ipf6100 papers. impressions and questions...

[suttree]

I recently purchased an ipf6100, and I've been going through some sample packs of papers, testing various images and profiles. In the past I had printed with Museo Silver Rag, Hahnemuhle Photo Rag 308, and Epson Prem. Luster on an Epson 4800, with good results (I still enjoy Silver Rag's mellow creamy tone, and can live with the paper grain).

However, over the past few weeks I've tried a couple of other papers: Ilford Gold Fiber Silk, Harman FB Al Glossy, and Innova Ultrasmooth Glossy 285. All were tried with profiles from the manufacturer (all for the ipf5000, I believe), using the Special 5 media type. My impressions:

Ilford: warmest of the three, still cooler than Silver Rag. Unobtrusive, even sheen, a little gloss differential. Warm colors seem to glow with this paper. Seems most economical.

Harman. Glossiest of the three; smooth, even sheen with the lowest gloss differential of the three. Also felt the thinnest of the three papers.

Innova: Probably my preferred texture and feel of the three. Very sharp results, sharper than the Harman, which was sharper than Ilford. Seemed to do best with dense darks, and b&ws had a glow in the mid-tone range that struck me immediately. Had a longish grain (more so than the other two, less than Silver Rag) that really didn't bother me. Default profile seemed to have trouble with saturated warm tones, but I didn't have enough sheets to really do a serious test. Also seemed to suffer the least from the far-end feed banding, perhaps due to its weight.

I have Booksmart profiles coming for the Ilford, Harman, and Silver Rag, and plan on having profiles done for the Innova & Premium Luster as well.

Anyone else using these papers on the x100 series? If so, I'd love to hear your impressions.

And are there any matte papers that you have been taken with, when printing on the x100 series? I haven't really strayed into matte printing on this printer yet, and was hoping for some paper suggestions before starting out.

So far I am very happy with the printer. I really can't believe how sparing it is with the ink, while still delivering such great results. If my prints do well during an upcoming arts festival, I'll be even happier with it!

[djgarcia]

I have an iPF5000 and now also an iPF6100. I've switched over from Hahnemuhle Photo Rag to Hahnemuhle Baryta. At first the "naugahyde" texture put me off, but after a few prints I realized you only really noticed the texture from off normal viewing angles. From the natural viewing angles you didn't notice it at all. Everyone I've shown it to ends up with the same conclusion - it's a definite improvement over the HPR, unless you really want the totally matt look.

I'm not into glossy and don't like sheens like the pearls / lusters, but I love the deep rich blacks and shadows of this non-glossy-looking glossy paper. Dark shadow browns, reds and greens that tend to look muddy in typical fine art matt look great in this paper.

Another plus is the surface takes a lot of punishment without degrading, and the roll paper de-curls (?) easily.

Or possibly my eyes are starting to go .