S9000 + Qimage + RR Satin Pro

Well, tomorrow I'm supposed to tackle a printing project with a friend: printing the best possible prints out of beautiful pictures (TIF and PSP files in PS7) on a Canon S9000 with the latest version of Qimage and River River Satin Pro, which I just received. Will be trying not to waste TOO much paper and ink (canon OEM) so...

Which are the best settings in PS7 and in the printer driver? How 'bout Qimage?

Would anyone care to share their favorite settings and tips?

This stuff is intimidating. Thanks you very kindly for any help!

MJ

Miles Johnson said:

Well, tomorrow I'm supposed to tackle a printing project with a
friend: printing the best possible prints out of beautiful pictures
(TIF and PSP files in PS7) on a Canon S9000 with the latest version
of Qimage and River River Satin Pro, which I just received. Will be
trying not to waste TOO much paper and ink (canon OEM) so...

Which are the best settings in PS7 and in the printer driver? How
'bout Qimage?

Would anyone care to share their favorite settings and tips?

This stuff is intimidating. Thanks you very kindly for any help!

Click to expand...

Wish I could help on this one, but I may not be able to help much in this case. I've never tried the Red River paper in the Canons. Maybe some others can give advice as to the best print driver settings to use for that paper. Also, whenever using a new paper, it is always best to have a profile for that printer/paper/ink combo to make sure the color will be as accurate as possible with as little "tweaking" as possible.

I could take this opportunity to plug our Profile Prism for creating such profiles, but knowing that you are using the Canon with Red River papers, Joe Barnhart has some profiles that he developed with WiziWYG for Red River papers. Those (free) profiles might be all you need if they work well enough for you. You can find them here: http://wandb.com/icc.htm

--
Mike
http://www.ddisoftware.com

P.S. If you do download profiles that you want to try, to activate them in Qimage Pro, you only need to click "Printer ICC" in the bottom right of the main window and select the profile under the "Printer" profile. Once you've done that, just make sure to click "File", "Printer Setup" before printing and set up the print driver settings as the text file instructs (the text file that comes with the profile).

--
Mike
http://www.ddisoftware.com

Since Mike has given told you the important stuff, I'll tell you how I use PS7 and Qimage together. I do everything in PS EXCEPT sharpen and crop/resize.

I really like the Smart Sharpening that's built into Qimage, so I've gotten very lazy; unless I'm really playing with a photo and using selective sharpening on eyes or something, I just leave the sharpening to Qimage (access it by clicking on the writing beside Interpolation on the right side of the screen). I do adjust it according to the photo - usually for close-ups of people, I use a lower setting, for landscapes I set it more to the middle,etc...whatever works for the photo!

I also crop in Qimage...click the scissors, choose my size, choose my photo, then click on that photo on the page on the right and move or resize the crop until it's to my liking...then I can choose a different size, use the same photo, and crop that one the way I like. Saves a lot of time over saving each cropped photo for all the sizes I may want to print. It's also much easier to print borderless by using the size Custom, Full Page...perfect every time without worrying about what size to crop it to in PS.

--
Tricia
Minolta Dimage D7(UG), Epson 2200, PBase supporter

Miles,

I've experimented to no end...Here's my setup.

I use the sRGB color space in my images.
I make sure that the BJPrinter profile is associated with the printer
under the printer driver through control panel.
I select Photo Paper Pro
Double check quality - 1
Color Adjustment - ICM
Cyan + 5
Magenta + 5

I think Red River suggests setting the intensity -5 or -10. You'll have to double check. Either way, some experimenting is in order.

Most important, don't judge the print right away for color accuracy, let them dry for a few hours before judging.

Kevin R.

Miles J. said:

Well, tomorrow I'm supposed to tackle a printing project with a
friend: printing the best possible prints out of beautiful pictures
(TIF and PSP files in PS7) on a Canon S9000 with the latest version
of Qimage and River River Satin Pro, which I just received. Will be
trying not to waste TOO much paper and ink (canon OEM) so...

