paper for iPF6400 color calibration

[pcgpcg]

I want to know what paper I can use to color calibrate my new iPF6400.  I am referring to the built-in color calibration that uses the built-in sensors in the 6400.  I don't have the spectrophotometer option, nor do I own a spectrophotometer. I have read the user manual and talked to two different Canon people (one a tech support person and the other a Canon rep) and can't get a straight answer.

Here's what I've learned so far:

The user manual lists 21 different papers "available in North or South America" that can be used for color calibration, 17 of which can be calibrated with a "common" calibration and four of which require a "unique" calibration.  I cannot find any of these papers available online or locally in anything but rolls. Everyone I've talked to has told me to use glossy paper for color calibration.  I don't need glossy paper for what I print (I have rolls and boxes of matte) and would prefer not to have to buy a roll of paper when all I need is an occasional 8-1/2" x 11" sheet.

The Canon tech person told me I could use the "adjustment paper" that comes with the printer. This is the paper that is used for doing print head alignment.  However, it has no obvious Canon name or number, other than a number that the tech person was unable to identify, which means it will be difficult to get more when I need to calibrate again.  I'd also like to reserve those few sheets for head alignment purposes.

The Canon rep said it didn't matter what paper I used as long as it was glossy and I always used the same paper.  He was unable to tell me why, if it didn't matter what I used, that some of the recommended paper should be calibrated with a "common" calibration, and some with a "unique" calibration, and how I was to determine which to use if I was calibrating with a paper not listed in the user manual.

So, can someone recommend a source for a box of glossy 8-1/2" x 11" paper that I can use for color calibration?  Can I just run down to Staples and buy any old 8-1/2" x 11" glossy photo paper and calibrate with it using the "common calibration" setting?

Thanks in advance!
Paul

[dgillilan]

Hello,
I have done three color calibration prints with my ipf6400. One was on Matte Hw Coated, and am almost sure that I used Epson matte premium paper for that.The other two were on Canon Photo paper Pro Lustre with a media type chosen of Satin Photo Rag 240 g, and the last was on Hahnemuhle Photo Rag Pearl with a media setting of Premium Semi Glossy 2-280 gsm.
I would use a premium quality paper for the color calibration process, a paper that you plan to use to print photos in the future(not Staples or other cheaper paper); I used the papers for color calibration that I use to print photos on, that I may want to frame.
Debra

[pcgpcg]

My understanding is that the paper used to color calibrate the printer has no relation to the paper used to make prints. The purpose of color calibration is to bring the printer to a known and repeatable state, not to a standard.  Once the printer is in a known state, then profiles can be made using the papers you want to print with.  At some time in the future, if ink cartridges have been replaced or a head replaced, for example, and that caused the printer to print colors differently, your paper profiles would then be useless, unless you could bring the printer back to the same state it was when the profiles were made.  For that reason you would need to calibrate again using the same paper you used to calibrate before, so the printer will end up in the same state it was when the paper profiles were made.

According to the Canon rep, matte paper should not be used for color calibration simply because glossy paper is better for that purpose. Matte paper cannot print as high a range of densities as glossy paper.  (The printer sensors measure density.) The higher density range of the colors on glossy paper allows for a more accurate color calibration. So for the purpose of calibration it would seem it just needs to be glossy, of consistent quality, and fairly stable when stored in a box for a couple years.  Then when you buy more of it a couple years later it needs to be very similar to what you bought the first time.  Maybe this is asking too much for cheap photo paper from Staples?  How about cheap photo paper from Canon?
http://www.adorama.com/ICA2311B001.html?cvosrc=cse.google.ICA2311B001&cvo_cid=38589028051&gclid=CJbSu-f6wcECFVKGfgodXIsANg
I am only offering these up because they are what I can find.  As I stated previously, I can't find any of the papers Canon suggests using, except in rolls.

I'd really like to hear confirmation or correction of my general understanding as I've outlined it above.  I'm not confident that I really understand this topic and certainly I don't yet understand it well enough to know what paper to buy.

[picman]

Just as a FYI, my ipf8400 came with a roll of heavy weight coated for calibration. Canon LFM CP360S.

