Clear the Decks! Rig For Borders! Evenly-spaced Borders!

We've trundled out a special rack and sign at the front of the shop - you'll see it as soon as you walk in the door. It's a big cardboard dump bin that we are going to refill each week - with something new each time.

We're talking overstock here, and bargains, and combo deals. Good stuff, and the kind of equipment and material that you need, but at a great bargain price. You get 'em courtesy of our new shop fit and the fact that we are running out of space to rack things up. If we sell it we don't have to stack it.

This week's score is 200 sheets of Ilford paper for the price of 100. You buy an A4 box of 100 Ilford Galerie Smooth Pearl for $ 85 and we throw in a free box of 100 sheets of the same paper in the 6" x 4" size.

Print big for yourself and then make some postcards to keep the family and friends happy. You win either way as Ilford Smooth Pearl  is one of the best general-purpose inkjet papers made.

Special goes for a week. Don't miss out.

Big Boxes O Bargains This Week With Ilford Paper

Those of you, and us, who use Ilford Galerie Smooth Pearl paper for a standard image carrier will be gratified by the March Madness Sale that is going on this week here at the shop.

In addition to big discounts on cameras, lenses and equipment, we have dropped the Ilford Galerie Smooth Pearl paper considerably. Thus:

A4................ 1oo-sheet box........................................$ 59

A3+.............. 25 +10 sheet box..................................$ 47

A2.................25 sheet box...........................................$ 82

This is a super-cheap way to get good printing paper. Already the boxes are flying out the door and this is just the first day.

Please note that while we call it the March Madness Sale we ain't going to be crazy for the entire month. Sanity will prevail after this coming Saturday, so get in THIS WEEK if you hope to score a bargain.

After Saturday we will chew through the straps and escape.

How Do You Go Bust Baking Bread ?

I watched the rise of the franchise boutique bakery here in Perth - the Brumby's and Baker's Delight and such - and applauded it all the way. At least I applauded with the hand that wasn't holding the jam doughnut. They have achieved a success that is richly deserved - because they make a good product that everybody likes and uses. No-one ever complains about jam doughnuts. Jam doughnuts are a standard of the industry.

I would have thought that the Ilford company was in much the same position as the bakeries - and I am speaking about the division of their firm that manufactures paper for inkjet printing. Dance how you wish, their Galerie Smooth Pearl and Smooth Gloss have been the standard of the industry for as long as I have been inkjetting. One thought of them as classic cash cows, wandering through the paper paddocks and yielding profit for the company whenever they were milked...

Such would appear not to be the case. the paper division of Ilford has gone bust. They are casting about in Switzerland looking for a buyer or some other solution to the financial crisis. Out here in the boonies we are gathering all the supplies of the classic papers that we can to ensure that our clients can continue to print. We also hope for a buyer solution, but of course we will also be looking at other brands.

I wonder if they have the same accountant as Eastman Kodak? Or the South Sea Bubble...

Uncle Dick

First Tests On Promaster Paper

We reported the arrival of the new Promaster inkjet printing paper last week. When the place settled down on Friday we cranked two sheets of the Ultra Premium Metallic paper through the shop Epson 3880 to see what it was like.

Metallic paper is a bit of a fooler - you look at the surface straight out of the packet and it looks sort of dull - the silvery sheen can seem  a little grey in normal light. it is an illusion - turn the part to the light source and it flashes back.

So - the image size had to be adjusted in the printing program as these papers are the US Letter size - 8 1/2 by 11 inches. No real problem with Epson as there is a menu section that has all these sizes in a list - pick one and it will know what you want. As an aside, I was amazed that there should be such a variety of sizes all around a general theme...but then I reflected that there were no real sizes standards in the 1830-1890 period and studios just did whatever they thought was right...

Back to the paper. The images chosen were a southwestern water scene in colour and a Singapore cityscape in monochrome. both detailed and contrasty - they needed snap.

The recommendation on the net from Promaster re. Epson printers is that the high-speed option be turned off with this paper. It took about double the time for the printing but both images were delightful. Sharp, contrasty, good blacks and the highlights threw back the silver instantly. Glossy to the max - rather like the flashiest Epson papers.

We will open other sample packets and try other images on different surfaces. As it is, this one looks like a letter-sized winner.

Revolutionary Promaster Paper Here Now

Puff. Puff. Pant. Gasp.

