Media Type Settings for new Harman Gloss Baryta

[Dave_Wyatt]

I recently picked up an Epson 4900 to replace my ageing Epson 2100 (great matte printer, rubbish gloss printer) and so I've been experimenting heavily with various papers and have settled on Harman by Hahnemuhle Gloss Baryta as my preferred gloss media (Photo Rag is still winning the war for matte, although Sugarcane is giving it a run for its money...).  I have run all of the commonly available tests for deciding the optimum media type settings and can honestly say to the naked eye there is no difference between PLPP, PGPP, PSGPP and PSMPP.  When I checked the dmax the PSMPP won but had a reduced gamut when compared to the PSGPP, which is the option I am currently using with a custom profile I have made using a 4096 patch chart and am very impressed with the results.  I am still experimenting with the various settings and increasing the colour density (don't try 50%, you end up with a puddle of ink...!) and have found it interesting that with this paper it is very difficult to see when it is overinking -there is no smudging of the colours into one another.  I wonder what settings others have used, for both the 4900 and other printers, to get the most out of this paper?

[David Good]

Dave, I use this paper (ok, the original Harman) with my own profile built using the gloss media setting. That was the recommendation when using the Harman profiles and I found it to be optimal for me as well. The newer paper's profiles by Hahnemuhle suggest the luster media setting, indicating either a slight change in the paper or the paper profiler somehow determined this was a better setting.

There have been a few threads on here discussing this, including this one: http://www.luminous-landscape.com/forum/index.php?topic=56206.0

Dave

[digitaldog]

IF you're not seeing a difference visually on a good colored step wedge* then just pick one and move on to profiling it.

*there is such a test file you can download on my web page (ICC profile page).

[Dave_Wyatt]

Thanks Dave & Andrew

I never quite trust the manufacturer's recommended settings, they just relate to the settings used to produce the profiles they provide and are often not the optimal setting for the best quality.  Andrew's suggestion is in effect is what I ended up doing (I have both my own test charts plus tested using yours, Inkjetart's, Bill Atkinson's and several downloadable off Keith Cooper's Northlight Images site) but I'm still interested in what other people's findings were if they have experimented at all with the Harman by Hahnemuhle Gloss Baryta paper.  This is the first paper I have ever come across that really didn't show any difference in those tests with the Epson 4900 and even when I made rough profiles with a 288 patch target they were still all remarkably close with no singular one being an outright winner (some better in highlights, others better in shadows etc).

As a side note Andrew, I am actually awaiting a copy of your book which should come in today/tomorrow so will be interested to see what I can add to my workflow to ensure the best quality colour.

[PatrickAllen]

We just started using this paper at the request of a photographer who has an upcoming exhibit. I must say her 8x10 work does look pretty amazing on it. We are using the Premium Luster setting on the Epson 9900 with a custom profile and getting very nice results. We have not tested all of the other settings because frankly there is no need to when this setting is making beautiful prints.
Best,
Patrick Allen
www.kenallenstudios.com
www.patrickallenphotography.com