Topic: Disappointed with Scratches on Ilford GFS (Read 4849 times)

fike · « **on:** December 18, 2009, 11:58:21 am »

I have been using Ilford Gold Fiber Silk as my large format paper of choice for fine art prints. It is reasonably priced, has a pleasing texture that doesn't overwhelm the image, and has a finish that matches my aesthetic ideas of a print. I also have used Hahnemuhle Fine Art Pearl and Harmon Gloss FBAL. The ilford is the best of the bunch, and cheapest of the bunch, but I have been having trouble with scratches coming out on my roll prints from my 7880. Prints on Epson Premium Luster don't have scratches.

Has anyone else seen this problem? Is it particularly fragile immediately after printing? Sometimes I stack new prints (they are generally 24" x 4X") because I don't have room to lay them all out. I haven't had problems doing this with other papers.

thoughts....

Wayne Fox · « **Reply #1 on:** December 18, 2009, 05:32:32 pm »

What paper type are you using?

I assume you've tried all the normal things, like setting platten gap to wider. Does the 7880 have the ability to adjust the vacuum pressure? If so increasing that might help.

Can you tell where the scratches are coming from? That paper is very soft ... just rubbing through the exit area could scratch it.

(edit .. realized my question maybe wasn't clear. What paper type are you setting in the Epson Dialog box, but I assume it is the one recommended by the profile.)

francois · « **Reply #2 on:** December 19, 2009, 04:12:50 am »

It's not going to help you but I also found that the Illford GFS paper is extremely prone to scratching. I always take great care to handle prints. Just a couple of days ago, a customer managed to lightly scratch one of my Illford GFS print…
I'm not using too many different paper types (Epson, Illford, Moab and Hahnemuhle) but the GFS is the most fragile.

StevenSzabo · « **Reply #3 on:** March 25, 2010, 03:26:53 am »

I had the same problem using GFS on my 9900, long scratches running down the paper in the direction of travel through the printer. I haven't printed on it much since the issue, but seemed to have aleviated the issue by setting the platten gap to wide.

Bill Koenig · « **Reply #4 on:** March 25, 2010, 04:46:22 pm »

Printing IGFS with my 3800 I found that setting platen gap to wide and the thickness to 5 or even 6 seems to help when printing 17x25 cut sheets from rolls, or printing to Harman FB AL 17x25 cut sheets.
I really like the look of these papers when printing B&W, the blacks are so, black.
I take a lot night scenes which lay down a lot of black ink, this causes these papers to warp even more on the way out of the printer which means more scratches, and when you get a scratch in a solid black area, it stands out like sore thumb.
As much as I like these papers, I more or less have given up on them. Even if I don't get scratch's, these papers will not sit flat when framed.
Right now the humidity is low here in Wisconsin, but spring and summer are around the corner and the humidity will be on the rise, I'm not sure if this will help or just make matters worse.
I don't want hijack this thread, so I'm going start a new one about flatness in regards to these papers.

JohnBrew · « **Reply #5 on:** March 25, 2010, 05:09:28 pm »

Delete

robgo2 · « **Reply #6 on:** March 26, 2010, 01:56:32 pm »

I have noticed some very fine linear scratches in GFS 17x22 directly out of the Epson 3880. Strange as it may seem, the scratches can be gently finger-rubbed out with a cotton glove. Doing this does not seem to affect the image detail significantly. I have tried this on several prints with success, but I don't know if will always leave no trace. I will try increasing the paper width to 5. I already have the platen gap as wide as it will go to prevent pizza-wheel marks.

Rob

Pete Berry · « **Reply #7 on:** March 26, 2010, 03:05:12 pm »

I'm wondering how ink type dependant this problem is, as I have seen no problem with micro-scratching on rather casually handled GFS prints from my Canon iPF5000 since I upgraded its four grayscale inks to the 5100 inks. These have resin encapsulated pigment for a more scratch-resistant surface, and the sensitivity of GFS and Harmon Gloss was the main reason for the ink switch (not an inexpensive procedure, as heads and lines have to be purged due to possible precipitation if the old and new are mixed, and a minor hassle of cutting out a couple of blocking tabs in each new cart to match the indexed slot).

The new iPFX300 series (24 & 44") supposedly has even tougher inks, in addition to increased color gamut.

Pete

gofioamasado · « **Reply #8 on:** March 28, 2010, 10:54:32 am »

I've also got scratches with Ilford GFS on an Epson 7900. I thought it was at papel falling down into the container after printing, so I'm going to follow your advices.

gofioamasado · « **Reply #9 on:** March 30, 2010, 01:55:25 pm »

I've writen to Ilford regarding this issue and this was the answer I've received:

Dear Luis,
Thank you very much for your email and interest in ILFORD products.
Problems like the one explained by you are generally caused by the printer rather than the media. Please check your printer manual, particularly about the printing gap.
Sorry for not being able to give a more precise answer.
Kind regards
ILFORD Imaging Switzerland GmbH
Technical websupport

I requested permission to reproduce this answer in this forum and they agreed.

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