Kudos to Ben Wolf & HP

[Geoff Wittig]

Just a quick note praising HP's response to a problem I had with their new Baryte satin art paper. The first couple of small prints on my Z3100 came out okay, but subsequent larger prints showed progressive cockling (ripples) and head strikes as the print heads snagged the peaks of the ripples. On a whim I sent an e-mail about this to Ben Wolf. He responded almost immediately, passing my e-mail to HP's Designjet media 'customer assurance manager', who in turn passed me on to one of their 'color scientists'. Within a couple of days they sent me a modified media preset along with concise instructions on how to load and use it. As I understand it, this preset lowered the amount of gloss enhancer applied. The results are much better. No more head strikes, and the cockling is limited to large prints with lots of shadow area. Even there it's less.

I feel a bit ungracious after all that effort admitting that I haven't fallen in love with the paper. Its surface really has nothing in common with HP's professional satin, which is much smoother. Baryte satin has a fine eggshell texture almost identical to that of Hahnemuhle photo rag pearl. It feels lighter than its quoted 290 gm/m2 weight. It does lay very nicely flat after printing, hand feel is quite nice, and image quality is also fine. I don't have anything to actually measure a d-max value, but blacks seem not quite as deep as I get on professional satin or photo rag pearl.

[Colorwave]

Geoff-
I have not had head strikes, but have had significant problems with flatness with this paper.  Could you share a little more of info about this secret sauce that solved your problems?  Is it a paper preset that is available to the public, or just to those who complain about it (I'm ready, if that's what it takes)?

[neil snape]

I suppose they just don't test the papers in enough environmental conditions to assure it's flatness.
It's funny that you mention Ben Wolf. He goes out of his way to keep things going in the right direction. He really has to be the one person who has saved HP even though it is well beyond his call of duty.
They need one someone to work with them on the more personalized side of photo printing. Whereas CAD printers are very technical for which the HP eng., can solve any problem thrown at them , photography is still misunderstood. There is as much esthetics involved in photo printing as there is technique.


I haven't tried the HP Baryte. I have been using Hahnemuhle PhotoRag Baryta as often as I can. I have other photographers currently redoing entire portfolios on it. Being at PAris Photo yesterday I looked for a better surface new or existing. So far nothing beats it, especially on the Z. It will have to be optimised though through the presets, as the current presets are just not good enough.

[Geoff Wittig]

Geoff-
I have not had head strikes, but have had significant problems with flatness with this paper.  Could you share a little more of info about this secret sauce that solved your problems?  Is it a paper preset that is available to the public, or just to those who complain about it (I'm ready, if that's what it takes)?

Good question. I'll ask them via e-mail if there's a way for them to get this out to the broader community, or if I can simply link to it.

[Dale_Cotton2]

Geoff wrote:

but subsequent larger prints showed progressive cockling (ripples)

I am seeing this on both the baryta fibre papers I am using, too. Thanks for the great term to describe it. I picked up a tip for minimizing it years ago on a dpreview forum but unfortunately don't have the chap's name.

• Wait maybe half a minute after the printer ejects the finished print to allow the ink to settle.
• While the substrate (actual paper of the print) is still damp, curl it around ink-side in, as if to put it in a mailing tube, but only enough so that the right edge and left edge abut, forming a cylinder.
• Leave it like that until the substrate is no longer damp - maybe fifteen minutes. One could tie it with a string or some such for this stage, but I just sandwich it between two pieces of furniture moved close enough together to create just the right gap.
• After that the print may show a bit of curl but that should disappear in a few more minutes if left to lie flat. I find this will at least greatly reduce the cockling, and often eliminate it entirely.

[Geoff Wittig]

A quick follow-up:
The folks at HP are going to test the new preset for HP Baryte satin a bit more, but it'll be posted on HP's usual media page when they're sure it's "done".