom profile, it may be cheaper and easier to buy the service. Something to evaluate before jumping-in.

[Garry Sarre]

Garry, you may wish to look into the alternatives of creating your own profiles versus ordering a custom profile from a reliable provider.

Good advice Mark. Yes, it's a toss up. I love papers and often find myself wondering how they would print with the correct profile.

I used a B&W profile made by Les Walkling once, with some old special spectrometer that they don't make anymore, or are difficult to get hold of. It was the most beautifully neutral Inkjet mono print I've ever seen.

[digitaldog]

I used a B&W profile made by Les Walkling once, with some old special spectrometer that they don't make anymore, or are difficult to get hold of. It was the most beautifully neutral Inkjet mono print I've ever seen.

Well it wasn't the Spectrophotometer that accounted for that, but probably the package that built the profile from that measured data.


Not all ICC profiles are created equally

In this 23 minute video, I'll cover:
The basic anatomy of ICC Profiles
Why there are differences in profile quality and color rendering
How to evaluate an ICC output profile
Examples of good and not so good canned profiles and custom profiles on actual printed output.

High resolution: http://digitaldog.net/files/Not_All_Profiles_are_created_equally.mp4
Low resolution (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNdR_tIFMME&feature=youtu.be

[Garry Sarre]

Well it wasn't the Spectrophotometer that accounted for that, but probably the package that built the profile from that measured

Brilliant. Thanks Andrew, very generous. I'm going through you tutorials now.