Different large format printer besides Canon?

[StudioL]

Because of all of the trouble we have been having with our Canon IPF 8100 and now our Canon IPF 8300 we are forced to look for a new large format printer that will support other paper types such as a vibrance rag and canvas paper.

Any recommendations? What do you print on and for how long?

Thank you!

[enduser]

I don't get how you have two ipf Canons and yet don't know about HP and Epson? Troll?

[neile]

And don't expect the other printers to be magical solutions. All large format printers, regardless of brand, have quirks and force you to deal with curly paper, paper prone to scratches, head strikes, misaligned feeds, etc.

Neil

[Roscolo]

Because of all of the trouble we have been having with our Canon IPF 8100 and now our Canon IPF 8300 we are forced to look for a new large format printer that will support other paper types such as a vibrance rag and canvas paper.

Any recommendations? What do you print on and for how long?

Thank you!

I'll be MORE THAN HAPPY to take that ipf8300 off your hands. Won't even charge you to haul it off!

[Ellis Vener]

Because of all of the trouble we have been having with our Canon IPF 8100 and now our Canon IPF 8300 we are forced to look for a new large format printer that will support other paper types such as a vibrance rag and canvas paper.

Any recommendations? What do you print on and for how long?

Thank you!

What kind of troubles?

[mstevensphoto]

FWIW i've found far more of the issues with vibrance rag are isolated to the extreme curl of that paper than my ipf8300. I like the paper, but not enough to deal with it, there are as good or better choices that work like a dream. 70% of the prints I make on my 8300 are canvas, perhaps if you can id some of your issues the people here can help.

[StudioL]

FWIW i've found far more of the issues with vibrance rag are isolated to the extreme curl of that paper than my ipf8300. I like the paper, but not enough to deal with it, there are as good or better choices that work like a dream. 70% of the prints I make on my 8300 are canvas, perhaps if you can id some of your issues the people here can help.

Any recommendations to a comparable paper to the vibrance rag that you have not had problems with?

We have had our printer for about a year and print mostly on breathing color vibrance rag paper which is thicker than watercolor or a Lexjet Fibre Gloss. All of a sudden we started getting these vertical scratches that are perpendicular to the direction of the printhead. We have done all of the usual checks and cleaning. We have played with media types, head heights and vacuum strengths and still nothing. The scratches tend to be on the left and right sides with less in the middle. They appear to match up with the spacers in between the rollers. It is not the paper as we have used the 24 inch rolls in a 6100 printer and it is fine. It seems that thicker paper will scratch and the thicker the paper the more defined the scratches. Watercolor paper prints fine. 

[StudioL]

Not a troll just very frustrated as we have invested a lot in this equipment.

[mstevensphoto]

Ilford gold fibre silk looks quite nice compared to the vibrance lustre. Canson has several nice offerings too. I put all of my stuff in frames and really don't find much advantage to the vibrance lustre...I prefer moab exhibition lustre for most of my glossy/semi glossy stuff - it does not have near the texture of the vibrance. it's got a great range, is affordable and super easy to work with.

do you find that the problem happens throughout the roll or just on the back half? I find that the last 15 feet of the roll becomes almost unmanageable with vibrance rag, especially when you change rolls frequently as I do. you might do a trial and unspool some of the paper, roll it back on itself gently to take out some of the curl and send that through. not a very good long term solution I know, but I find it works. the last 8-10 feet of the roll is so curly I can hardly get it to load without mangling it.

depending on the length of any of your prints you may want to take extra care in handling before and after printing. I find that the extra curly paper gets back onto itself and can cause scratches (esp true of the ilford which I'm convinced you can't even look at w/o scratching)

[hugowolf]

Any recommendations to a comparable paper to the vibrance rag that you have not had problems with?

If you want 100% cotton, then Canson Platine, Hahnemühle Photo Rag Pearl, Hahnemühle Photo Rag Satin, and Museo Silver Rag.
If you don't need cotton, then Canson Baryata Photographique and Ilford Gold Fibre Silk.

...  breathing color vibrance rag paper which is thicker than watercolor

I don't know what watercolor paper you are using, but I assure you that there are many that are much thicker than BC Vibrance Rag.

Brian A

[epatsellis]

Oddly enough, I use uncoated (as in straight out of the box from Blick's) white Stonhenge. Inexpensive, less than $3 a 22x30 sheet, and artists are generally familiar with the paper.

I've used BFK Rives as well, about twice the price.

And before others comment, yes I'm using an 8300, no problems.

[Scott Martin]

All of a sudden we started getting these vertical scratches that are perpendicular to the direction of the printhead. The scratches tend to be on the left and right sides with less in the middle.

So you think they are head strikes? And you've tried setting the head height to "Highest"? Does it seem like you've got some upward curl on the edges of this paper? Also, have you performed a print head alignment using this paper? If you aligned to a thin paper it may need to be realigned...

[Luca Ragogna]

So you think they are head strikes? And you've tried setting the head height to "Highest"? Does it seem like you've got some upward curl on the edges of this paper? Also, have you performed a print head alignment using this paper? If you aligned to a thin paper it may need to be realigned...

I saw the photos in the other post, it's not a head strike. The scratches run the wrong way. I think he may have damaged some part of the paper path and it's dragging on the surface of the print as the paper is getting fed through. Or it's just something in the machine that's making contact because of the paper curl.

[I.T. Supplies]

If you're having certain printing issues with a media and can't figure out what may be causing it, we have a printer/paper tech that may know the reason.  If you print on a particular media for a long time, it may be due to the rolls wearing down and the paper path isn't as clean as it used to be.  But could be other reasons as well.

We do also sell the other fine art papers if you're interested in trying out different media to work with.  If you want to go into another brand with printing on, Epson does have good discounts on their printers as well.

Hope we can help you with your questions if you want to figure out the problem with your printer upfront.

Atlex.com
800-327-2822

[Darrel]

If you kneel down and watch as the paper exits the front cover, a paper with heavy curl will make contact with the rollers on the top cover, which will leave marks in the wet ink.  No amount of vacuum can fix that as it is out of the paper path.  The solution is to print with the cover partially open.  You have to rule this cause out, not a fault of the printer itself really.