Customer Support

Getting Started With Inkjet Fine Art Papers

It can be daunting to try something new but printing your own limited or open editions on inkjet fine art paper is a great experience. We have put together a few general tips for getting started in the wonderful world of inkjet fine art printing.

To get the best quality inkjet fine art prints possible, you need to handle the media carefully:

• Fingerprints and scratches can ruin an amazing image! Try to only hold inkjet fine art and photo papers by the edges of the sheet or roll, both before and after printing. Invest in a pair of cotton gloves if necessary.
• Resin Coated (RC) photo papers and inkjet fine art papers will be touch dry after printing but, if you are planning to mount or frame your prints, they will need to be completely dry. It is recommended to leave glossy or satin inkjet fine art photo papers a minimum of 12 hours and matte fine art papers and canvases a minimum of 24 hours to ensure they are fully dry.

A few general tips for printing with inkjet fine art papers:

• Only print on the coated side of the paper. Most sheets are packaged with the print side face up and rolls are packaged with the print side facing outwards – check the media manufacturers instructions to double check.
  • For aqueous pigment and dye inkjet compatible media you can use a simple moisture test to find the coated side: moisten your thumb and forefinger, then gently pinch a corner of the media between them – the side that sticks is the coated side.
• Always print using ‘Best’ or highest’ quality in the print set-up menu. For models where you can select the dpi, 1440dpi is the recommended maximum. Generally there is no need to print at 2880dpi, it will just use more ink, and your eye won’t see any difference.
• You can get good results through printing from Adobe Photoshop or Adobe Lightroom when using the most appropriate media setting for your choice of inkjet fine art paper and selecting ‘printer manages colours’
• For best results when printing from Adobe Photoshop or Adobe Lightroom, we recommend the ‘Photoshop/Lightroom Manages Colours’ option and the correct ICC profile for your printer, ink and media combination. ICC Profiles for most printers are available from the media manufacturers websites – these will all be using the printer manufacturers ink sets.
  • Download ICC Profiles for Innova and Olmec media: https://www.innovaart.com/icc-profiles-1/
  • Download ICC Profiles for Hahnemühle media: http://www.hahnemuehle.com/en/digital-fineart/icc-profile.html

If you need help when starting out or are an old hand who needs more specific advice, we are always happy to help. You can contact us here or call 0203 968 3333, 9am -5pm, Monday – Friday.