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by pdschu on Thu Dec 04, 2014 9:58 pm
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Last year I had occasion to visit a gallery in Park City. They had nature prints on display that seemed to have much more pop or presence or depth than my prints. I have a 3880 printer. They said their prints were done with lightjet and they also were lighted with some type of spots that may have contributed to the 'look'.

I have read many of the posts on this forum regarding the lightjet vs inkjet and I think I understand the process of each and the advantages of each. It would seem that inkjet prints with a 3880 should be adequate. My question comes down to what paper used with a 3880 printer would give a print with these characteristics of pop and depth? I have not used 'metallic' papers and am not sure if this is what I should try or other papers. I have only used Epson papers thus far.

I am open to all suggestions and advice. Thanks
Paul Schumacher
Schumacher Photography
 

by SantaFeJoe on Thu Dec 04, 2014 10:51 pm
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I have tried metallic papers with a smaller printer and loved the effect when brighter colors were present. They do pop! A friend prints larger metallic prints and they also look great when strong colors are present. The prints I have seen done on metal also look really good. Lighting plays an important role in a gallery setting. If you go into a jewelry store, you can tell how lighting brings out the best in diamonds and other stones. It is the same for photographs. One of the artists galleries in Park City is Tom Mangelsen. I know he uses Fuji Crystal Archive paper for some of his prints. You might inquire with the gallery you saw the prints in  to see what paper the prints for sale are printed on, even though they are probably not available for your Epson.

http://mangelsen.com/pdf/DisplayOption_PrintOnly.pdf

Fuji is also used by this one:

http://www.westlightimages.com/gallery.php?cat_id=8

This one talks about metal prints:

http://www.willieholdman.com/products/p ... raming.asp

Regarding Lightjet prints, this article says that they use Fuji Crystal Archive and Kodak Endura papers:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LightJet

Joe
Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.  -Pablo Picasso
 

by pdschu on Fri Dec 05, 2014 12:40 am
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Thanks Joe.

These Fuji Crystal Archive prints are the type of prints I was referring to. I wish to try as close as possible to get this effect with an inkjet. Further reading has turned up Moab Slickrock Metallic Silver paper. Have you or anyone else had experience using this paper?
Paul Schumacher
Schumacher Photography
 

by SantaFeJoe on Fri Dec 05, 2014 1:07 am
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Here's a couple of links to a similar question:

http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/866499

http://www.naturescapes.net/forums/view ... =2&t=88259

I'll have to look for the name of the metallic paper I used. I'll let you know. The best way to try it is from a sample pack of different papers to see if you like the metallic or any others. That won't cost too much.

Joe
Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.  -Pablo Picasso
 

by Royce Howland on Fri Dec 05, 2014 12:11 pm
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Moab Slickrock Metallic Pearl can be a very punchy media to use with certain images that you want to give a highly dynamic look. But prints can pop for many reasons:
  • The original scene light: warm, vibrant light with good contrast vs. low, flat light.
  • The image processing: effective edits for global, local & micro contrast, plus good colour and colour contrast, plus techniques to emphasize the illusion of depth in a 2D print.
  • The printer / ink used: dyes tend to be more saturated than pigments, some pigment inksets are more vivid than others, blacks are important, some non-inkjet print methods may be inherently very vivid on certain media.
  • The paper / media use: matte vs. glossy vs. high gloss media such as Moab Slickrock or metal, plus presence or absence of optical brighteners in the paper and appropriate treatment of same.
  • The printing process: poor profiles that flatten midtone contrast or block up blacks vs. great profiles that preserve contrast and subtle hues, plus effectively translating the image black point to the media to hold the darkest tones.
  • The lighting on the print: dim vs. bright light with respect to the dark or bright tone of the print, cool vs. warm light and how that interacts with the colouring of the print, plus full spectrum vs. biased spectrum such as halogen vs. weird spectrum such as ugly fluorescents with blue & green spectral spikes.
  • Other presentation factors: anti-glare vs. normal glass if the print is framed & glazed, angle of light striking the display surface to reduce glare or not, plus the surrounding frame, mat and wall to provide effective contrast to the print itself.
Any or all of these things can dramatically improve the "presence" of a print. Some are more appropriate for certain images. Just printing on a high gloss media may help, but it's only a single piece of whole puzzle... and depending on the lighting and other presentation factors, sometimes a glossier media may actually appear less punchy because of the reflections & glare from the media surface.

You can break down the entire viewing experience of a print and isolate which of these things, plus perhaps others, can be helpful to improve the impact...
Royce Howland
 

by a_photo_guru on Fri Jan 02, 2015 1:56 pm
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Have you tried aluminum printing yet OP? have to say I've had great results from it and some very satisfied clients.
 

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