Which are the best settings in PS7 and in the printer driver? How
'bout Qimage?

Would anyone care to share their favorite settings and tips?

This stuff is intimidating. Thanks you very kindly for any help!

MJ

Click to expand...

I REALLY need an all in one, but wish to UPGRADE, something that is an all in one, but has a MUCH better printer,scanner,etc...

Any thoughts?

Hi Miles

When I bought my S9000, I ordered several boxes
of RR paper - the Satin Pro & the Ultra Pro Gloss.
At first I was very pleased.

However, after several months, the RR Satin prints
have faded very badly - particularly when hanging
unframed in a bright room (i.e. on the refrigerator
under fluorescent light). The RR became almost
monochrome.

I have not had the same problem with Canon PPP.

The Epson Glossy Photo Paper is also more stable.

I use only OEM ink.

Just thought you would like to know before you print
an important project.

Lou

Tricia,

Are you happy with the 2200? What is your typical print size out of the Epson? I mostly print 4x6 and was wondering if that's a shotgun to kill a butterfly. I really want a photo quality printer that's easy to use and maintain. Currently test driving a HP 7550 with ok results. Thoughts?

Miles

I have also had a lot of problems with the Red River fading. It is ok if you keep the prints away from the sunlight, but I had horrible fading problems with a few prints just sitting on a mantle piece. Just bought a few boxes of Ilford Gallerie, since it is reported to be much more stable.

The prints I got on my 9000 with the Red River paper looked ok, but had a definite red cast until I generated profiles. I had bad luck downloading the generic profiles that Joe Barnhart did, but others said they worked ok. I heartily recommend getting the Profile Prism, since you will undoubtedly switch at some point to another paper or ink.

Tom

Lou Tent said:

Hi Miles

When I bought my S9000, I ordered several boxes
of RR paper - the Satin Pro & the Ultra Pro Gloss.
At first I was very pleased.

However, after several months, the RR Satin prints
have faded very badly - particularly when hanging
unframed in a bright room (i.e. on the refrigerator
under fluorescent light). The RR became almost
monochrome.

I have not had the same problem with Canon PPP.

The Epson Glossy Photo Paper is also more stable.

I use only OEM ink.

Just thought you would like to know before you print
an important project.

Lou

Click to expand...

Well as luck has it I've been dealing woth one crisis after another today and it will be a miracle if I can even begin this project for another 3-4 days now... Arrrrgh! On the other hand, you guys have been VERY helpful and have brought up some very interesting things (yes Profile Prism will probably be on the purchase list as soon as budget allows!) and perhaps with a few more contributions I can get a clearer picture of our options for best results.

At this point my main question has to be: is Red River Glossy Pro and Satin Pro paper really THAT awful in terms of fading. Can other S9000/S900 users confirm that? If that's the case then I will just use up the Glossy Pro and satin Pro stock for some less important stuff and move on.

Where do you guys buy Ilford Gallerie, by the way?

Any other paper anyone you moved to?

Thanks for all the help. I love this forum!

MJ

PS Is there a specific Qimage forum somewhere?

Hi Miles

I can only restate: the RR Satin is awful.

When I said faded, I mean R-E-A-L-L-Y faded.
As an example, if you have any color snapshots
from the 50's around - well it's worse!

When I printed on it originally, the prints seemed
fine, but after this experience, I would never use
this with the S9000 again.

I will probably use it for quick prints to give away,
but noyhing important, that's for sure.

I think RR is more compatable with Epson ink.

Lou

Miles J. said:

At this point my main question has to be: is Red River Glossy Pro
and Satin Pro paper really THAT awful in terms of fading. Can other
S9000/S900 users confirm that?

Click to expand...

