Mike Chaney's Tech Corner

I have no complaints about the prints I'm getting from my HP B8550 printer (not to be confused--as it often is--with the 8850) using HP's recommended Advanced photo papers.  And I've found a matte cardstock from Desktop Publishing Supplies (desktopsupplies.com) which gives great results when I print photo note cards.

For some time I've wanted to try some specialty papers, but couldn't find any suppliers who provided profiles for my not quite "true" photo printer...until recently, when I learned that Ilford does indeed provide B8550 profiles for many of their papers, namely:

Classic Gloss
Classic Pearl
Smooth Gloss
Smooth Pearl
Smooth Fine Art
Smooth Heavyweight Matt
Smooth Lustre Duo
Premium Photo Glossy, Pearl, & Satin
Premium Plus Glossy & Pearl

I of course do all of my photo printing from Qimage, and I'm hoping that some forum members who use Ilford papers could share their knowledge and perhaps make some suggestions.  Which Ilford papers have given you the best results?  And who's your supplier?

My "art" prints, pardon the expression, are usually landscapes and nature macros/close-ups, like flowers.  I occasionally print b/w.

Any information will be appreciated.

Hi Owen,
I use mostly Ilford papers, it has to be the "Smooth" types because I use pigment inks
My favourite is Smooth Pearl and I also use Smooth Gloss - the new versions of these, released last year, are a noticeable improvement wrt gloss & finish.
I have a stock of double sided Smooth Matt that I use for cards and occasionally trial or less important prints.
I have tried Smooth Fine Art, in fact I still have a few sheets left but in no way does it come up to Smooth Pearl in terms of gamut and contrast. I never fully understand why such papers are used other than trying to mimic papers used by painters.

In the past I found that Ilford profiles were not giving me good results so I purchased custom profiles for my 2 favourite papers. Since then I think Ilford have updated their profiles and when I used one for the Fine Art Paper, the results were quite good from the colour accuracy point of view.
Terry

Appreciate it, Terry.  I see the Pearl papers mentioned and praised quite often in my online browsing, so I'll probably try them first.  And I'm glad to hear that one of the "canned" profiles worked well for you.

Just downloaded the Ilford profiles for Classic Gloss and Classic Pearl.  They appear to be identical.  Interesting.

Thanks again, Terry.

I've noticed that for the Smooth papers too. The recommended paper setting, at least for Epson printers, is the same: "Premium Semi Gloss".
Terry

I've used Ilford papers for years after experimenting with many different brands. They are excellent!  Mostly smooth and pearl on epson pigment printers.  And for years I've been getting them at inkjetart.com though they haven't started carrying the new renditions yet.  So far, the only place I've found the new versions with any consistency is at bhphotovideo.com   

As far as profiles go - after much experimentation, I've found that I've got better results by creating my own.  I originally used Profile Prism which I can barely praise enough ( http://www.ddisoftware.com/prism/ ).  For various reason, I eventually bought the Pulse system (now called iOne) but it's HUGELY more expensive than PP (actually MEGA HUGELY).  Once you start creating your own custom profiles, you will not be satisfied with the canned versions.

Thanks, Johsef.  I'll probably try the canned profiles first, but I've been thinking of giving Profile Prism a try, anyway.

When I'm ready to order paper, just how do I know whether or not I'm getting the new versions?

I note that one reviewer on the B&H site uses this paper specifically for that purpose.

I've played around with printing on watercolor paper.  A softly-diffused "misty day" photo reproduced well.  Other than that, I wasn't happy with the results.  However, the matte cardstock I get from the supplier I mention above, Desktop Publishing Supplies, is coated for inkjet-only printing, and until I found this paper, I had no idea that it was possible to print on matte stock with that level of quality.  Now everybody in the family loves my photo note cards, and I've even sold a few.

Of course, as I've said before in earlier threads, producing items like notecards with Qimage had never even occurred to me until I ran across your explanation of making Christmas cards.  That thread was a year or more ago, I believe.  Takes a bit to get things set up properly the first time, of course, but after that, it's a matter of minutes to create new versions.  It was quick & easy--once you showed me how!

Owen,

There is slightly different packaging for the new papers.  Overall, it seems that new ones has a picture on it that is enclosed in a frame - the older stuff has a picture that is blended into the background on the box (for the better Galerie papers - not the Premium ones).  If you do a google image search on ilford inkjet papers you'll see the difference (ignore the white boxes with a framed picture - those are for darkroom photography)

That is absolutely correct.  :)
Terry

Appreciate it, guys.  I'll probably play it safe & order from B&H, since their prices appear to be competitive with other suppliers.

Owen, I've been using Ilford papers with my older HP 8750 and have always gotten superb results..  The inkset of this older printer is designed for use with swellable type papers so I use the Ilford Galerie CLASSIC series.

When using the Ilford media with your HP, it's important to follow the print settings instructions verbatim, even if they sound incorrect.  Feel free to email me and I'll provide you with the detailed instructions in PDF format.

BTW...  I know that the install disk for the 8550 only installs the HP canned ICC profiles on Macs, but not on PCs.  If you need the profiles, I have them.

chasp505 at cableone dot net

Appreciate the info & the offer.  My email is on the way.