Digital BW, The Print

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, peter nelson 
<peter@s...> wrote:
> This is a simplified version of a question I asked earlier.
> 
> I recently bought a 2200 and I'm enjoying its ability
> to print on a wide variety of media.  So far I've printed
> on brown paper (bag) paper, artist's watercolor paper
> (Canson 140# cold press), and gesso'd canvas.   Last
> night I printed on a brown, toothed paper I use for pastels
> and then applied pastels afterwards.  It looked really nice
> and I think my figure photography done using this
> technique might be salable.
> 
> THE QUESTION:  some people on another forum
> (Photo.Net) have warned that printing on oddball media
> might damage the print heads.  They offered no basis for
> ecxpet speculation.   I did extensive Google searches
> on phrases like "print head damage", "damage your
> print heads", etc, etc, and the only hits I got had to
> do with using 3rd-party inks - nothing about the media.
> 
> How do I assess the risks of damaging my print heads
> using oddball media?

I don't think you can cause terminal damage to the print head, but 
you can throw it way out of alignment if it bumps or scrapes 
repeatedly while zipping across the print. Check your heavier media 
for signs of scraping, and check the head alignment occasionally, if 
it seems your high-speed mode printing is getting fuzzy. 
 One thing strange media can do to the printer, is damage the paper 
transport mechanism, so if you find it resisting something you're 
trying to feed it, take a hint-or buy an extended warranty, like I 
did. I've used it three times so far, and once was precisely for 
that problem.

Something I feel I should point out about your experimenting: 
Interestng as it may be, what you're producing on all those weird 
non-archival acid impregnated (shopping bags?) media is TEMPORARY 
ART. Lovely, wild, exciting, (I'd love to see some) but with the 
proverbial 'lifespan of a sperm-cell' if you're using OEM dye inks, 
and only a bit less so if you're using pigments. Something to think 
about when you're choosing media...

Best of luck,

Steve K