I live in a more congenial climate and my RR papers have not faded that badly yet. However, I do believe they are more prone to fading than other papers. Epson Colorlife paper seems to be most resistant to fading, even with Canon OEM inks instead of Epson.

See the results at http://www.livick.com . Click on "mastering methodology" and then "inkjet print longevity". Look at the daylight fading data compiled by Bill Waterson from some samples I sent him. Colorlife tops the chart, with RR Polar Gloss taking second. Their UltraPro Gloss and Satin papers are well down the list.

I've been using Red River Ultra Satin and 3rd party inks for > 3 years and have never had any fading. First it was with an Epson 1270 and for the last year or so with the Canon S9000. I guess it depends where you live. I'm in New Orleans - very humid. Maybe the humidity helps. Anyway, I've had some prints in the sun (near a window), in frames, unframed, etc. and have never seen ANY fading. FWIW
Good Luck!

EG your results are clearly exactly the opposite of Lou's. It would be most interesting is we could try to track down why. A bit of difference would be understandable, but this much?

Also, I could have missed something but I have been unable to find anything that addresses the fading issue on the Red River site. They do SEEM to be a serious company. Anyone from that company or any expert cares to comment?

Thanks.

MJ

Hi Miles,

Our testing indicates with the Canon S9000 and OEM Inks the RR Polar Gloss and Satin show considerably less fading than their Ultra Pro Gloss and Satin. I am also interested in why EG's results are just the opposite of Lou's.

Bill

Bill

Miles J. said:

EG your results are clearly exactly the opposite of Lou's. It would
be most interesting is we could try to track down why. A bit of
difference would be understandable, but this much?

Also, I could have missed something but I have been unable to find
anything that addresses the fading issue on the Red River site.
They do SEEM to be a serious company. Anyone from that company or
any expert cares to comment?

Thanks.

MJ

Click to expand...

--
Bill

If it's any help, I use MIS inks.

Bill, as a non-expert let me first say how grateful I am to you, Mr. Livick, Bob Meyer (referenced in another recent topic) and anyone else who's willing to do some real-life testing of all these papers and inks. You are doing us all an IMMENSE favor. I will not comment here on most manufacturers' lack of interest in investing even a small part of the tens of millions of dollars they make in selling ink (true or not, I heard recently that a Canon OEM cartridge costs them 25 cents to produce and 50 cents if you include all the packaging, etc. as found on the store shelf, even if that's off by 100% their profits are still obscene) as I find it truly appalling. All the more thanks to you folks.

BUT I would find it truly surprising - and quite frankly really st*pid - that a "small" company like Red River would want to go the same route. They have so much business, not to mention respect, to gain by acting responsively and professionally like say Mr. Chaney does on these boards and others (they already sell their paers at a fair price, which is a good sign...) So I've changed the subject on this thread* in the hope of catching their attention.

Again, Red River paper folks, where are you?! Care to address the concerns of your customers about your papers fading badly while printed on S9000 and OEM inks?

EG, I was just about to ask you what inks you use! What's "MIS"? Could you post their URL? Also, does using their ink void the Canon warranty?

MJ

• A quick note to the board manager/owner here. IMHO 30 threads per page for a board as active as this one has become woefully insufficient. My 19 inch monitor would take much more, plus there's nothing wrong with a little scrolling . I believe that having 100 thredas would be a major improvement in many ways. It would certainly help companies better spot whatever issues are brought up. You would still get hundreds of thousands of clicks because most of them evidently come from the need for clicking on each message to display it.

Here's a link to the RR site's discussion of paper longevity:

http://www.redrivercatalog.com/Pages/archivalcopy.html

I don't know if it's accurate. I found it buried in the site just recently.

Using 3rd party inks does not void warranties. MIS inks are at:
http://www.inksupply.com

I posted the link to RR's discussion of print longevity. Is it not showing?

BTW - I don't work for RR or have any connection with them. I just have been very pleased with their papers and prices. I guess I'm lucky I haven't any problems!