Digital BW, The Print

Just a warning about the Semimatte. I bought the 8.5X11 cut sheets
and printed them in my 1800. The results were disasterous. The ends of
the paper shredded and became stained with black ink. I called Epson
and they said the paper was 'not supported' or compatible with either
the 1800 or 2400 and that they had numerous reports of the same
experience from people who tried it in those printers.
 As soon as I went back to my normal 'supported' papers like Velvet FA
and SPG etc., my problems went away.
 (I did not dare try the paper in my 2400.)
  My feeling is, from looking at these cut sheets, is that they curl
upwards along the sides. It certainly is not a thickness issue as the
paper is way thinner than VFA. Just to be sure, the Epson tech, who
was excellent, had me try the thick paper setting but the results were
the same.
 Best
 Howard


--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, Carl Schofield
<scho@...> wrote:
>
> You can purchase Epson premium semimatte in smaller sheet sizes as  
> well, if you don't want to bother with cutting down large sheets or  
> rolls:
> http://www.eximvaios.com/catalog/default.php?cPath=2_252_382
> 
> On Feb 4, 2006, at 10:18 PM, rgoldman2 wrote:
> 
> > Ginny, you seem to be getting good advice regarding your questions. An
> > issue that you will have to address, at least initially, is whether
> > you want to start printing on cotton rag papers using the Epson Matte
> > Black ink (the papers and inks that Clayton and many other use) or
> > whether you will start with glossier papers, ranging from satin or
> > pearl surfaced to true gloss. In which case you will be printing with
> > the Photo Black Ink. All the other inks in the system are compatible
> > with either type of paper, but the cotton rag matte prints definitely
> > need Matte Black Ink (Mk) and the other papers need Photo Black (Pk).
> > The 2400 prints beautifully on the rag papers using the Advanced Black
> > and White (ABW) feature of the Epson driver. My impression is that
> > these matte prints are slightly better than what could be achieved on
> > the old 2200. Except that the 2200 need a third-party rip to achieve
> > it. The greater improvement facilitated with the 2400 is in the
> > ability to print on the satin to true glossy papers, which the 2200
> > could not do well even with a third party rip. Now that can be done
> > beautifully on the 2400 using the Photo Black Ink in the K3 set up and
> > the ABW feature of the Epson driver. I.E. right out of the box. I love
> > the look of the rag papers, but I also love the deep blacks I can
> > print on the satin papers (Epson Premium Semi Matte in my case). What
> > keeps me from going back to the rag printing currently is the cost of
> > switching from the Pk to the Mk ink. It is not prohibitive but neither
> > is it trivial. That is why you need to make a choice on how to get
> > started. If you are interested in glossy, then I would start with
> > something that is semi-matte or satin because the more glossy the
> > paper the higher the probability that even with the 2400 you will run
> > into issues such as gloss differential. The Premium Semi Matte is a
> > beautiful paper, but it is made in sheets of 17 x 22. So you will have
> > to cut them to a size that works in the 2400 and use the residual for
> > test strips. Clayton has offered to sell, at a very reasonable price,
> > small prints on different rag papers. Well worth the price in my view.
> > You can see how the various papers look with the Mk ink. Be sure to
> > look a Epson VFA (velvet fine art). If you want to see a small print
> > made on Epson Premium Semi Matte using the Pk ink, I will be happy to
> > send you one (free of charge). Contact me at my email address about  
> > that.
>