Posted by Harley Goldman on September 21, 2009 at 6:49 PM
I am having issues with the delicate surface of the the Gold Fibre Silk. I am leaving the prints untouched for 24 hours to harden up the ink. Even after that, it seems that a gentle breeze practically mars the surface.
I have been having major issues with a 17 inch roll, but no real issues with 8.5x11 prints.
I have been looking around on the web and soooooo many people are using it, I am beginning to wonder if I might have a bad roll??
Any experiences people can share with this paper?
Posted by Ian Cox-Leigh on September 21, 2009 at 7:30 PM
Yeah, it is delicate.
What sort of marring are you seeing? I use it on a 17" roll in my ipf 5100 and haven't had too much trouble. It scuffs easily, but those minor scuffs are almost unnoticeable except when not under glass and in raking side light.
I was also, earlier, having difficulty with 'pizza wheel' marks. But switching from Special 5 to Special 4 or adding extra drying time between passes of the head solves that.
I am phasing it out in favour of Hanh. Photo Rag Baryta now that it is available (the Photo Rag Baryta is a neutral enough white for just about everything – I was previously doing warm tone B&W and warm hued colour prints on Ilford GFS and cold-tone images on Hanh Fine Art Baryta). The Hanh Photo Rag Baryta seems to have a slightly more resilient coating – I will miss the stronger Baryta smell of the Ilford GFS though.
Lastly, have you tried Hanhemuhle's spray coating? It really makes a print surface much more durable. If I request for dry mounting, I almost always use it. It also lays down a faint stipple effect, so it can wipe out minor scuffs that are already there. It is a nice product and given the parent company I have some small amount of faith that it really is archivally sound.
Posted by Harley Goldman on September 22, 2009 at 10:39 AM
I am seeing both fine scratching and occasionally a white dot where the ink seems to have come off in a spot, revealing the paper underneath.
The scratching is not coming from the printer. I had that problem earlier, widened the platen gap and the printer scratches went away. I am inspecting the print after they come off and they are fine. I set them aside uncovered for 24 hours. It seems they are getting scratched from sliding them in the protective archival plastic sleeves that are supposed to protect them from damage.
Posted by Ian Cox-Leigh on September 22, 2009 at 12:27 PM
I had a problem with flaking in a particular pack of sheet paper I was using a long time ago (not GFS). At the time, a solution was to run my hand (in a glove) over the paper surface BEFORE it went into the printer. It seemed the flaking was due to small bits of dust and debris on the surface of the paper – not the paper finish itself.
Now, that would be difficult to do with roll paper. So, sorry I can not offer any help.
Anyways, I have not had this problem with Ilford GFS at all. Maybe it is worth contacting Ilford, explaining your problem and seeing if they will exchange your roll with a new one. I did that once with a paper that had a problem in the coating (didn't hold the ink properly).
Posted by Nat Coalson on October 5, 2009 at 12:42 PM
The fine scratches are there to begin with; I've seen them on both rolls and sheets fresh out of the package.
The flaking comes from tiny pieces of coating breaking off the cut edge and floating around the printer. They stick to the surface, then, after the ink is sprayed on, they leave a white speck when they detach themselves from the surface.
I've used all kinds of papers and Ilford GFS is actually one of the sturdier surfaces. I haven't seen any scracthing or flaking that wasn't caused by the two sources above.
I can safely use a drafting brush on GFS, either before or after printing... which is not the case with many other papers.
I've recently been engaged in a discussion with William Neill about the spotting/flaking issues... your best bet is to buy a set of archival colored markers from Sakura of America. Check out the Pigma Micron pens. They are perfect for spotting prints and will very often save you from the need to reprint.
Discussion
4 repliesI have been having major issues with a 17 inch roll, but no real issues with 8.5x11 prints.
I have been looking around on the web and soooooo many people are using it, I am beginning to wonder if I might have a bad roll??
Any experiences people can share with this paper?
What sort of marring are you seeing? I use it on a 17" roll in my ipf 5100 and haven't had too much trouble. It scuffs easily, but those minor scuffs are almost unnoticeable except when not under glass and in raking side light.
I was also, earlier, having difficulty with 'pizza wheel' marks. But switching from Special 5 to Special 4 or adding extra drying time between passes of the head solves that.
I am phasing it out in favour of Hanh. Photo Rag Baryta now that it is available (the Photo Rag Baryta is a neutral enough white for just about everything – I was previously doing warm tone B&W and warm hued colour prints on Ilford GFS and cold-tone images on Hanh Fine Art Baryta). The Hanh Photo Rag Baryta seems to have a slightly more resilient coating – I will miss the stronger Baryta smell of the Ilford GFS though.
Lastly, have you tried Hanhemuhle's spray coating? It really makes a print surface much more durable. If I request for dry mounting, I almost always use it. It also lays down a faint stipple effect, so it can wipe out minor scuffs that are already there. It is a nice product and given the parent company I have some small amount of faith that it really is archivally sound.
The scratching is not coming from the printer. I had that problem earlier, widened the platen gap and the printer scratches went away. I am inspecting the print after they come off and they are fine. I set them aside uncovered for 24 hours. It seems they are getting scratched from sliding them in the protective archival plastic sleeves that are supposed to protect them from damage.
Now, that would be difficult to do with roll paper. So, sorry I can not offer any help.
Anyways, I have not had this problem with Ilford GFS at all. Maybe it is worth contacting Ilford, explaining your problem and seeing if they will exchange your roll with a new one. I did that once with a paper that had a problem in the coating (didn't hold the ink properly).
The flaking comes from tiny pieces of coating breaking off the cut edge and floating around the printer. They stick to the surface, then, after the ink is sprayed on, they leave a white speck when they detach themselves from the surface.
I've used all kinds of papers and Ilford GFS is actually one of the sturdier surfaces. I haven't seen any scracthing or flaking that wasn't caused by the two sources above.
I can safely use a drafting brush on GFS, either before or after printing... which is not the case with many other papers.
I've recently been engaged in a discussion with William Neill about the spotting/flaking issues... your best bet is to buy a set of archival colored markers from Sakura of America. Check out the Pigma Micron pens. They are perfect for spotting prints and will very often save you from the need to reprint.
I retouch prints prior to applying Print Shield.
http://www.sakuraofamerica.com/Pen-archival