How to take pictures of gloss differential properly?

[pharmacist]

I have been printing with the Epson Inktec Powerchrome K3 for awhile now and I am very happy with the results. I was hoping to take a picture of two identical prints made with OCP K3 Vivid and Inktec Powerchrome K3 ink, but I was not able to catch the very difference in gloss differential of both inks especially in a region with a solid dark red area. Can someone give me some tips how to capture gloss differential to show to you all?

I tried flash light, but it doesn't work and on the pictures taken till now I could not see the gloss difference one could see with his/her naked eye.

 

[3dogs]

Just a thought, shoot at 45 degrees to the surface, framing BOTH in the same image, with a light source reflection evident at some place in both samples?? Might work???

 

[pharmacist]

I manage to get a rather good comparison.

Have a look at both prints made with the Epson Pro 3880. I fortunately found a print a few months ago made with OCP K3 Vivid pigment ink with the exact image.

Please note the white light rays over the paper. The second on the left passes over both paper sheets, but the third and fourth one stops at the area with a large red area of the second sheet. As you can see the Inktec Powerchrome K3 vivid ink is much glossier and does not has that problem with muted down reds/magentas.

 

[jtoolman]

Lay out the prints outside on the shady side of the house and angle the camera so you can reflect the sky on the print surfaces. That way regardless, both prints will be reflecting the sky evenly. You ought to be able to see the differences quite readily.
Artificial light sources are difficult to use and get equal amounts of glare on the print surfaces. At best the will be more on one and less on the other unless you have a very large even source of light like a photo studio soft box for a light source.

Joe

 

[pharmacist]

Hi Joe,

I already have taken these pictures as you can see. I had to tape the paper firmly together, so the angle will be exactly the same to get a equal amount of light falling at the exact angle to get a good comparison.

 

[costadinos]

You need a more directional source of light.
The photos in the link below were taken in the studio using a softbox with a grid:

http://www.printerknowledge.com/threads/inktec-vs-ocp-vs-epson-vs-nanodigital-pigment-inks.8638/

 

[Dimitris Servis]

Use a longer lens and keep your flash outside the family of angles. If still does not work, try a polarizer. Or two, put one on the flash ;-)

 

[FoVITIS]

The K3 ink looks interesting... even with the litte bronzing on glossy...

But... 1 L Bottles?... a bit too much... are there any smaller ones like 100ml ?


regards from Germany

 

[Smile]

Great shots, K3 seems way more glossy !

 

[Mags]

The issue also looks like adobe rgb in the ocp and srgb in the powerchrome giving the appearance of flat reds. Were they both using the same profile settings? I do rate Inktec k3 inks , could do with better black L values however.