Hi, I'm just wondering what are the dmax numbers that users of the Canon iPF8300/iPF8400 are seeing.
Over on the wiki page, you can see various users report different dmax numbers with the LUCIA EX inks.
At the moment, the blackest black I measured on glossy is on Harman by Hahnemuhle gloss baryta. L*1.0 - dmax 2.95. The blackest on matte was on Epson Hot Press Natural. L* 13.5 - dmax 1.78. These black patches were measured over 48 hours after printing, and I measured a variety of targets printed. Some of them are the calibration targets from the printer. Most of them were deliberately not handled with the greatest of care - so I was quite surprised to see these numbers. I remeasured the targets the following day to be sure, and took multiple measurements changing the i1 Pro measurement aperture position, calibrating the spectro frequently.
Do note that I created custom media settings to lay down even more ink than the standard media settings would allow. For glossy I'm usually on Premium Semigloss Ppr 280 - High, and matte is Fine Art Photo - High, if the paper can take it.
Just recently, something interesting came to my attention. When I was test printing at my dealer's, which is air conditioned and dry. I did not measure the RH of the air however, I know from experience that air conditioning in my studio brings the RH down to about 50% or a bit less. I was able to achieve very high ink loads, and dmax was outstanding, beyond expectations. When I printed at home, the printer is not in an air conditioned room and RH varies from 60+ to 80+. The paper (stored in a controlled dry area at 40-45% RH) printed OK initially. But I conjecture it soaked up some moisture from the air because the same ink loads on the same paper resulted in some micro-pooling of ink. The resulting dmax was also quite a bit less, L* 2.2 for gloss and L* 15.5 for matte.
To experiment, I have just bought two dehumidifiers which I plan to place under the printer to dry the paper before it receives the ink, and also to create a drier immediate environment around the printer.
Has anyone noticed this relationship between humidity and dmax to vary with each other so significantly? I know that some Rolland printers have a heating plate at the platen to vapourise water/solvents in the ink more rapidly to allow for higher ink loads, especially for uncoated media.
Another interesting thing is that the highest dmax numbers I measured were on the calibration charts printed from the printer, not from the driver. I wondering if the lower print mode (less number of passes) has something to do with it since I always print using Highest (max no. of passes).
