Epson 2400+Ilford Gold=head strikes

[Cooner]

I have attempted to print 5 13x19 sheets of the gold silk on a 2400 and have head strikes on each of them on the trailing end about 1 inch in.  I'm using the rear feed and have the thick media box checked in the print driver.  The only fix I've been able to find online is to curl the paper and place a 1/2 inch box on the receiving tray to help keep the paper from buckling up on the trailing end.  This fix seems as if it would have hit or miss results in solving the head strike problem.  I've read on the Epson 3800 that setting the platen gap to wider seems to work but that isn't an option with 2400.  Has anyone else had this problem using this printer, paper and sheet size combination?  If so, and have discovered a fix, I'd love to hear it.  By the way, the prints themselves looked good, I printed the same images on the Ilford and Epson luster and felt the Ilford prints were richer and slightly sharper but this head strike problem is a killer.

Douglas

[nickdavis]

I have attempted to print 5 13x19 sheets of the gold silk on a 2400 and have head strikes on each of them on the trailing end about 1 inch in.  I'm using the rear feed and have the thick media box checked in the print driver.  The only fix I've been able to find online is to curl the paper and place a 1/2 inch box on the receiving tray to help keep the paper from buckling up on the trailing end.  This fix seems as if it would have hit or miss results in solving the head strike problem.  I've read on the Epson 3800 that setting the platen gap to wider seems to work but that isn't an option with 2400.  Has anyone else had this problem using this printer, paper and sheet size combination?  If so, and have discovered a fix, I'd love to hear it.  By the way, the prints themselves looked good, I printed the same images on the Ilford and Epson luster and felt the Ilford prints were richer and slightly sharper but this head strike problem is a killer.

Douglas
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I had this happen on my R1800 yesterday. I do not have a fix.

[booksmartstudio]

Try supporting the paper when it comes out.  So it is straight and does not bend at all.  This is especially important when loading the Booksmart Fine Art Metal.

[David Good]

You are doing everything right, including placing a box on the tray so it does not bend down to meet it and selecting Thick Media under Printer Options in the driver. It may be that it's a particularly curled batch so a little more de-curling on the trailing edge may work. Humidity levels can also affect how flat a sheet remains.

I have had no problems printing on similar media on my 2400, including Harman Gloss FB (320) and Hahnemuhle Fine Art Baryta.

Dave

[redgrouse]

I had exactly the same problem yesterday with the head strikes but I also couldn't get the paper to print.  It kept cycling through blank and I got the "media incorrectly loaded" box.  I tried printing via the rear door, front load slot and regular sheet feeder.  Same thing each time with the blank page cycling through but I only noticed the head strike when trying the rear feeder.  I noticed on another 2400 thread that someone noted that Illford wants the Gold Silk set as a lustre paper.  Could the head strike be the result of the wrong paper setting being chosen somewhere? My paper was from a just opened pack so no curl issues.

[POAH]

I print this paper using the normal paper path.  I give it a curl in the opposite way to the paper and it workds perfectly well.  the only fibre based papers I've not had to curl are the innova fibaprint range and the harman range, all others hahemuhle, permajet, ilford, fotospeed etc I've had too.  the permajet and fotospeed were the worst

[capecodfish]

i have printed maybe 20-13x19 sheets of igfs rather painlessly through the rear manual feed slot.  i have not checked the "thick media" box.  i love the paper.  i have head strikes if i use the regular rear multiple paper feed though.

[redgrouse]

Okay, after another two hours of failure in trying to get the 2400 to print the Illford Golf Fibre via front loading or through the rear feed, I tried the regular sheet feeder again before I gave up and it worked perfectly.  Go figure.  This stuff is making me crazy...but no head strikes or anything (this time).

[David Good]

Agreed, if the Ilford paper is similar in thickness to the Harman offering then the "Thick Media" option need not be checked. Although approximately the same weight, some of the Hahnemuhle papers are physically thicker and may require that option. I am done my "paper chase" for now, time for some custom profiles to replace the canned ones.
I have to wonder if the extremes in temperature and humidity that these packages have to endure after they leave the factory can influence how flat they remain. For instance, for those of us in Canada, it is possible for a box of paper to be left overnight in a trailer or van in freezing temperatures.
As an aside, I am not experiencing any pizza wheel marks with any of these papers like I was experiencing with using more "luster" type papers. Makes the 38xx series of printers more attractive to me now.

Dave

[POAH]

the ilford paper does not curl after printing unike the hahnemuhe paper