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Author Topic: Is this a very bad idea? Epsons3880 on Innovas FibraPrint White Matte - 2  (Read 4871 times)

matthias_

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For unknown reasons I cant access my original post anymore. Therefor I started the discussion here again...


Hello All

I am using an Epson 3880 printing on Innovas FibaPrint White Matte 285gsm IFA39. I am using Innovas recommended settings and ICC profiles but the printing quality is not acceptable. Colors are subdued and blotched and can't be compared to my printing experience with other papers e.g. Hahnemuehle. I have also checked results without any color management using Adobes Color Printer Utility and with different media settings but the results are still unacceptable. I have attached a scan of a test chart used for profiling printed on IFA39 without any color management. Zooming in to say 800% shows the blotched color patches that I have not seen with other papers e.g. HFA Photo Rag 308gsm or HFA FineArt Pearl 285gsm.

I am guessing that there is something wrong with my settings or using an Epson 3880 on Innova FibaPrint IFA39 is a very bad idea.

Help is very much appreciated.

Thanks!

Settings used:
------------------------------------------------------------
Page Setup:      Rear Manual Feed
Media Type:      Watercolor Paper Radiant White, Velvet Fine Art Paper, UltraSmooth Fine Art Paper or Ultra Premium Presentation Paper Matte
Ink:                 MK
Resolution:       1440dpi
High Speed:      No
Finest Detail:     No
16 Bit:              No
Thickness:        0.3mm

Summary: Printing on Innovas IFA39 using Epsons 3880 with unacceptable results. In need of help from somebody with experience using Innovas papers with Epson K3 inks / Epsons 3880.

« Last Edit: October 07, 2012, 06:39:35 am by matthias_ »
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hugowolf

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For unknown reasons I cant access my own post anymore. Therefor I am adding the missing attachment here. Please find the original post under the same subject.
I don't think it is available to anyone, care to give a précis of the contents?

Brian A
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Dan Wells

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For whatever reason, I can't reply to the original topic... I can think of at least four possibilities (the 3880 is a very standard printer - perhaps THE standard inkjet for photography, and a non 3880-friendly paper would be a major surprise)... One is that you have a bad box of paper - it does happen, not terribly commonly, but it is far from unheard of. The second is that the paper is packed upside-down compared to the papers you are used to, and you're printing on the back of the sheet - don't laugh (I've printed on the back of more sheets of inkjet paper than I care to recall, because it can be hard to tell with many matte papers) - FibaPrint white matte doesn't seem to be a double-sided paper, at least from the specs I could locate. Another possibility would be a lousy profile - I haven't printed on enough Innova papers to know how good or bad theirs tend to be. Some paper manufacturers just don't ship great profiles. Yet another possibility is that your paper type setting is not the same as whatever Innova used when they made the profile. There are at least four or five type settings paper makers use when profiling matte papers on the 3880, and Enhanced Matte is quite different from, say, Velvet Fine Art.

                               -Dan
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matthias_

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Hello Brian

please find below my original post.

Regards, Matthias

Hello All

I am using an Epson 3880 printing on Innovas FibaPrint White Matte 285gsm IFA39. I am using Innovas recommended settings and ICC profiles but the printing quality is not acceptable. Colors are subdued and blotched and can't be compared to my printing experience with other papers e.g. Hahnemuehle. I have also checked results without any color management using Adobes Color Printer Utility and with different media settings but the results are still unacceptable. I have attached a scan of a test chart used for profiling printed on IFA39 without any color management. Zooming in to say 800% shows the blotched color patches that I have not seen with other papers e.g. HFA Photo Rag 308gsm or HFA FineArt Pearl 285gsm.

I am guessing that there is something wrong with my settings or using an Epson 3880 on Innova FibaPrint IFA39 is a very bad idea.

Help is very much appreciated.

Thanks!

Settings used:
------------------------------------------------------------
Page Setup:      Rear Manual Feed
Media Type:      Watercolor Paper Radiant White, Velvet Fine Art Paper, UltraSmooth Fine Art Paper or Ultra Premium Presentation Paper Matte
Ink:                 MK
Resolution:       1440dpi
High Speed:      No
Finest Detail:     No
16 Bit:              No
Thickness:        0.3mm

Summary: Printing on Innovas IFA39 using Epsons 3880 with unacceptable results. In need of help from somebody with experience using Innovas papers with Epson K3 inks / Epsons 3880.
« Last Edit: October 06, 2012, 06:26:08 pm by matthias_ »
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matthias_

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Hi Dan

Thanks for your feedback.

I just want to point out that because the settings I used were very different and because the print quality was consistently bad with very similar problems in all settings I assumed that the problem was most likely the paper and not the settings.

Nevertheless, I am also with you when you say that it seems unlikely that the paper is unacceptable because the combination Epson 3880 and IFA39 should have been chosen by others and it seems nobody has complained yet.

May I ask if there is anybody who has used Epsons 3880 on IFA39 reading this post?

Regards, Matthias
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RFPhotography

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What do you expect to see when you zoom in to 800%?  That is more than a little unreasonable. 
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Dan Wells

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Hello Matthias-
     Your tests eliminate two of my ideas - you tried a good enough selection of matte/art settings that I'm guessing that it is not the paper type setting, and the fact that you printed some charts without color management eliminates the possibility of a bad profile. I'm guessing that you have a bad batch of paper, unless there is any possibility that the paper is upside down (some papers are white enough on the back side that the best way to tell is that the front is stickier if you touch it with a damp finger).

                         -Dan
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matthias_

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Hi Dan

Thanks for your feedback. I will open another pack of paper and will check as soon as it arrives. I also tested the sheets with a damp finger. At the moment I hope that its just a bad batch.

Regards, Matthias
« Last Edit: October 07, 2012, 06:03:26 am by matthias_ »
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matthias_

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Hello Bob

The quality of the test charts of say HFA FA Pearl 285gsm or HFA Photo Rag 308gsm is almost the same except of course that the first is a glossy paper and the second is a mat paper. Colors are saturated and patches are homogeneous and not blotchy. I have scanned for you the very worst print on HFA FA Pearl 285gsm (of 5 test prints with different settings) for a comparison with the best test print on IFA39 (of 5 test prints with the settings mentioned earlier). Please be assured that all the white specs on the HFA FA Pearl chart are dust specs. Also I would like to mention that the differences between IFA39 and the HFA FA Pearl test charts are easily visible to the naked eye - there is no need for magnification to see the problem.

Please let me know what you think.

Regards, Matthias




« Last Edit: October 07, 2012, 01:46:42 pm by matthias_ »
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matthias_

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If there is anybody with experience with Innova papers especially IFA39....please speak up.
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