Epson Matte Paper Heavyweight-curling/cupping problem

"photo" wrote in message

I recently purchased a 50-sheet pack of Epson "Matte Paper Heavyweight"

and

the sheets seems to be cupping along the length of the paper (the backside of the paper being the concave side). This cupping is not drastic but definately noticable.

Has this paper been on the retail shelf too long?

Has any had this experience?

Mark

It’s my absolute favourite paper, I use virtually nothing else. I have never had a problem with it whatsoever, and recently found a pack of 50 A4 sheets which must be at least 4 years old at the back of a cupboard and it’s as good as new, and certainly each sheet is dead flat.

Fi

"photo" wrote in message

I recently purchased a 50-sheet pack of Epson "Matte Paper Heavyweight"

and

the sheets seems to be cupping along the length of the paper (the backside of the paper being the concave side). This cupping is not drastic but definately noticable.

Has this paper been on the retail shelf too long?

Has any had this experience?

Mark

What printer/ink set are you using?

Probably too much ink on the paper or you are not letting the prints dry completely. Stacking the prints?

Jim Kramer

Yep….but its not related to the printer. Its the moisture in the air. Its different from the moisture where it was stored. Let it set for a few days. Let the air get to it. See if that flattens it out. In a printing company that happens all the time.

"photo" wrote in message

I recently purchased a 50-sheet pack of Epson "Matte Paper Heavyweight"

and

the sheets seems to be cupping along the length of the paper (the backside of the paper being the concave side). This cupping is not drastic but definately noticable.

Has this paper been on the retail shelf too long?

Has any had this experience?

Mark

"photo" …

I recently purchased a 50-sheet pack of Epson "Matte Paper Heavyweight" and the sheets seems to be cupping

snip

Has any had this experience?

I use this paper all the time for photographs. It’s lovely and white, has a dead smooth finish and gives a nice looking print with really good colours. (Assuming you have your colour management up to snuff) All my photos are intended to go behind glass so matte works well for this.

That’s the good stuff, but it’s not without its downside.

I’m assuming the cupping you’re seeing is before you print anything. I haven’t noticed anything too drastic here, but if you sat a sheet flat on your hand printing surface up it would have a natural tendency to curl downwards (gravity not withstanding). Whereas if you placed it on your hand printing surface down it would show more resistance to curling, staying almost flat. This shouldn’t be excessive nor a usage problem. If yours is really curled then it should just be a matter of acclimatising it to its current location. (Maybe weighted down).

That said once some ink is squirted over it I almost invariably see some puckering/quilting/corrugating along the length of the paper. Often more noticeable looking at the back of the print. This seems to be the result of non-uniform ink distribution creating uneven stresses in the paper much the same as if you wet any sheet of ordinary paper. Some images are worse than others due to the distribution of tones relative to the paper surface. Do they flatten out again? Not completely and not that quickly. Better, or at least quicker, in a warm place of course.

I’m looking at some prints I ran off yesterday and the day before. Yesterday’s still show definite corrugations. The day before’s less so, but still noticeable on the back of the print but nothing on the front (lost in the image detail, must be there but I can’t see it). Some do retain it visibly on the front of the print but once framed behind glass you’d be hard pushed to see it.

What to do? Use it and be happy. Don’t mount (matt) your prints for a day or two after printing nor stack them nor put them away in a box. Let the air (warm) get to them and hope they’ll stabilize for you. Oh yes all that and wish that they really would make it Heavyweight, it’s actually about the lightest weight that you would want to be using for photographs so a bit of a misnomer.

I’m wondering whether I have a new use for my developing warmer tray now. Just have it on a low setting and place the prints on it to dry. Of course if you’re in Arizona or somewhere similar you won’t have the same drying problem. Scottish Highlands, no central heating, heading into winter … well you can imagine.

Brian
(the other one)

In article ,
says…

What to do? Use it and be happy. Don’t mount (matt) your prints for a day or two after printing nor stack them nor put them away in a box. Let the air (warm) get to them and hope they’ll stabilize for you. Oh yes all that and wish that they really would make it Heavyweight, it’s actually about the lightest weight that you would want to be using for photographs so a bit of a misnomer.

I’m wondering whether I have a new use for my developing warmer tray now. Just have it on a low setting and place the prints on it to dry. Of course if you’re in Arizona or somewhere similar you won’t have the same drying problem. Scottish Highlands, no central heating, heading into winter … well you can imagine.

Brian
(the other one)

I have strung some nylon cord across my work room and hang my prints (bigger than 4×6) to dry (clothsline style) just like you se in older darkrooms.

I use regular wooden clothes-pins (clothes-pegs??) to hang them. he tendency of matte paper to curl can be overcome by clipping some clothes-pins to the bottom edge to weight it down.

—
Larry Lynch
Mystic, Ct.

mono wrote:

"photo" …

I recently purchased a 50-sheet pack of Epson "Matte Paper Heavyweight" and the sheets seems to be cupping

snip

Has any had this experience?

I use this paper all the time for photographs. It’s lovely and white, has a dead smooth finish and gives a nice looking print with really good colours. (Assuming you have your colour management up to snuff) All my photos are intended to go behind glass so matte works well for this.

I totally agree. HWM also does not reflect like a glossy, another plus IMHO.

That’s the good stuff, but it’s not without its downside.
I’m assuming the cupping you’re seeing is before you print anything. I haven’t noticed anything too drastic here, but if you sat a sheet flat on your hand printing surface up it would have a natural tendency to curl downwards (gravity not withstanding). Whereas if you placed it on your hand printing surface down it would show more resistance to curling, staying almost flat. This shouldn’t be excessive nor a usage problem. If yours is really curled then it should just be a matter of acclimatising it to its current location. (Maybe weighted down).

I also don’t notice a curl before printing.

That said once some ink is squirted over it I almost invariably see some puckering/quilting/corrugating along the length of the paper. Often more noticeable looking at the back of the print. This seems to be the result of non-uniform ink distribution creating uneven stresses in the paper much the same as if you wet any sheet of ordinary paper. Some images are worse than others due to the distribution of tones relative to the paper surface. Do they flatten out again? Not completely and not that quickly. Better, or at least quicker, in a warm place of course.

I’m looking at some prints I ran off yesterday and the day before. Yesterday’s still show definite corrugations. The day before’s less so, but still noticeable on the back of the print but nothing on the front (lost in the image detail, must be there but I can’t see it). Some do retain it visibly on the front of the print but once framed behind glass you’d be hard pushed to see it.

I also come across this problem from time to time, especially when printing images with large areas of dark colors on 13×19 paper. The ripples (that’s my term) are evenly spaced and run along the long side. Laying them flat and weighing them down for a day or two helps some, but I have never been able to get rid of the ripples completely. They are visible on the print side if closely scrutinized, even when under glass.

Another problem with printing HWM with the Epson 1280 profile is that many dark colors print very poorly. In this regard, the ColorLife is much better, but I don’t like its finish.