Gloss Optimizer - Epson

[Ink stained Fingers]

yes, it's all happening on the surface - pigment agglomeration, reflection, diffraction etc, and since there are no simple measures I can go for and select inks and papers by I have to go to test this and that combination by my own taste and preference. And since you are announcing some new material I'll go for a test pretty soon.

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

I tested another paper - satin by Print4Life via Amazon - 19.90/100sheets, this is pricewise more at the budjet range. Prints look very similar to the Sihl silk/lustre paper, this one takes some more ink but it is still not enough for good use in the R800. It prints fine in the R265 with pigment inks.
I looked up some pricing at the sihl-direct.de shop, the Aldi A4 Glossy - Quick dry 0769 280gr is normally much more expensive with 20 sheets/5.27€, and not 50 sheets /4,99€ at Aldi last time in Germany.
The lustre version 0722 sells at 8.04€/20 sheets, last time at Aldi at 1.99€/15 sheets. I'm waiting for Aldi-Nord to come with the next special offer of those papers, and/or Netbit glossy, typically end of November in Germany.
There is a data sheet available for the Sihl/glossy paper listing compatibility with various inks and printers - it's rated excellent with dye inks but only fair with Epson pigment inks - K3 or Highgloss - that's directly visible, and even the Gloss optimizer does not make it better.
http://www.sihl-intranet.de/downloa...ick-Dry-Fotopapier-280-131221426094834957.pdf
That is interesting information nevertheless - not all suppliers are making such type of detailed information available.

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

I did some more testing with inks and GO etc with some interesting results.

I so far used 8 different ink sets including orignal Canon pigment inks for the Pro-10, they are all somewhat different but no ink really stands out with the best gloss and no bronzing. I used the InkTec Powerchrome K3 which is quite glossy, the black is only acceptable with GO over it. I tested a Durabrite compatible ink claimed to be glossy on glossy papers - yes - it is - with lots of bronzing without GO and still some gloss differences with GO. I always used the CMY colors only, and mixed the red and blue for the R800 from the base colors, this may reduce the gamut a little bit but should not change the overall perception of the gloss appearance.

I tested a range of semiglossy, silk, lustre, satin etc classified papers - papers make a big difference as well, it's the ink with the right paper to get to an appealing print. Some papers have a pretty low ink saturation limit, they leave wet spots on a printout with the glossy paper driver settings.
But I tested a work around - I filled the photo pigment ink into the matte ink cartridge of the R800, printed the test sheets with the inkjet paper driver setting, and printed the GO in a 2nd print pass over it. That works very well but it takes more time for the 2nd print pass.
It is my personal judgement that I like the Sihl/Aldi semimatt paper best, it has a fine surface structure and some good glossy sheen but not too much. This Sihl paper only works with the Inkjet paper setting, it has a pretty low ink limit. I tested this same paper as well with the Inkjet paper setting on a R265 with pigment inks and with a GO overprint - the Gamut of the R800 print is visibly bigger than the gamut of the R265 print - with the same inks. This paper is over the limit as well with any glossy paper setting on a R265, no difference to the R800.
The 2nd choice is a silk paper by Print4Life via Amazon, with 20cts/seet vs. 13ct/seet for the Sihl/Aldi type, the overall look is very similar to the Sihl/Aldi paper. I tested as well some more expensive premium papers by Tecco and Fotospeed, they don't look better, I just will use up the sample packs.

I took another round and looked as well to a range of glossy papers, the glossy Sihl/Aldi paper just does not look good, it's out, even for the low price. I tested some cheap cast coated glossy papers with and w/o GO, they are useless with pigment inks.
I tested the Aldi/Netbit glossy paper which looks pretty good, it takes all the ink on the R800 with the Premium glossy Photo Paper setting, Foto quality, and I observed an interesting effect:

the prints without GO show quite some bronzing - no surprise really and the original trigger for my tests

the prints with GO in the same printpass via the driver - GO full - still show some bronzing, it's looks better than the prints w/o GO, but it's still there

Prints printed in 2 passes - first pass without GO - 2nd pass just the GO over the dried print makes the bronzing go away, almost - very much - down to a almost unvisible level - it looks much better overall.
It is probably a surface effect between the GO and the still wet or already dried pigment ink layer on the paper. I did not notice that before probably because I wasn't expecting that, it makes a visible difference.

I tested some other glossy papers - Tecco and this and that - but no paper really gives me a better result at this time than this Aldi/Netbit paper, the gloss is not as high and uniform as with a dye ink print, but looks quite o.k. to me at this time, the big improvement - elimination of the bronzing comes with separate printing passes of the image and the GO.

 

[The Hat]

I reckon after all that testing you’d be ready to GO for a drink, well done @Ink stained Fingers, you must have been up to your eyes in test samples, Phew..

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

Thanks for caring so much - temperatures are dropping - I'm just ready to GO for a hot tea with some Carribean destillate additive.....

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

Aldi-Nord is offering the Netbit glossy paper next week Monday, Nov 14 again in Germany, 50 sheets A4 for 4,99€ and as well 100 sheets 10x15 for the same price...
http://www.aldi-nord.de/print/kw462016/ALDI_unsere_Angebote_ab_Montag_14_11_2016.pdf p 12

I hope you get your share as well of these papers in those countries Aldi-Nord is doing business in

 

[PeterBJ]

A bit off-topic but thank you for the photo paper tip. I'll keep an eye on the Aldi DK ads in the near future.

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

I mentioned the Netbit paper above, I'll replenish my inventory next week - no , that's not paper hoarding.....

 

[The Hat]

Aldi and Lidl have noting on sale out west as far as photo papers are concerned, the branch of Aldi here don’t sell any and Lidl have all but forgotten to get supplies.

I am stuck because Lidl photo paper is all that I can afford to buy, I use 3rd party inks for the very same reason, besides I’d need to know how to take some decent Photo first...

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

I did a test with the DL dye inks in the R800, without GO, and mixed red and blue with yellow and magenta and cyan and magenta. I used the same Netbit paper and the same 'Premium Glossy Photo Paper' driver settings.
The Gamut of the R800 is slightly smaller than with the L800, I didn't use the same black ink in this case. The L800 gives some more saturation in the magenta - orange range, the R800 gives more saturation in the cyan to green range. Since I'm not using real red and blue inks it just shows what I could get with existing inks. The L800 has as well some wider range at the top of the gamut cone - the very light colors have a better coverage, probably related to the light colors in the L800, but I'm not sure whether those differences are really visible in actual printouts.