Glossy Printing

[Alto]

Hi All

I am printing out of Lion to an Epson stylus Pro 4000 problem is that the prints are not glossy same file printed out on an A4 R 200 photo is super glossy but same paper on the bigger printer is well dull .

Do you think that the driver isn't selecting photo black. Oh it's a test chart that I'm printing OK apart from the gloss.


Regards


Jon

[Wayne Fox]

I believe the r200 is a dye based ink which will achieve a higher gloss than your 4000 which is a pigment based ink.

as far as whether it is using the right ink, I don't think the printer will not use the ink you specify in the dialog box.  Are you saying your prints are less glossy with Lion than  with previous OS?

[Alto]

Hi Wane

Thank you for replying what I am saying is that the surface has a bas relief effect like the emission side of Kodachrome looked like when view at an angle.
Using Epson inks is this printer capable of gloss printing .

Jon

[Wayne Fox]

It sounds like what you are describing is typical of pigment inkjet "glossy" printing ... the ink is sitting on top of the paper and thus isn't perfectly smooth.  It is still "glossy" in that it is reflective and shiny, but isn't as glossy as a dye printer which absorbs the ink and thus is smoother.

Newer epson models exhibit this problem less than the 4000 (changes in the ink), although you can still see some depth variation of the ink if you look at it from extreme angles.  Some papers are also better than others at achieving gloss.

With pigment printers there really isn't a way to get that mirror like surface that you can get with chemical based printing like Fujiflex, Kodak Mettallic or Cibachrome.

[Schewe]

It sounds like what you are describing is typical of pigment inkjet "glossy" printing ... the ink is sitting on top of the paper and thus isn't perfectly smooth.  It is still "glossy" in that it is reflective and shiny, but isn't as glossy as a dye printer which absorbs the ink and thus is smoother.

It's called gloss differential...differences in the glossy'ness of the ink and paper. The 4000 (and the whole Epson 96/7600 series were known for that. Greatly improved in the current 4900.

[Peter McLennan]

My 4800 shows it on Costco gloss paper.  (Others inform me that the Costco paper is an Ilford product)  You have to look carefully under ideal lighting conditions to see it, but it is there.  Virtually invisible to "normal" viewers.

[Alto]

Hi All

Thanks for the kind replies as you probably guessed this is my first pigment printer . Liberated from another photographer for $250 with a full set of 220 ink tanks and a few spares . From the test prints made I can see the potential of the machine. None of my commercial work gets printed anymore all on CDs or ftpd to someone I have never met . I look forward to the world of print ,something I have missed since we closed down our wet darkroom .

Thanks again

Jon