Using Epson Watercolor Paper

I tried printing on Epson watercolor paper tonight for the first time using my R2400 printer. The result was pathetic. The colors were dull and washed out. The same photo prints spectacularly on premium luster paper.

So, I am trying figure out what went wrong. According to Epson, their water color "radiant white" paper is only compatible with ultrachrome inks. UltrachromeK3 is obviously the correct ink.

Photoshop is controlling color for printing and watercolor paper is selected in the first two print menus. "Best Photo" without "High Speed" was selected. I am printing on the textured side of the paper.

Wonder what I've missed? Appreciate any suggestions.

Steve, just wondering if you tried using the Watercolor paper profile from Epson, and selecting No Color Adjustment within the Epson driver settings?

Yes, both the watercolor paper profile and no color adjustment were selected. The result was as if I had choosen high speed printing on plain paper, although the printing took at least 5 minutes.

Yup - correct K3 INK, but do you have Matte Black installed? If dmax is suffering it sounds like you still have the Photo Black in that you use with your Premium Luster. Overall, Matte, WaterColor & FineArt papers will not reach the same quality as glossy/luster but are attractive for their own merits. My personal preference is the EPSON UltraSmooth FineArt Paper on my R2400.

Larry

I have the Photo Black installed presently. I'll install the Matte Black and try it again. Thanks.

I installed the Matte Black cartridge and reprinted on the watercolor paper. The Epson printer utility cautioned me that the Matte Black ink cartridge might not be compatible with the paper selection. I overrode this and printed it. The improvement is very slight, the blacks are a little bolder, but the print's colors still look dull and extremely subdued. Maybe this is what watercolor paper is supposed to look like?

Did you print with relative calorimetric rendering or perceptual. You might want to try a test print with the one you didn't use to see if it makes a difference.

It's water color paper, it is designed to have a very high absorption index and give flatter and more pastel like colors as would a water color painting on a highly porous stock. You may be seeing exactly what the paper was intended to look like. If you want a more vivid look but no gloss, try one of the high quality matte papers.

Steve,

Printing on the watercolor-type papers will give you images that are less contrasty, less rich than what you have seen on photo-papers. Its just an inherent aspect of the paper. Granted, you may need to correct some settings to get things to print optimally, but even when you get there you should not expect to see a match to what you were printing on "photo papers".

I use Radiant White Watercolor, Matte Black Ink, and produce prints from Photoshop with the following settings on an Epson 2200, perhaps this will be helpful to you:

1) View -> Proof Setup -> choose the profile for your printer/paper/ink combination, profile should have been provided from your printer or paper vendor. Make sure you are using the profile for the black ink you are using (matte or photo). You should be using matte ink for watercolor paper.

2) View -> Gamut warning (just to be sure you have not overdone it on levels or curves)

3) Print -> Profile -> should be consistent with profile in 1)

4) Print -> Intent -> Perceptual (my preference)

5) Print -> Use Black Point Compensation

On the Epson print dialog, I use:

Watercolor Paper - Radiant White
SuperPhoto - 2880 dpi
High Speed UNCHECKED
Edge Smoothing UNCHECKED
Color Management -> ICM
ICC Profile -> No color adjustment

Results look good everytime, very close to what I expect and see onscreen.

Good luck!

Phil

Phil,

Just one input on your settings - printing at 2880 DPI is a waste of ink as you are putting down a lot more ink than you need to. If you print at 1440 there is absolutely no discernable difference by any measure on any paper and you use a lot less ink. The high DPI counts are purely marketing driven indicators.

Try it, there is absolutely no difference and on a matte or watercolor paper, 1440 might be better because there is less ink to absorb thereby reducing ink spread in the absorption process.

E.J.,

Thanks for pointing that out, I will try it, I have some prints to spin off tomorrow.

Phil

E.J. Peiker wrote:Phil,

Just one input on your settings - printing at 2880 DPI is a waste of ink as you are putting down a lot more ink than you need to. If you print at 1440 there is absolutely no discernable difference by any measure on any paper and you use a lot less ink. The high DPI counts are purely marketing driven indicators.

Try it, there is absolutely no difference and on a matte or watercolor paper, 1440 might be better because there is less ink to absorb thereby reducing ink spread in the absorption process.

oceanlight wrote:Thanks for pointing that out, I will try it, I have some prints to spin off tomorrow.

You'll find that virtually any text that covers inkjet photo printing will tell you to set it for 1440

Steve - Phil makes a great point by doing the soft proofing. You might find that watercolor paper might require some more tweaks to curves and saturation than you are normally used to with Lustre. By doing the soft proof, you can tune these to taste and the print should be more accurate.

Of course, all of this is hard to judge because we can't see what you are classifying as dull colors. Generally watercolor paper should produce different results than RC papers, but not to the extent of looking like printing on plain paper or if it was printed on the wrong side.

EJ- theoretically- wouldn't printing at 2880 putting down additional ink, be better for d max because of the absorbent paper? Sure there's some bleed but hey--it's a watercolor look. And bleed is what watercolor is all about.

Anyways thats subjective to personal taste---but have you played much with the different possibilities much on watercolor paper? It just seems that 2880 might help with the washed out look.