Epson 3800 and Small, Thick Sheets

[stevietheb]

So, I was at my local camera store recently, and, on a whim, decided I wanted to try a new paper. So, I picked up a small pack of Inkpress Velvet 300 5x7:

Weight: 300gsm
Thick: 22.0 mil
Bright: 92%

What I didn't realize, was that the rear sheet feeder on the 3800 doesn't seem to accept smaller sized sheets (I guess 8.5" x 11" is the smallest).

So, I used a matte profile and fed this paper through the auto sheet feeder (velvet profile doesn't allow you to do this). I know, that's probably not a good idea since the paper is so thick.

Does anyone have a solution for how I can print with this paper without ruining my poor printer?

Thanks!

[madmanchan]

You can feed 5x7 as long as you format your image properly. Create a 7.5" x 10" canvas in PS. Place your image in the top-left portion of this canvas. Then set your page size to letter-sized (8.5x11). Feed your 5x7 through the Rear Feed. You'll have to stick your fingers down the Rear Feed mechanism a bit to get the printer to pick it up. You may also need to disable the Paper Size check option (printer panel -> menu -> Printer Setup -> Paper Size Check -> Off).

But the easiest thing to do is just stick with the paper sizes that are designed to be used with the 3800. You can find that list here:

http://people.csail.mit.edu/ericchan/dp/Ep..._smallest_sizes

[stevietheb]

Thanks, Eric...I'll give that a try.

[01af]

There shouldn't be a problem to feed 22 mil paper through the top sheet feeder. Just avoid feeding more than one sheet at a time. 22 mil is 0.56 mm, so don't forget to set the paper thickness in the printer driver settings dialog to "6". If you see "pizza-wheel" marks on the print's surface then set the Platen Gap to "Wide" or "Wider" ... but usually the proper paper thickness setting will do.

-- Olaf

[stevietheb]

There shouldn't be a problem to feed 22 mil paper through the top sheet feeder. Just avoid feeding more than one sheet at a time. 22 mil is 0.56 mm, so don't forget to set the paper thickness in the printer driver settings dialog to "6". If you see "pizza-wheel" marks on the print's surface then set the Platen Gap to "Wide" or "Wider" ... but usually the proper paper thickness setting will do.

-- Olaf
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Thanks, Olaf. That's exactly what I did initially. However, feeding through the auto sheet feeder means that I can't use Epson's Velvet Fine Art profile. The box for this Inkpress Velvet says that profiles can be downloaded at www.inkpresspaper.com -- but they are nowhere to be found.

I used the Enhanced Matte profile, and I feel like the print looks good...but I'm wondering if it can be better. In the future I plan on doing a lot of b&w on velvet finishes. I'm sure I'll probably just move to 8.5x11 sheets of Epson Velvet. But, for the time being, I have 50 sheets of this stuff.

[stevietheb]

There shouldn't be a problem to feed 22 mil paper through the top sheet feeder. Just avoid feeding more than one sheet at a time. 22 mil is 0.56 mm, so don't forget to set the paper thickness in the printer driver settings dialog to "6".

Looking at the specs...Epson Velvet Fine Art Paper (which is not supposed to go through the top auto sheet feeder) is only 19mil. Seems like maybe feeding this 22mil stuff through that feeder is not a great idea.

Like I said, the print looked fine. However, I don't want to damage anything in my printer...