to print on watercolor paper

[bwana]

part of a project requires multiple media painting and I am to produce something on watercolor paper. Specifically, the paper is made by Canson and is labeled cold press, fine grain, 300 g.
It's this stuff:
http://www.aswexpress.com/discount-art-supplies/paper-and-sketchbooks/watercolor-sheets-and-blocks/canson/student-series.html

So my question is- which icc profile should i use and what should i tell my printer about the paper i am using. Obviously it's going to be of the 'matte variety' but should i pick
proofing paper semimatte
or from the fine art menu-velvet fine art, ultrasmooth or watercolor
or from the matte menu-enhanced matte, archival matte, photoquality inkjet or singleweight matte
or something else?

I am not asking anyone to do my work for me, just point me in the right direction so i dont waste too much ink and paper.

Also, a minor problem
I tried the watercolor setting with the single weight matte profile. The printer (epson 3800) asks me to use the rear slot. But no matter what I do, it gives me a 'paper skew error'. Since this is an unusual paper, I suspect I am goofing on a setting and the printer cant deal with it. Any suggestions/experience?

[Alan Goldhammer]

It's not going to have an inkjet coating so you shouldn't expect great results and you will probably see a lot of image bleed.  I don't think you can make any educated guess about a profile and you might as well set your printer to manage the colors and see what happens.  It appears that this is a reasonably heavy paper at 300 gsm and you should use the rear feeder.  I don't know the exact names of the papers on the 3800 as I have a 3880, but I would guess using the watercolor  (on the 3880 I think it's watercolor radiant white or something like that).  You are going to have to do some experimentation on this.

[Randy Carone]

The paper that you referenced in your link is not inkjet coated. Canson produces inkjet versions of many of their papers. I don't know exactly which Canson inkjet paper would be the offset to the paper you want to use but you may want to do a bit more research to find the Canson match. Canson's BFK Rives, Arches Velin Museum Rag and Edition Etching are cold press papers with tooth. One of them may be a suitable alternate to your paper.

Regarding printing on Canson (or any other 3rd party paper), most producers have icc profiles on their websites with info on what media type to use. I would choose Velvet Fine Art for the paper type you reference AND Velvet Fine Art for the profile, if you don't have the manufacturers profile and media suggestions.

When you load a sheet from the rear feed on the 3800 the front (bottom) edge of the paper MUST be dead straight or the head will read the paper as a skew. I have had to re-trim canvas that I cut from a roll because the edge wasn't a perfect 90º cut. In addition, when the rear feed is used, continue to put slight downward pressure on the top edge of the paper even after the printer has begun to feed the paper. It sometimes needs that extra 'help' for the media to load correctly.

[bwana]

thank you both for sharing your experience and helpful direction. i certainly will remember shades of paper next time i look to purchase.

[Paul Roark]

I now regularly print B&W images on Arches Hot Press watercolor paper.  It has the highest dmax I've found with an un-coated paper -- better than some coated inkjet papers.  However, for good results, a rip is needed.  The profiling trick is to hold the midtone ink limits way down to stop the bleed, but for a good black, crank the ink limit way up.  The Epson driver can't really do a good job on these papers.

Paul
www.PaulRoark.com

[framah]

Ok... I know this is off the subject BUT.....

I wonder what would happen if one had some regular (non inkjet coated) water color paper... annnd..
moistened it like one would if one was painting a water color so the paints  purposely bled.... annnnd then... ran THAT thru the Epson pigment ink printer!!!

It doesn't have to be WET but wiped with a wet sponge just so the fiber absorbs the water.

The mind boggles!

[Alan Goldhammer]

Ok... I know this is off the subject BUT.....

I wonder what would happen if one had some regular (non inkjet coated) water color paper... annnd..
moistened it like one would if one was painting a water color so the paints  purposely bled.... annnnd then... ran THAT thru the Epson pigment ink printer!!!

It doesn't have to be WET but wiped with a wet sponge just so the fiber absorbs the water.

The mind boggles!

I have an artist friend who duplicates this exact thing just using PS.  I've printed out some of her work and it's quite good.

[Randy Carone]

My guess is that the inkjet coating would IMMEDIATELY soak up the water, and be dry to the touch. This may then limit the amount of ink the coating could accept, since the coating is now partially saturated. I don't think that the pre-soak would allow the subsequent ink to bleed until you reached the saturation point of the coating. At that point, the results would probably look like a print where the ink limit had been reached and the ink would pool where it was too heavy for the coating to accept.

[Ernst Dinkla]

My guess is that the inkjet coating would IMMEDIATELY soak up the water, and be dry to the touch. This may then limit the amount of ink the coating could accept, since the coating is now partially saturated. I don't think that the pre-soak would allow the subsequent ink to bleed until you reached the saturation point of the coating. At that point, the results would probably look like a print where the ink limit had been reached and the ink would pool where it was too heavy for the coating to accept.

My thoughts are with the printer ..........

Paul does it the other way around with B&W if I recall it correctly, print first and then soak the watercolor paper in water to get rid of all ink media and just have only carbon pigment in the paper.


met vriendelijke groeten, Ernst
Shareware too:
330+ paper white spectral plots:
http://www.pigment-print.com/spectralplots/spectrumviz_1.htm