Digital Prints

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Mastering Digital Printing
Table 7.5 Sample Dmax Readings 1
Paper Harald’s Dye-Based Andrew’s UltraChrome
A.I. 230 Smooth 1.68 1.52
A.I. 230 Textured 1.66 1.51
A.I. 355 Smooth 1.69 1.53
A.I. 355 Textured 1.71 1.48
1
Adapted from an actual review of Arches Infinity paper by Harald Johnson and Andrew Darlow, July, 2003. Harald’s samples were
printed on an Epson Stylus Photo 1280 with the OEM Photo Dye color inks. Andrew’s samples were printed on an Epson Stylus Pro
7600 with UltraChrome inks. Black patch readings (using all colors) were made by Andrew using a GretagMacbeth Eye-One Pro
Spectrophotometer. See the full review at: www.dpandi.com/newsreviews/reviews/ai/index.html.
Permanence/Lightfastness: As we already know, print permanence is the result of the interaction
of inks, paper, and display or storage conditions. You cannot pick only a paper and
have any idea as to its permanence. You need to know at least one other part of the equation.
Most paper suppliers include permanence ratings based on certain assumptions in
their paper specs or marketing material. Make sure you read the fine print carefully to see
how those projections are determined. (See Chapter 5 for more about print permanence.)
Free Profiles Provided: In addition to what ink suppliers provide, some paper vendors or
manufacturers also furnish generic or canned printer profiles for their papers. ILFORD
lists recommended printer settings for its media on its website for Epson, HP, Canon, and
Lexmark inkjets.
Two-Sided: Most people print on just one side of the paper, but there are times when
printing on both sides (also called “duplexing”) is a real bonus. Portfolios, brochures, greeting
cards, postcards, and digital books—these are all good uses for two-sided printing (see
Figure 7.15). However, in such cases, you need a dual-sided, dual-coated paper on which
to print. (Be careful if you think you can just print on a single-sided paper and not worry
about the back. Some papers from Epson, Kodak, HP, and others have advertising or logos
printed on the back side.) Also, most inkjet receptive coatings are fragile and easily scuffable.
When using a dual-sided paper, you must take extra care in handling the sheets.
Examples of “duo” papers include: Bockingford Inkjet, Dotworks FS2, Epson Double-
Sided Matte, Hahnemuhle Photo Rag Duo, InkjetART Duo Brite Matte, Lumijet Matte
Double Sided, Moab Entrada, Pictorico Premium DualSide Photo, PremierArt Hot Press,
and Red River Denali Matte Two. (See Chapter 11 for more about printing books, cards,
and portfolios.)
There are very few inkjets that can automatically duplex print. One is the Xerox Phaser
8400 solid ink printer where the paper is fed back through the machine on a different
paper path. Several HP Deskjets can also do it with special two-sided printing modules
that hold and then automatically pull the paper back to print the reverse side.