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Author Topic: Looking for info/posts/articles on dye/pigment and papers for each  (Read 1153 times)

rlh1138

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As part of upgrading my printer  (Epson 870 - so you can seen how far back in the past I am) I'm reading up on dye vs. pigment - and have learned lots.  Pigment sure looks much improved BTW.  But my question focuses on a topic I only briefly came across -an article (that I now can't find) that seemed to be saying one of the things to consider in the dye vs pigment arena was whether you printed mostly either matte or glossy, or did you use both equally.  The implication was that dye suited one better, and pigment the other.  I've been unable to find other information on this point - searching here was not useful in that including the word 'paper' in a search led to many many posts.  So.. just looking to be pointed in the right direction, if you have or recall info on this topic, on this or other sites, articles, whatever. 

Thanks for any help

Ray Hudson
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Ernst Dinkla

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Re: Looking for info/posts/articles on dye/pigment and papers for each
« Reply #1 on: October 05, 2011, 03:38:56 am »

Papers made specifically for dye inks and offering better fade resistance for dye inks are becoming more rare. The variety has never been as wide as papers usable with pigment inks and is getting smaller too. There are more and more printers that make the switch between gloss and matte pigment inks (PK-MK) easier or do not need a switch at all. With few exceptions the higher quality photo printers are pigment ink printers that can print on a wide variety of papers. Using dye printers either reduces your media choices or with incompatible papers reduces the print's fade resistance. There could still be an advantage in better gloss, better color gamut, higher Dmax (on matte papers), cheaper ink prices and better printer consistency with dye inks but in many cases there is no longer that difference. So the article may have lost its value in time. IMHO.


met vriendelijke groeten, Ernst

New: Spectral plots of +250 inkjet papers:

http://www.pigment-print.com/spectralplots/spectrumviz_1.htm
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John Nollendorfs

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Re: Looking for info/posts/articles on dye/pigment and papers for each
« Reply #2 on: October 05, 2011, 10:53:11 am »

The biggest advantage the dyes had, was on gloss type papers.(more closely mimicking traditional photo prints) While you can print dyes on any of the micro-porous papers aimed at pigments, fading can start in just a matter of months. The micro-porous surface opens the inks to atmospheric contaminants--primarily Ozone, that breaks down the dyes quite quickly. The preferred papers for dyes are coated with swellable polymer, that incapsulates the droplets. These were mostly made by Ilford, under their "classic" label. Dyes can last a long time under low humidity conditions.

The other major advantage of dyes over pigments is the lack of residue build-up in printers and keeping all nozzles firing. They require much less maintenance. But modern pigmented printers have been improved over the last 5 years to greatly reduce these problems.

But, as Ernst has stated, the new crop of pigmented printers has for the most part resulted in prints that are look nearly as good, that can be printed on a very wide array of papers, and last easily a 100 years under average viewing conditions.
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