Printing with paper where there are no profiles

[Manfred M]

Does anyone here have any experience in inkjet papers that do not have up to date profiles?

Yes, I know I can get some hardware to make my own or go to a third party supplier that will create them for me; neither is an option for what I am doing right now.

I have called out to some of the better printers I know as well, but have not heard back from them yet.

There is a company called InkPress Papers who make some very interesting papers, especially metallic finish ones. Their papers are sold by quite a few major retailers including B&H and Adorama in the USA and Vistek and Henrys in Canada. I have contacted InkPress, but have not heard back from them (and from what I've read on the web, this seems to be an issue with this company).

http://www.inkpresspaper.com/

There are two papers (I managed to get a couple of sheets of their Metallic Satin and Metallic Gloss from a classmated in my advanced printing course), that look quite appealing for certain types of work. I've tried their drivers for the generation of printers that my P800 replaced, I've tried settings for Photo Glossy paper as well as letting the printer do the colour management (this last one gives me the "best" results)

I've also ordered some Moab Slickrock Metallic Silver paper (that really does have a silver colour to it) and the Epson Metallic Luster paper, but neither appear to be a good fit for the InkPress papers (based colour and surface finish)...

[DanK]

I don't see any solution other than having a profile made or finding another paper that is sufficiently similar that its profile is acceptable.

I haven't used any Inkpress papers in many years, so I don't have any information about them.

If you are interested in a satin metallic paper, Red River has a metallic luster. Their website says it has a deep texture, but the sample I printed on--IF my notes identifying the papers are correct--seems more like a satin paper.

[Manfred M]

Thanks Dan - Red River is a bit of a pain to source because of their direct distribution model (it's called the Canada / USA border...).

Using the Epson Metallic Glossy gave me some promising results. The problem with most of these metallic papers is that they are so far off a white base, that the colours end up looking a bit strange. I know this is definitely the case for the Moab Sliprock Metallic and I have been advised that it is a great paper for B&W whereas colour can be a bit hit and miss. Moab is a paper distributor rather than a manufacturer (for instance, their Washi papers are actually Awagami Paper Factory products; it even says so on the Moab packaging), so I'm going to play around with their profiles as well.

[DanK]

Manfred,

I just dug out the test prints I did with the Outback Photo test image http://www.outbackphoto.com/printing...048/essay.html when I got my Prograf printer. I pulled four prints: the Moab Slickrock Pearl Metallic, the Canson Baryta Photographique (to serve as a reference print), and both Red River metallic papers. At that time, I think, the glossy was called pearl, but all they have on their website now are glossy and luster.

Some of the colors on the Moab print are noticeably different from the Canson print. I noticed that reds are slightly toward orange. It's not noticeable in all of the images in the composite, but it is noticeable in some. It's not a big difference, but I'm sure you would notice it. The greens are also appreciably less saturated.

On both of those variables, both of the Red River papers were quite similar to the Canson.

That doesn't solve the border problem. Red River does ship to Canada (https://www.redrivercatalog.com/CS/shipping.htm#where_), but I'm guessing that the problem you were referring to is customs duties.

I no longer use luster papers very much, but in doing that printing exercise, I found that the Red River Arctic Polar luster that is closest to the Moab Exhibition Luster that was my default has a bit more detail in the shadows. I don't know if it would be noticeable in a print, but I might switch next time I need more stock.

[Manfred M]

That doesn't solve the border problem. Red River does ship to Canada (https://www.redrivercatalog.com/CS/shipping.htm#where_), but I'm guessing that the problem you were referring to is customs duties.

Not so much the duties, especially for products made in North America, as those cross the border duty-free under NAFTA rules. It's all the other stuff associated with trans-border shipments.

The trans-border carriers make a lot of money on brokerage fees and depending on the shipper and the shipping options that they use, products can become very pricey quite quickly. International courier fees can be a lot higher than domestic ones, to the point that there are times that I order items and have them delivered to a UPS shop in Ogdensburg, NY and drive down there (about 45 minutes door to door in each direction if the traffic at the border is light). I also have to pay provincial and federal sales taxes and these are applied on the total cost (freight + brokerage), so that adds to the cost as well. If I buy in Canada, these costs can be a lot lower because the suppliers bring things in bulk and often do their own brokerage work.

Then there are the delays if there are any issues. I had a shipment sitting at the courier for several days for what appears to be a minor issue in the paperwork from the shipper.

Nicely said, with the exception of B&H who seem to have this down to an art, buying from a US based supplier can be tricky.