Digital BW, The Print

Hi Michael,

I also have found the Moab Entrada Natural to be a really excellent non-OBA 
paper in terms of crispness, detail rendition, and brilliance of print.  However, 
it does flake. And as Paul commented, this varies from box to box or roll to 
roll.  I brush the paper with a good drafting brush and I brush both sides 
vigorously in all four directions.  If it is a large sheet of paper, I will also then 
blow some canned air on it.  95% of the time this gives me flakeless prints.  
However, I recently ran into a box of paper that flaked badly, even after 
brushing.  I plan to return this box.  I selected the Entrada after a lot of 
testing.  I don't really look forward to a whole new round of testing and 
the necessary custom profiles to do it right.  But the flaking may push me to 
this. I also am in search of the best way to spot the odd flaked spot on a 
print.  Cheers,

Tom Andrews
http://www.wildlandart.com


> A few weeks ago I posted questions about paper choices. The helpful 
answers 
> I received here and elsewhere led me to try Moab Entrada Natural. I've 
now 
> got a custom profile for color and am using QTR for BW. I like the print 
> quality enough to keep working with it until something proves to me that 
> it's not the right paper for my pictures.
> 
> I'd previously used EEM exclusively. It was cheap for learning purposes and 
> allowed me to make some pretty decent prints. It also made me a bit 
> complacent about the flaking issue (since it doesn't flake to any worrisome 
> degree). That's changed with Entrada and my knee-jerk response to the 
> problem would be to look for another less flake-prone paper. But it seems 
> to me that so many color and BW printers are using papers that have this 
> issue to one degree or another. For some, it seems to be a constant source 
> of aggravation, but others seem to live with it worry-free.
> 
> I've read about wiping with cotton gloves or tee shirts, blowing off with 
> canned air and a couple of similar methods, but so far these don't really 
> take care of the problem for me. I'm wondering about those that use 
> flake-prone papers routinely. Is there some predictably effective 
> techniques you've developed for dealing with the issue?
> 
> I keep thinking about those of you printing large prints that might see 
> just one or two small white spots appear before the print is coated or 
> framed. And that leads me to a second question I almost hesitate to ask. 
Do 
> you ever fill the defect? If so, what are you using and why?
> 
> Michael