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Flaking pigment on Epson 2200 prints

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by Tom Whelan on Wed Jan 28, 2004 4:25 pm

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I've noticed some small flakes that have come off some Eopsn 2200 prints I've been carting round in a portfolio. In one case, an obnoxious white spot on the (black) tail of an RWBB. Anybody know what causes this, and how to avoid it?

I'm wondering if I should protect the prints in sleeves in the portfolio, or maybe it's an issue of temperture or humidity when the prints was made. I've got figure how to avoid it- redoing 11x17 prints is too expensive.

Tom

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by E.J. Peiker on Wed Jan 28, 2004 5:49 pm

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Let me guess, they are printed on High Gloss paper? Glossy paper doesn't absorb the pigments like semi-gloss/luster and matter prints do and are for that reason not recommended with that printer.

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by Juan A. Pons on Wed Jan 28, 2004 9:11 pm

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I have seen this happen on the Epson velvet paper as well as other "fine art" papers.

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by Tom Whelan on Wed Jan 28, 2004 10:29 pm

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EJ, I used Archival Matte and Epson inks. I'd love to learn more about this before I start peddling prints...

Tom

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by Jenny Ellerbe on Thu Jan 29, 2004 9:12 am

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Tom, I don't know if this is what happened with yours but I always wipe off the paper BEFORE I print on it. Sometimes there's a bit of dust or some flakes on it that won't show up until after the ink is laid down. Then when it gets bumped or something, the flake will fall off, taking the ink with it. I have a white photographers glove (from B&H) that I use to wipe off the paper, especially matte or fine art.

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by Wil Hershberger on Thu Jan 29, 2004 9:34 am

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I have used Epson premium glossy, luster and matte and I have never seen this problem. I am using the 1440 dpi printing option.
I will have to keep an eye out of this.

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by Tom Whelan on Thu Jan 29, 2004 9:40 am

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Thanks, Jenny! I'll look into this. I think I'm also going to put in a call to Epson.

I did leave prints in the car once at 7 degrees F- maybe that did something.

Tom

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Last edited by Tom Whelan on Thu Jan 29, 2004 12:04 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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by Greg Downing on Thu Jan 29, 2004 11:30 am

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Are you printing at 1440 or 2880 DPI? If 2880 it could be that there is simply too much ink being put on the paper. Most pros recommend and use the 1440 DPI option and there is no discernible difference in the final result.

I'm puzzled by Jenny's method as it seems if you keep the paper in the package until the moment you make the print you should be ok.

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by Greg Downing on Thu Jan 29, 2004 11:33 am

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TomW wrote:I did leave prints in the car once at 7 degrees F- maybe that did something.

That might be the problem right there as the paper and ink will surely have slightly different expansion and contraction rates when subject to extreme temps.

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by Tom Whelan on Thu Jan 29, 2004 12:06 pm

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Thanks, Greg- I actually don't know what the dpi is, I'm using the default setting. I'll check and adjust if necessary.

I called Epson- they said the flaking could be related to needing to clean printer heads. I've never cleaned them (printer is three months old), so I'll try that. They said to run the clean procedure three times.

How often do you all clean print heads? Other than the flaking, print quality is great, so I haven't seen a need to clean 'em.

Tom

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by Jenny Ellerbe on Thu Jan 29, 2004 12:18 pm

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I got the wiping off/flaking tip from, I think, the injketart.com site. Greg ... you usually use the luster or SG papers, right? I don't think those are prone to flaking. But the fine art ones are bad about it. Plain matte not so much. I use photo rag and william turner mostly and they both flake. When I take a sheet directly from the package, stand it on its end, and tap it on the top of the desk (a dark color), I'll get little bits of white dust dropping off.

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by Greg Downing on Thu Jan 29, 2004 12:57 pm

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Jenny Ellerbe wrote:I got the wiping off/flaking tip from, I think, the injketart.com site. Greg ... you usually use the luster or SG papers, right? I don't think those are prone to flaking. But the fine art ones are bad about it. Plain matte not so much. I use photo rag and william turner mostly and they both flake. When I take a sheet directly from the package, stand it on its end, and tap it on the top of the desk (a dark color), I'll get little bits of white dust dropping off.

Jenny, yes I print on luster or sg most of the time. I have tried the fine art ones a few times but don't usually like the results for birds. Thanks for the tip though as I will surely keep this in mind if I use them again. Great information!

Tom, interestingly enough I have never cleaned my print heads....never needed to but maybe I should just for the heck of it. I don;t do a whole heck of a lot of printing anyway. My printer just sits there most of the time. I do usually shake the cartridges and re-insert them before printing after the printer has not been used for a long period of time.

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by Mark on Thu Jan 29, 2004 12:58 pm

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Jenny is right, this is usually the result of paper 'flakes' settling on the sheet from the cutting process or other processing. I have only encountered it with Fine Art paper, but certainly it would be possible with most other matte finish papers, where the fleck could go unnoticed.

A quick wipe before hand usually does the trick.

Mark

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by MartyC on Thu Jan 29, 2004 10:36 pm

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I really think the 7 degree temperature in the car is the culprit. The expansion and contraction of the ink caused the inkjet coating to release itself from the paper. Not to mention that you probaly put the heat on real high the next morning to warm things up. It just could not take the radical changes so fast. Inkjet media is quite sensitive to temperature and humidity changes.

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