Digital BW, The Print

I have my first sample of inkaid.  I decided to try the semiGloss. I used at as my first test paper Rising Stonehenge.

I am initially very enthused.  It receives Ebony just fine...I am using a test profile for matte papers for commercial papers...nothing rubs off.  Excellent basic test print.

Paper is what I would call semi-matte...slight gloss at an angle.  I have not tested dmax, but is visually relatively high.

The biggest issue is that the paper texture gets a bit in the way, due to the semi gloss.  This exaggerates the texture with light from an angle.

So I have a questions.  1.  Does Premier Spray or other sprays equalize gloss differential?

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What does impress about my first inkaid test is that there is a presence...kind of like the image is in the paper...not on the surface.  But there is an annoying reflection of texture.  I have seen this in two commercial papers....Ink Press Warmtone Fibre...and Premier Platinum Rag.  

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My question is....does spraying help this bothersome surface differential?  

My initial test of Inkaid is worth exploring.  There is a wonderful presence....better than I typically see in commercially coated papers.

I look forward to hearing from you users who regularly spray your prints...I have never sprayed an inkjet print.  Is this a way to take care of surface differential issues???

Thanks

Phil

> So I have a questions.  1.  Does Premier Spray or other
> sprays equalize gloss differential?

Yes, with the paper and printing mechanism I employ. I use
clear gloss coating on an acid free ultra smooth Monadnock
Astrolite cover paper, print with a Wasatch SoftRIP, and
coat with Lacquer Mat Diamond gloss spray. The result is a
semigloss with some surface texture. I have yet to find an
ultra smooth (uncoated) paper that stays smooth after the
inkaid treatment. 

Lacquer Mat works better than PrintShield in this case
probably because it has higher solids content. With
PrintShield you may have to apply more coats. You'll get
much deeper black after the protective coating treatment.

The lacquer spray while it removes the gloss differential
does not increase the print's glossiness. You can use
the Lacquer Mat Pearl (lustre) spray as a final coat for 
even less gloss. The Lacquer Mat spray doesn't smell as
bad as the Sureguard Pro-Tecta-Coat photographic spray but
surely cannot beat PrintShield.

Note that you cannot use a water-based coating on the
satin or gloss inkaid coating.

> What does impress about my first inkaid test is that there
> is a presence...kind of like the image is in the
> paper...not on the surface.... My initial test of Inkaid
> is worth exploring.  There is a wonderful presence....
> better than I typically see in commercially coated
> papers.

Yes. This is also how I feel about this inkaid coating.
There's almost a 3 dimentional feel to it. Also it dries much
faster than commercially coated swellable polymer papers. And
Epson UltraChrome also dries as fast as dye in the inkaid stuff.

Please keep sharing your inkaid experiment.

--nick