Inkjet Resources Online
November 1st, 2007,Two particular resources which I keep reminding myself to check out more thoroughly are the oft-discussed Inkjet Mall and Inkjet Art websites (unrelated) which offer a wide variety of papers, inks, and related material.
Inkjet Mall, for example, offers workshops, DVDs and books on high-end digital printing, as well as very reasonably priced Custom Printer Profiling. Just print out their targets according to the directions, and mail the results to them; they’ll email you the customized profiles for your printer/paper combo. Having just profiled my own printer in Verser’s Fashion Photography course, I can tell you from first hand experience just how valuable a custom profile is. My home prints went from completely unusable to better than the Epson 4800s at school, which use the profiles from the various companies.
Let me repeat that. A custom-profiled $400 all-in-one printer/scanner/fax will yield better photos than a $2500 printer using the profiles downloaded from the web.
Inkjet Art offers customized paper sample packages that have been thoughtfully categorized by the feel of the end visual product. Instead of buying a variety of sampler packs based on the company who produces each, I can buy the InkjetArt Canvas Sampler or compare all their Luster papers with one, reasonably priced order. Of particular interest to me is #11, Dual Sided Photo sampler. I’ve been hunting those puppies down with keen appeal lately. They also offer a wide variety of canvas photo papers.