Museo Silver Rag .... Outgassing?

[bellimages]

I recently switched to Museo Silver Rag. As always, I am allowing the prints to dry for 24 hours. Do I need to insert sheets of paper between my photos when I store them? Or isn't outgassing a problem with this paper?

[Alan Goldhammer]

I recently switched to Museo Silver Rag. As always, I am allowing the prints to dry for 24 hours. Do I need to insert sheets of paper between my photos when I store them? Or isn't outgassing a problem with this paper?

It's not so much a matter of outgassing but protecting the surface of the print.  I think it's good practice interleaving a sheet of acid free paper between prints if you are storing them for any length of time.  Outgassing is only an issue when framing under glass or acrylic.  Residual solvents coat the inner surface of the glazing.  If you are just storing them, any residuals will go into the environment around the print (as long as you are not storing things in an airtight box which I don't think would be the case).

[Ernst Dinkla]

Outgassing is mainly a problem with RC papers where the PE barriers prevent the evaporation of media solvents through the back. How porous Silver Rag's base is I can't tell but it isn't an RC paper.


met vriendelijke groeten, Ernst


New: Spectral plots of +250 inkjet papers:

http://www.pigment-print.com/spectralplots/spectrumviz_1.ht

[Alan Goldhammer]

Outgassing is mainly a problem with RC papers where the PE barriers prevent the evaporation of media solvents through the back. How porous Silver Rag's base is I can't tell but it isn't an RC paper.


met vriendelijke groeten, Ernst


New: Spectral plots of +250 inkjet papers:

http://www.pigment-print.com/spectralplots/spectrumviz_1.ht

It is a cotton rag base with no "anti-curl backing"  I suspect that it is quite porous and outgassing is not a major issue.  Just FYI, I do a lot of printing on this paper and have not encountered outgassing issues.  I generally don't frame any prints for a minimum of 48 hours after printing (more a personal workflow issue than anything else).

[bellimages]

Alan, good to hear. I also allow my prints to air dry at least 48 hours before framing .... generally more. I've had outgassing problems in the past, but it has been with RC papers. So good to hear that I shouldn't experience it with Museo Silver Rag.

BTW .... the D-max on this paper is outstanding. I marvel at the rich, dense blacks.

Jan Bell
www.bellimages.com

[bellimages]

I just stacked a few prints that I printed on Silver Rag. As I stacked them, I questioned the need to have a slip sheet between each print. Silver Rag is 100% cotton rag ... a nice soft product. Therefore, as I stack them, the back of one print is laying against the printed side of the next.

I have some slip sheets that I purchased from Light Impressions. But I really don't think that I need to use them anymore.

Thoughts???

[Alan Goldhammer]

I just stacked a few prints that I printed on Silver Rag. As I stacked them, I questioned the need to have a slip sheet between each print. Silver Rag is 100% cotton rag ... a nice soft product. Therefore, as I stack them, the back of one print is laying against the printed side of the next.

I have some slip sheets that I purchased from Light Impressions. But I really don't think that I need to use them anymore.

Thoughts???

Silver Rag cut sheets come with interleave sheets in the package and those are the ones I use.

[bellimages]

I use roll stock .... so no interleaf sheets. Again, I ask, why does such a soft (100% cotton) need to place sheets between each print?

[Alan Goldhammer]

I use roll stock .... so no interleaf sheets. Again, I ask, why does such a soft (100% cotton) need to place sheets between each print?

Force of habit is my only explanation

[johncustodio]

Anyone using Silver Rag: What is your success/reject rate with this paper in regards to specks or other foreign matter embedded in the coating or paper base? I really like this paper (I use it on an HP Z3100), but find it extremely difficult to use. In the last 2 17x22 boxes that I've used I find that every 3rd or 4th sheet has 1 or 2 specks somewhere on the sheet. If they are near the edges or in a place on the print that will be covered by heavy ink I can use the sheet. If not, I use it for proofs, not final prints. I've had this problem on rolls also. It's very time consuming to have to examine each sheet before printing. I don't necessarily mind doing this, but there are always prints that I've had to discard because of a speck or two that I missed before printing.

With a paper like Canson Platine Fiber Rag, on the other hand, I might find one or 2 sheets maximum in a 25 sheet 17x22 box with specks, usually just 1 speck on a sheet.

-John

[Alan Goldhammer]

I only use 13x19 and have found the boxes I've received problem free.

[Rob Reiter]

I use a lot of Silver Rag (rolls only) and have never experienced any serious flaking. Here and there a speck, which could just as easily have been a flake of residual dust on the surface during printing, but nothing that leads me to think there is a problem with the paper.

[johncustodio]

When I say a speck what I mean is a black or brown speck, a piece of foreign matter embedded in either the coating or the paper. A white speck or flake is usually a piece of dust that was on the paper when the ink was laid down. The piece of dust falls off, taking the ink with it. This can usually be retouched with a brush and ink. The black or brown speck can't be removed.

-John

[RoderickBalle]

Anyone using Silver Rag: What is your success/reject rate with this paper in regards to specks or other foreign matter embedded in the coating or paper base..... I've had this problem on rolls also.
-John

I'm having this exact same issue with Silver Rag on 17" rolls, and are close to dumping it, because of the QC issues. Pity, as it is a nice paper, but I've wasted so much ink and paper, I just can't afford to keep having to scrap large prints. Very annoyed with Museo over this, as it's my second roll in a row that's having bits fall off, despite me giving it a very light brush, which is not always convenient when printing off rolls. Also, what platen gap are you using with Silver Rag? Printing with a wide platen gap results in "extra" white bits in my experience.

[johncustodio]

I'm printing on an HP Z3100, so the platen gap is set to wide, but this doesn't seem to have any effect. The problem I'm having with Silver Rag primarily is foreign particles embedded in the coating. I complained to Museo a while back and they sent me a free 24" roll as a replacement. This roll still had particles, but I worked around it by cutting individual sheets from the roll, cutting around the particles. I was able to get quite a few clean sheets out of it, but it was a fair amount of work. I complained again, and they sent me another roll, but the results were the same. A secondary problem I'm having with this paper is what you are describing as white bits falling off. Usually this is caused by dust particles sitting on the paper while printing. The dust falls of and takes the ink with it. Also could be caused by loose coating particles, but this usually is on matte paper, not glossy paper. These white spots are more noticeable in prints that have large dark areas. In any case I can usually retouch the white spots by using a brush and ink. However, recent batches of Silver Rag seem to have particles embedded in the coating that are not visible on examination before printing. They're white like the paper, not black or brown. These white specks won't accept ink on retouching. With a magnifier I can see the ink being absorbed around the speck, but essentially "rolling off" the speck. This is a worse problem than black specks, which can be seen before printing and worked around. White specks that can't be retouched result in a discarded print. I've also had this problem with Hahnemuehle Photo Rag Baryta. Canson Platine Fiber Rag seems to work much better: very low instances of black specks, and any white specks are easily retouched.

A very interesting article on paper QC issues was written about a year ago by Ctein. Check this out:
http://theonlinephotographer.typepad.com/the_online_photographer/2010/04/theyre-selling-us-crap-paper.html