Just stocked the shelves with the new Promaster inkjet and darkroom papers. There are a LOT of new papers there - and a new size as well.

Lett's start with the darkroom paper for analog users. Promaster make packets of Glossy and Luster  paper in 8" x 10" size - there are 25 sheets of paper in each packet. The packets are marked for a new wider range emulsion. The paper is shipped out of Connecticut so it may be Kodak ( but probably isn't ) or Oriental. The packets have been kept plain so be sure you read the label on the bottom - the two types look very similar.

In the inkjet papers there has also been a commendable plainness in packaging but they have put colour coding on the boxes to let you differentiate between fine-art surfaces or materials and plainer photographic paper. The following types are in stock:

1. Glossy
2. Pearl
3. Bright White Cotton
4. Soft Gloss Dual-sided
5. Glossy canvas
6. Metallic

The intriguing thing about these new papers - apart from them being new - is that their size is US Letter. This means that it is 8 1/2" x 11 "......or 215.9 mm x 279.4 mm. I looked into the printing section for my Epson driver and found that it does indeed include this size and the preplanning images can be shuffled about to see where the margins will occur. It will mean a little different proportions for my general work, but not by much. If I elect to shoot my images using a 4/5 ratio it becomes even easier.

Okay - why? Why do we get a different paper size like this when we are generally used to seeing the European A system - A4, A3, A3+ etc. Because there is a large part of North America that does not work in metric measurements. Squeak or sneer about this as you will, but there it is. So they can cut good quality paper at a very competitive price specifically for the market. If your images will fit here, this is a good substrate.

One final note - remember that these papers have 6 sides but you are generally restricted to printing on just one - in the case of the dual-sided glossy you can also do it on the back with equal success.

A Quicky After You Finish Work

Well, just one.

When you have printed your Ilford or Epson paper on your Epson inkjet printer and laid the print aside to dry for the requisite period, what do you do?

1. Forget where you put it and set a sloppy coffee cup down on it.
2. Find it the next day lining the budgie cage.
3. Trim it accurately and mount it for the club competition.
4. All the above in that order.

I find it is helpful to wander around the workroom looking for my glasses until I stumble on the print. I do not enter club competitions but nevertheless I try to keep a printed archive as well as the electric images in the hard drive. This has saved my zebra on two occasions when I deleted the very files I needed.

Separate note: Do not purchase gold ingots, contract marriage, or edit electronic images after 10:00 at night - it always ends badly.

But to the point. We sell a rather natty Promaster rotary trimmer for the No.4 stage listed above. It seems to be square on the paper guide and blade path and is sturdy enough for regular use. Better than a pair of scissors and a concentrated expression on your face...

Ilford Bumper Crop Now In - Get Your Extra A4 Paper

The paper trees on the north slopes of the Laurentian Shield have bloomed well this year and the Ilford company has been able to harvest a lot more Smooth Pearl Galerie paper in A4 size. The ox-drawn paper wagons have returned from the woods laden with this fine inkjet paper and as a result of the surplus, Ilford have packed 35 sheets into a 25 sheet pack for the same price.

This means that you have more printing paper - if you are accustomed to doing test prints you can do 10 more of them before you do the final print. Or you can do 10 more final prints. Your choice. Please see the advertisements for monitor and printer calibrators that we have posted in the past if you think the latter option the better one...

This bumper harvest* is a once-a-year event - when the boxes of 25 + 10 sheets are sold you'll have to wait for next year. Therefore this is a very good time to come in and buy some A4 paper.

*Harvesting bumpers is a lot more popular now that cars generally don't have hubcaps. Just fasten a chain to them and drive away fast. A chap out in Gosnells has a collection of every Hyundai front bumper ever made. I tried to buy the '93 Getz in Lime Green from him but he was trying to gouge the price...

Not To Panic - with Ilford

We have been seeing a number of photographers here in the last few weeks looking for inkjet printing paper. Several were worried when the looked for Ilford Galerie Smooth pearl paper in the familiar red box.

They could see that there was an Ilford box that said Smooth pearl, but it was a more complex design and had the word "Prestige" at the top. They worried that their old favourite paper had vanished.

Panic not. the new Smooth Pearl is every bit as good as the old Smooth Pearl and has the advantage that it is just a little thicker - 310 gsm vs 290 gsm. Same great surface and compatibility with Canon and Epson inks and same great results - really a standard of the industry.

So print away, kids - and if you need the paper profiles make sure to go to the Ilford website.