Best practices on first-time Pro-100S ink management

[The Hat]

Who cares, because the photo paper sells for a song, and the prints I’ve made at present are all still white, now if only all dye inks were that stable..

To prove a point, I resurrected this test print I did back in 2011, it’s not looking that bad but note how white the paper looks, the very top section is a new piece added, but holding both sheets in my hand I must admit there is a slight yellow hue in the old paper stock.. O' and I don't have a grudge with OBA's..
It's been sitting in my hallway... click to enlarge..
P.S. the air here must be sweeter or maybe it's something else..

 

[palombian]

Aldi netBIT is about 4 times cheaper than Canon Photo Paper Plus Glossy II and IMO a close match in surface and gamut (and 300g i.o. 275g).
Same price ratio for good quality 3th party pigment ink.

Platinum PRO has a much smoother surface but is 75% more expensive.

Based on 1 ml/A4 pigment ink on PRO-10:

Aldi paper 0.12 + 3th party ink 0.13 = 0.25
Glossy II 0.48 + 3th party ink 0.13 = 0.61
Platinum 0.88 + 3th party ink 0.13 = 1.01

Aldi paper 0.12 + OEM ink 0.77 = 0.89
Glossy II 0.48 + OEM ink 0.77 = 1.25
Platinum 0.88 + OEM ink 0.77 = 1.65

Fading is not an issue for pigment inks, 3th party included (I don't care how it looks in 100 yrs).
I did not observe significant yellowing since I started almost 7 years ago.
Most probably Glossy II has OBA's too.

Agree with @The Hat that as a refiller you should find low cost paper if not it doesn't make a lot of sense.
Not always easy, and you need a calibrating device too.

It is a hobby, not cheaper, but you can print 2-4 times more for the same price.

 

[Artur5]

Low cost paper, yes. With a bit of patience you can find nice deals out there on good papers.
Low cost cheaply made paper NO !. You don't save much if your wall-pinned prints have to be renewed every year instead of every five years.
Also, for pigment printers I prefer luster/satin/matte paper to glossy.

Well, I guess that we must agree on our disagreement in this matter ...

 

[The Hat]

Well, I guess that we must agree on our disagreement in this matter ...

I reckon it’s good when we can both sing from the same Hymn sheet….

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

Yes, OBA's are a pretty critical issue on its own, there are only a few papers on the market w/o OBA's, like museum type papers, and two HP papers showed up using no OBA's
HP Premium Plus Glossy Photo Paper
HP Advanced Glossy Photo Paper
www.printerknowledge.com/threads/how-does-the-choice-of-a-glossy-paper-influence-the-fading-of-dye-inks.12326/post-106466 (posting #3)
OBA's are fading with different speeds, and papers are not marked whether they use OBA's or not. The user is left in the dark in this respect.
And yes - the Sihl/Lidl/Aldi paper is not best suited for use with pigment inks, other papers give a better look, a complete overprint with GO/CO improves the look on the Sihl paper somewhat but doing that does not really make sense - rather use a different paper.

I got good deals on the HP papers - with more than 50% reduction, I'm looking for 'used' paper at Amazon, dealers sell customer returns at throw away prices - and it depends on the description - one sheet missing is o.k. for me , but it should be o.k. otherwise, no ditched corners etc which would be a reason for return, and some dealer told me in such case - keep it , you get a credit, the return and handling costs exceed the product value for me.

 

[palombian]

...
And yes - the Sihl/Lidl/Aldi paper is not best suited for use with pigment inks, other papers give a better look, a complete overprint with GO/CO improves the look on the Sihl paper somewhat but doing that does not really make sense - rather use a different paper.
...

Indeed, Luster and Pearl surfaces are better for pigment, and CO does not change the surface, or even enhances it.
I would like to find such a paper for comparable price as Aldi (and in larger sizes).

My result on glossy papers is much better with the PRO-10. I see no difference between Aldi and Canon Glossy II.
A separate overprint made the surface and the colors duller (maybe I laid too much, but this chapter is closed).
This, and the time saving, is the big advantage of the PRO-10 for me.

Still have to find a solution for the parts of the image without ink (but as I observed, even in the Canon showroom they don't care).
Removing clipped whites helps, but you can't do this always without compromising the image.
I once read you can solve this (in Photoshop ?) by laying a 1% coverage on these parts.

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

All this discussion justs shows how complex a situation it is - to combine this 3rd party ink with that 3rd party paper on this or that printer for best output , we are all testing and testing until we find some combination which we think is good or good enough for our needs.

but as I observed, even in the Canon showroom they don't care).

I have seen prints on the last Photokina exhibition which were just great - technically - but some that poor that I would have thrown away a print with such bad print quality at home , they probably could have done a reprint easily at the Canon or Epson booth - but nobody cared. Or are we too critical in this respect ?

 

[palombian]

... Or are we too critical in this respect ?

I was thinking the same with my recent equipment upgrades.
OTH my gear was becoming obsolete and I didn't break the bank.

You can make sloppy photos with expensive equipment and very satisfying ones using decent gear with attention.

 

[SkedAddled]

Two months ago, I got myself a refurbished Pro-100s. Now, after some printing (20 A4, glossy, full colour), the first tanks are getting empty, so I've been wondering what my best next step would be.

If you'll be refilling, I'd suggest having one or more sets of all 8 carts at the ready.
The whole-set changeout mentioned is a way to significantly reduce spent ink from the purge cycle
that is triggered by a change of just 1 cart.
So instead of all 8 channels being purged for a single cart change, they all purge just once
for a change of all 8, instead of multiple purges from the fuller carts as single carts are replaced
individually.

 

[PeterBJ]

I think it is a good idea to extend the life of the ink absorbers by minimising the number of purges, as it is not clear if you can enter service mode and reset the ink absorber counter on the PRO-100S.

Has anybody tried one of the new service tools that claim to support the PRO models of Canon printers?