Inkjet Printing and Inkjet Papers

Papers

The range of papers for inkjet printing is vast: Epson, Canon, HP, Lyson, Somerset, ICI, Hahnemule, Ilford, Tetenal, own brands, plus more.

Surfaces and names include matt, fine art, lustre, satin, glossy, archival rag, velvet.
All types have their own characteristics and feel.

Fine Art Matt is very popular for fine art inkjet printing, with a large gamut (range of tones) and good blacks.
Some users prefer more of a lustre finish and papers like Ilford Galerie Classic Pearl look more like a traditional photographic print.
Glossy prints have their own punch but are not successful with pigment inks.

When a print is going to be displayed behind glass then a matt finish will look somewhat glossy and is often considered a good choice.

Certain papers, such as Hahnemule 308gsm PhotoRag paper, are rated as being made of 100% acid-free materials, which gives better archival properties.

Making the print for profiling

1. Calibrate the monitor. This is done with a type of light meter and special software to set the colours and tones of the display accurately.

2. Decide what printer, paper and ink combination is to be used.

3. Inkjet printers are set up to work best on the maker's papers and inks. e.g. glossy paper is usually printed with the Inkjet film paper setting. Third party papers and inks don't necessarily work this way; a matt paper might print better on the glossy setting. It's all to do with the coating rather than the paper surface.

4. The printer's best neutral position must be found before profiling.
   Go to Edit > Color Settings > Color Management Policies.
   For RGB select Off.

5. Go to File > Print.
   Under Print Space > Profile choose Same As Source.

6. Under Advanced Settings, choose No Color Adjustment.

7. Print a greyscale on all the different paper settings at the printing resolution you will finally want to use. The idea of this test is to get the optimum printer settings for that combination of paper and ink, prior to a bespoke profile.
   Decide which paper choice gives the best result so far.

8. A profiling test image is printed and the resulting colour patches are measured with a spectrophotometer. From this data, a profile is created.
   The data is a map of the colours a printer can produce with this particular set of inks and paper.

9. This custom profile is installed into the computer and it translate the colours from one device (the monitor) to another device (the printer).

Profiles are installed in:

Windows XP, 2000, ME
WinNT backslash System backslash Spool backslash Drivers backslash Color

Windows 95 - 98
Windows backslash System backslash Color

Mac OS 10
User / UserAccountName / Library / ColorSync / Profiles

Printing

If the print is to be displayed it should be mounted with archival board and framed behind glass.
Better still is to use glass which contains ultra-violet filtering. Framing behind glass protects the print from humidity and atmospheric pollution. Longevity is greatly increased this way.

The framed print should not be displayed in direct sunlight.

If the print is for portfolio use rather than wall display, some portfolios are made with archival acid-free ingredients. Most of the time, the print should be kept in the dark.

Cleaning inkjet printers - Unblocking

Regular maintenance of a printer should involve a nozzle check and a nozzle clean. This ensures all is well. These functions can be found in Printer Utilities.
Evenso, there can be times when this is not sufficient and more extreme measures are necessary.

When a printer is switched off, the cartridge head will parked over cloth pads which cover the nozzles and prevent them from drying out. A couple of cleaning cycles very often cures the problem. Don't do more than three at once, because it is rather destructive of the fine nozzle jets.
With still no success, leave the printer for an hour and do one more cleaning cycle. With still no luck, leave it over night and try a new cycle the next day.
If this fails, roll up your sleeves and give the printer its final warning, before you start something more serious.

• Move the printing head to the ink-changing position, which is normally accommplished by holding the paper feed button for a few seconds. If this does not work on your printer, press the change-inks button and as the head begins to move pull the mains lead out. The head will then move freely. Never force the head by hand if it does not move freely.
• There is a black hole in the track beside the head.
• Send the head back to the normal resting position on the right.
• Use a lint-free cloth, like a piece of tea-towel, 5" long and 1" wide or 12cm by 2cm. Fold this cloth in half lengthwise, so that it is 5" by 1/2" or 12cm by 1cm.
  Soak the cloth in the clear version of Windolene, which is sold as Windex in the US. In fact, distilled water often works here as well.
• Carefully tuck the cloth into the hole you have just observed.
• Lay the cloth flat over where the head will rest. The idea is that the head will pass over it.
• Move the head to the left again and on to the wet cloth.
• Leave it there for half an hour then move the head back to the right.
• The cloth is likely to be inky now. If the cloth appears not to be thick enough, use a larger piece of cloth which can be folded an extra time and repeat the procedure.
• With the cloth removed, do a cleaning cycle and a nozzle check.
• If the nozzle check is not successful, leave the printer to rest over the Windolene-soaked cloth for a couple of hours and try another nozzle check.
• If this still does not work, leave it to soak overnight.
• When the nozzle check shows the jets to be clear, print a few images to remove all the Windolene.
• If the nozzle(s) are still blocked after all this, it is likely a replacement head is required.

white lines across the print;
darkened lines;
ink splashes;
marks of colour repeated in columns;
creasing marks;
roller marks.
A good ink flow will cure many of these situations.

Fixing all problems in inkjet printing is outside the range of this site. An internet search with such keywords as "inkjet printing problems" or "inkjet printer problems" along with the make of printer should bring up further information.

A good starting point is Mwords. Although not an active site they way it used to be, it does have a very good section on support and information. www.mwords.com



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