Hahnemuhle papers problem

[undavide]

Hello,
I use to print on Hahnemuhle papers since 2001, and I've noticed trend of quality loss - I'd be interested in hearing your opinions.

At first, it happened that some stocks could have problems - surface problems, coating uniformity problems, etc. That was annoying, but rare - I could deal with that.

Nowadays I stick to PhotoRag Pearl and PhotoRag Baryta, all kind of formats (sheets, rolls) and in the last year or so, it's impossible to find a roll without:

1) embedded impurities, like small particles (1-2mm), lumps, that are in the paper's cotton base and that raise its surface - if you cut them out from the paper, they look like little pebbles made of... who knows: wood, dust?

2) very small stains, like black ink droplets (obviously the problem is that they're in a brand new, not yet printed roll)

3) little hairs, 1-2 mm long - once I've found one, surprisingly maybe, red, embedded in the coating surface.

Obviously, depending on what kind of images you're printing, and for who, this means: a huge lot of prints to trash, and print costs raised to unacceptable levels. Actually, I'm very close to switch to a different paper manufacturer (suggestions welcome). By the way - this is a different topic, I know - if you look to the Wilhelm Institute website, Epson 11880 permanence rating with, say, Epson Premium Luster (a very different paper, and a very different price range) are better than the latest Hahnemuhle rating available.
I'd be interested in hearing your experiences and opinions.
Regards,

Davide Barranca

[JohnBrew]

Hi Davide, sorry to hear you're having problems. I print with the same two Hahnemuhle papers as you. I have purchased both rolls and sheets within the last several months. A roll of Baryta did have one single flaw (some type of black speck) that I was able to work around so as not to ruin an entire sheet, but my sheet buys have all been perfect. Your problem certainly doesn't sound like random variability. If it was me I would return the papers with problems as Hahnemuhle is too expensive to put up with unusable product. Also, their reputation is one of the best and I would hope they would work with you on this to retain consumer confidence.

[sm906]

Davide,

recently I purchased two 24" rolls of Lumijet Photo Gloss from Hahnemühle directly. Since this paper is no longer continued it was a sell out and therefore it was damn cheap. These two rolls have exactly the same problem as you are telling about (whereas the Albrecht Durer I bought from them is fine). I talked to Hahnemühle directly: Oliver Scheithauer, who is the responsible sales representative at Hahnemühle. He was very nice and offered to take back the Lumijet. He told me that it may happen sometimes that the cutting residues (during the production process) lay down on the paper surface. Using compressed air or a handbrush should solve the probelm, if not give the paper back.
I was able to free the paper meter by meter from the dust and paper residues wiping the surface with my hands and the papers back with a clamp rag (works because it is a PE paper and because it was so cheap I gave it a try).
Nonetheless, that should not happen with the paper produced by Hahnemühle directly (the Lumijet was not, only co-branded). Mr. Scheithauer is always very open to even complaints, and I recommend to contact him directly by email to let Hahnemühle know about that. And contact your dealer, to ideally return the paper and receive an error free sample; which should not be a problem, unless you have already printed too many meters.

Thomas

[Aristoc]

Undavide, are you going yourself to the photography store to purchase your papers?  

[undavide]

Hello Aristoc,
l don't understand why you ask this, but no: in the early 2000 we put orders directly to Hahnemuhle, now we order from one of the biggest official italian dealers: some packages seem to come directly from Germany (they're sealed with branded tape), others not. Since we order several rolls and boxes at the same time, there's an express courier who transport them.
By the way, the official answers to our complaints from Hahnemuhle is a variation of this theme: "So sorry, rarely seen before, should not happens, by the way is a "natural" media (which maybe implies: "that's the state of the art"?), keep pieces of the paper which show the issues with production number/code from the box and send them back to the dealer".
Currently we had a couple of rolls as a compensation; last time we send a dozen of samples coming from three different rolls (44" and 60") and got a mere 17" roll as a refund.
It's not really a matter of this buy & return business: the problem is that ink is not free and time is always scarce...
Regards,

Davide

@Thomas
usually these dust/lumps/hairs are not laid down on the paper surface, but embedded within the paper base.

[Giuseppe]

Hello Davide,

this is Giuseppe Re, I work for Hahnemühle FineArt. Even though (as Thomas wrotes) Ollie Scheithauer is a lovely person, it is me answering because I am responsible for Italy (just yesterday I was in Bologna....).

If possible I would like to talk with you directly about your claim: also for the future, a direct contact can be of mutual help for both of us.

Please find here my contacts: http://www.hahnemuehle.com/site/en/277/customer-service.html. My email address is giuseppe_re@hahnemuehle.de

Talk to you soon.
Regards,

Giuseppe