Digital BW, The Print

I'm curious about how Innova FibaPrint is in terms of flaking and how well
it stands up to general handling? Is it more robust than cotton rag papers,
and can I use it for general customer prints?

I'm looking for something a little nicer than EEM for general prints, where
they won't receive the care that a matted cotton rag paper will get.

Thanks,

Terry.

Hello Terry,

>I'm curious about how Innova FibaPrint is in terms of flaking and 
>how well it stands up to general handling? Is it more robust than 
>cotton rag papers, and can I use it for general customer prints?

I've used it a little bit, but not extensively (somewhere around 15 or
20 prints).  When the prints are fresh the surface is extremely
delicate and they flake and scuff easily, much more than any other
paper I've used.  I learned to not handle them at all until after they
dried for a few hours.  After that they seem to be quite durable and
difficult to scuff, with no flaking that I can recall.

Sorry I can't be more precise than that.  I haven't tested to see
exactly how much drying time they need, nor have I done any sort of
scuff-resistance comparison with any other paper.   But maybe this
will give some idea of what it's like.   My general impression is
that, after drying, the paper rates very highly for durability.

As for appearance, they have an ink color and Dmax in the same league
as PR, but with a harder, smoother surface.  BO prints look smoother
on it than on PR.  I once printed an image on PR and Fiba and couldn't
tell them apart from normal viewing distance.  Quite a nice rich
looking paper, and real thick, so it feels nice to hold.  It does tend
to curl, with the image on the convex side.  

Fiba does tend to print darker, and usually requires a slight
lightening curve to match an EEM proof.  PR prints almost identically
to EEM, and often requires no adjustment curve.


Regards,
Clayton


Info on black and white digital printing at    
http://www.cjcom.net/digiprnarts.htm

Clayton Jones wrote:

> Sorry I can't be more precise than that.  I haven't tested to 
> see exactly how much drying time they need, nor have I done 
> any sort of
> scuff-resistance comparison with any other paper.   But maybe this
> will give some idea of what it's like.   My general impression is
> that, after drying, the paper rates very highly for durability.

Thanks Clayton. Your feedback was great, and really useful.

I have some Innova CPA coming, but I have some work I'd like to print on a
nice paper that will withstand some handling. EEM is a little thin and
"cheap" feeling, although the images are great on it and it seems rugged
enough. 

Based on your feedback it sounds worthwhile to run off a couple of FibaPrint
samples tonight.

Thanks again.

Terry.

Terry,

>Based on your feedback it sounds worthwhile to run off a couple 
>of FibaPrint samples tonight.
>Thanks again.

Ok, you're welcome.  Please let us know what you think of it.

Regards,
Clayton


Info on black and white digital printing at    
http://www.cjcom.net/digiprnarts.htm

Terry,
 I recalled that I had a sheet of a sample pack of FibaPrint paper and 
have been practicing using Piezo BWICC with MIS original FSN inks. I 
decided to try it on that sheet and was very pleased with the results. 
It's a warmer paper than the H'muhle Photo Matte I've been using and 
the surface seems to be very smooth and is able to separate the lower 
zones pretty well. If my memory serves me well, the surface is as tough 
as EEM that I've used as well. I haven't noticed any flaking of the 
surface at all. 

Your friend in Photography,

Johnny


--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Terry Ritz" 
<t.ritz@a...> wrote:
> I'm curious about how Innova FibaPrint is in terms of flaking and how 
well
> it stands up to general handling? Is it more robust than cotton rag 
papers,
> and can I use it for general customer prints?
> 
> I'm looking for something a little nicer than EEM for general prints, 
where

> they won't receive the care that a matted cotton rag paper will get.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Terry.

Clayton Jones wrote:

> When the prints are fresh the 
> surface is extremely delicate and they flake and scuff 
> easily, much more than any other paper I've used.  I learned 
> to not handle them at all until after they dried for a few 
> hours.  After that they seem to be quite durable and 
> difficult to scuff, with no flaking that I can recall.

This may explain the only problem I've noticed with Innova Cold Press Art. I
have one test print where a large patch of black has become scuffed or
burnished, on what appears to be the high points of the textured surface.
The black appears less solid as a result.

I purposefully was not careful handing my test prints, to see how well they
fared. Perhaps this was unfair, in that I might have had different results
doing the same thing, had I waited a few hours first. I'm going to try the
same thing, but wait overnight first.

Terry.