[pcgpcg]

I just found a box of 20) 8-1/2x11 Canon Photo Paper Pro Platinum, which is one of the 17 on the list for common calibration, for $13 on eBay.  So I've solved my color calibration paper search.
I would still like confirmation (or not) re. my remarks about the suitability of any photo paper that is not matte, as long as the quality is consistent and repeatable.

[pcgpcg]

I just found this post today and it pretty much confirms the tentative conclusions I posted above.
http://canonipf.wikispaces.com/share/view/12791457?replyId=18997495

I'm posting it here for anyone that might need this info in the future.  I can't understand why Canon doesn't...
1) explain this more clearly, and
2) tell us what paper they use to calibrate the printers they use to make the profiles they supply for downloading. That goes for all paper manufacturers who supply profiles.

In summary... the purpose of printer calibration is to bring the printer to a known state so that it will print in a reproducible fashion.  It is common knowledge that ICC profiles are unique to a particular printer/ink/paper combination, but for a profile to do its job these three components need to always be the same, all the time, everywhere.  Nothing is perfect so they often aren't.  We have to rely on the paper manufacturers to produce a paper with consistent characteristics, but we do have control over the printer/ink element, which changes with age and wear. Printer calibration is provided precisely to address this issue. It also allows owners of multiple printers to calibrate them all the same, so they will print all the same.

If you are making custom printer profiles, calibrate your printer first with a paper that you always use for calibration.  This paper does not have to be the paper you print with.  It can be the same paper although Canon lists recommended papers for calibration and the rep told me glossy was best.  Then, as time passes (some are recommending twice a year) or you change heads, calibrate again with the same paper before you soft proof with those profiles.

I just received my 20 sheet box of 8-1/2"x 11" Canon Photo Pro Platinum glossy paper ($13 from eBay and one of the papers recommended by Canon for calibration) and calibrated my iPF6400 with the "Glossy Photo 170g" setting.

Now I'm off to print some targets for profiling the paper I'm using for my prints...

Disclaimer:  However authoritarian my remarks may or may not sound, please keep in mind that I am not an expert, but in fact am a NEWBIE when it comes to printing at this level.  If you have something to add or correct, please do!

[alain]

I just found this post today and it pretty much confirms the tentative conclusions I posted above.
http://canonipf.wikispaces.com/share/view/12791457?replyId=18997495

I'm posting it here for anyone that might need this info in the future.  I can't understand why Canon doesn't...
1) explain this more clearly, and
2) tell us what paper they use to calibrate the printers they use to make the profiles they supply for downloading. That goes for all paper manufacturers who supply profiles.

In summary... the purpose of printer calibration is to bring the printer to a known state so that it will print in a reproducible fashion.  It is common knowledge that ICC profiles are unique to a particular printer/ink/paper combination, but for a profile to do its job these three components need to always be the same, all the time, everywhere.  Nothing is perfect so they often aren't.  We have to rely on the paper manufacturers to produce a paper with consistent characteristics, but we do have control over the printer/ink element, which changes with age and wear. Printer calibration is provided precisely to address this issue. It also allows owners of multiple printers to calibrate them all the same, so they will print all the same.

If you are making custom printer profiles, calibrate your printer first with a paper that you always use for calibration.  This paper does not have to be the paper you print with.  It can be the same paper although Canon lists recommended papers for calibration and the rep told me glossy was best.  Then, as time passes (some are recommending twice a year) or you change heads, calibrate again with the same paper before you soft proof with those profiles.

I just received my 20 sheet box of 8-1/2"x 11" Canon Photo Pro Platinum glossy paper ($13 from eBay and one of the papers recommended by Canon for calibration) and calibrated my iPF6400 with the "Glossy Photo 170g" setting.
...

Why did you use a different paper setting, I thought the "Canon Photo Pro Platinum glossy paper" was a possible selection?

[pcgpcg]

Why did you use a different paper setting, I thought the "Canon Photo Pro Platinum glossy paper" was a possible selection?

Thank you! I didn't see it listed before. Now I find it listed as "Photo Pro Plat."