Hahnemule Warning!

SamSam Registered Users Posts: 7,419 Major grins
edited December 11, 2006 in Digital Darkroom
I think it's our individual responsibility to bring information to the Digital Grin community when we become aware of possible problems or dangers.

Hahnemuhle paper is made from the dwindling supply of rare old growth trees in the Black Forest of Germany, in a factory built in the seventeen hundreds, by a secretive order of paper monks.

They charge an absolutely outrageous amount of money for tiny little boxes of the stuff. Should you disregard my words of warning and give this paper a try anyway, make sure you keep knives and other sharp objects away from the print room. While one print mistake due to operator error might be tolerable, because of the very high cost of the paper, multiple errors could push one over the edge.

The real issue of rampant uncontrolled cost increases rears it’s ugly head when you see the first print as it inches it’s expensive way out of the printer and the new prints total spender dazzles your eyeballs. It’s at this point you realize, it’s too late, and your committed to standing on the street corner, cup in hand, if necessary to satisfy that Hahnemuhle fix.

It’s too late for me…….save yourselves!

Sam

Comments

  • gluwatergluwater Registered Users Posts: 3,599 Major grins
    edited December 11, 2006
    I'm sad to say that I've found out the same thing already Sam. I'm about to start selling organs to buy the stuff, it's becoming an addiction. Which stock have you tried so far?
    Nick
    SmugMug Technical Account Manager
    Travel = good. Woo, shooting!
    nickwphoto
  • SamSam Registered Users Posts: 7,419 Major grins
    edited December 11, 2006
    gluwater wrote:
    I'm sad to say that I've found out the same thing already Sam. I'm about to start selling organs to buy the stuff, it's becoming an addiction. Which stock have you tried so far?

    Which stock! They have more than the photo Rag 308 GSM? I am surely doomed to a life of poverty.

    Sam
  • colourboxcolourbox Registered Users Posts: 2,095 Major grins
    edited December 11, 2006
    Alas, it is too late for me as well.

    But I try to cut costs at the test print stage since that's the real wallet drainer.

    First I try to get the image right using Photoshop's on-screen proofing. Soft-proofing against the Epson Enhanced Matte profile seems to work well since I don't have a Hahnemuhle 308 profile.

    I print the first print proof on a sheet of cheap but somewhat comparable paper like Epson Enhanced Matte or Double-Sided Matte, just to check sharpness and whether any cleanup is needed. If everything looks good, then I'll bring out the Hahnemuhle to test color and tone.

    For test prints on Hahnemuhle, I use a partial sheet of the 11x17 Photo Rag Duo 196gsm. The reason is that this is thinner (cheaper) and double-sided. 20 sheets of the Duo 196 cost just slightly more than 20 sheets of the single-sided 308, but because it's double-sided, there's twice as much print area for the price! That's also why I use Epson Double-Sided Matte as my low-end test paper - by printable area it's cheaper than Epson Heavyweight Matte. Double-sided also means throwing out (recycling) half as much test paper, so it's better for the environment.

    Why 11x17? If you cut it in half, you get 8.5x11, but it's cheaper than buying 8.5x11 sheets.

    I do not bring out the super spendy 308gsm until I think it looks good on the Duo 196.

    My other favorite paper for my Epson 2200 is Pictorico Photo Gallery Glossy. (Not Photo Glossy.)
  • SamSam Registered Users Posts: 7,419 Major grins
    edited December 11, 2006
    Colourbox,

    Good ideas. Now I have another use for that exclusive master Rotary cutter made by English Druids at Stonehenge, priced like gold.

    I don’t know which printer you have, but I’m guessing it’s an Epson. I took a quick peak at the Hahnemuhle web site, and they seemed to have all kinds of ICC profiles to cover the various weights of Photo Rag.

    Sam
  • colourboxcolourbox Registered Users Posts: 2,095 Major grins
    edited December 11, 2006
    Sam wrote:
    I took a quick peak at the Hahnemuhle web site, and they seemed to have all kinds of ICC profiles to cover the various weights of Photo Rag.

    I haven't looked there for a while. That sounds great. Thank you for the reminder!
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