Printing on Recycled paper with Epson P-400

[AmateurPro]

I'm new to professional photo printers so please forgive my ignorance!

I am a graphic designer and bought a Surecolor P-400 with the idea of making art prints alongside my business of making notebooks and diaries. I thought it would save me time and money with print projects if I could do much of it at home with a good quality printer. However, so far it has caused me quite a lot of frustration and annoyance.

Much of my primary work involves printing on 100gsm A5 recycled paper. I have a huge batch of the stuff so I really need to be able to print with it. Unfortunately about half the prints I make are misaligned at the bottom of the page. When I contacted Epson they said I have to contact the paper company to get an ICC profile as that might be the issue. The paper company and the supplier don't know what I'm talking about. I feel like everyone's fobbing me off and I am left with a very expensive unused printer taking up space. All the time I'm not making products is money lost.

• Does anyone know if Epson were likely right about their assumption?
• Who should I be talking to, to get the printing information that I need?
• Does this printer only accept special Epson paper or can I use regular printer paper?
• Is it common to have issues printing on A5 paper and is there a fix for this?
• Which settings should I use to print on A5 100gsm recycled paper?

If it helps to know, I use a Macbook Pro, design mostly in InDesign, convert to PDF and print from Preview.

I'd appreciate any advice.

 

[Shadowman]

I think they are right regarding the ICC profile with regards to correct/optimum ink output and color rendering. The other issue you'll probably have is adjusting the print heads for the paper thickness, again without a profile the printer system can't determine the distance from the print head to the surface of the paper, however you should be able to make a custom profile for the paper but it takes quite a bit of effort. The reason why the paper manufacturer doesn't know what you are talking about is because the paper is probably not meant to be used for inkjet printing.

 

[AmateurPro]

Thanks Shadowman

I see what you are saying but the paper is Evolution Business paper which is definitely suitable for printing. I'm astonished that it is this difficult to print on 100gsm printer paper!

 

[Shadowman]

Have you measured the paper for uniformity?

 

[AmateurPro]

Have you measured the paper for uniformity?

No I haven't, what is the best way to do this?

 

[Shadowman]

Just use a standard ruler, see if paper length is uniform across its width.