Inkjet Products FAQ

(Frequently Asked Questions - Answered!)

On this page you will find answers to common questions about inkjet products

What is bronzing? Can it be fixed?

Bronzing is an image defect that occurs with some inkjet printers and some papers. Earlier pigment inksets were the most well known culprits - the Epson 2000P was notorious, and the original Ultrachrome inkset had bronzing problems on gloss and semi-gloss papers. The new Ultrachrome K3 printers have pretty much elminated bronzing as a problem

Bronzing is a phenomenon where, when paper is viewed from an angle, part of the image seems to dissapear or taking on a uniform tone in appearance. It occurs because of some of the ink laid on the paper is not properly absorbed into the coating, instead sitting on top of the page. The effect is only visible from an angle and is generally not a real problem in practical contexts, however when visible it is quite unattractive.

In general, spraying your prints with a high quality coating will substantially reduce or even eliminate bronzing with typical semi-gloss and gloss papers.

With super high gloss papers (i.e plastic based papers like Pictorico High Gloss White Film), the spray does work but will leave a visible semi-gloss texture on the print and it isn't an ideal solution. The best option is to try another paper but the problem is inherent in current coating on high gloss papers and there is no perfect solution at this stage

What is gloss differential? Can it be fixed?

Gloss differential is a visible difference in the glossy surface of a print across areas with different amounts of ink or between areas of the page printed on versus not printed on. It's not quite the same as bronzing (see above) but closely related and due to the same general issue of differing amounts of absorption of ink by the paper's coating.

Generally, it's not a huge problem as it's not easily visible, but it can be visible in direct viewing of the print and can create an unpleasant appearance.

In general, spraying your prints with a high quality coating will substantially reduce or even eliminate gloss differential with typical semi-gloss and gloss papers.

With super high gloss papers (i.e plastic based papers like Pictorico High Gloss White Film), the spray does work but will leave a visible semi-gloss texture on the print and it isn't an ideal solution. The best option is to try another paper but the problem is inherent in current coating on high gloss papers and there is no perfect solution at this stage.

Argh! There's too many papers, where should I start?

You can read some more in depth information about paper quality here. But in a nutshell, it comes down to the surface texture you want, with four basic choices:

Of course, the best place to start is probably sample packs - there's no subsitute for actually getting your hands on these papers to see what they really look like and feel like.

Some good starting points:

Matte Papers - Smooth

The best paper to start with would definitely be Hahnemuehle's Photo Rag. It accepts both dye and pigment inks, offers spectacular ink quality, is 100% cotton rag, and has a truly matte surface (i.e. there are no surface reflection issues at all).

Matte Papers - Textured

This is a bit harder because textures are a very personal thing. Our favourite is Hahnemuehle Torchon, but you will be best off getting some sample packs and find the best texture to suit your work.

Semi-Gloss

If you're using a pigment ink printer with the photo black ink - Crane Silver Rag or Canson PhotoSatin

If you're using apigment ink printer with the matte black ink - Hahnemuehle Photo Rag Satin

if you're using a dye based printer - Canson PhotoSatin

Gloss

If you're using a pigment ink printer with the photo black ink - Canson PhotoGloss

If you're using a pigment ink printer with the matte black ink - There isn't a really a gloss paper that works well with the matte black ink

if you're using a dye based printer - Canson PhotoGloss

What's all this about rag and watercolour papers?

This refers to how the paper is made - basically, cotton papers are much stronger (and therefore last much longer) than wood pulp based papers. You can read all about it here. The reference to rag is because the actual cotton used in making rag papers come from offcuts from the clothing industry - thus cotton rag papers are not only the highest quality papers, they're also environmentally more friendly because they are made from material that would otherwise end up in landfill!

Are optical brighteners in a paper a problem?

This one is very much open for debate

You can read all about it here.