Mistake 1: Go cheap. Cheap papers like bond and other non-coated papers are not made to hold ink. The results speak for themselves, they are awful. Some non-coated water color paper may work well with inkjet printers but not nearly as well as comparable coated water color papers. Calculated by the square foot, the best paper for your print may only increase the price of your print by $.25 and even the most expensive of papers by a $1.00 to $2.00. That is a small price to pay for showing off your work at its best.

Mistake 2: Base your decision on a paper that worked in the past. A paper may have worked fine with your Epson 7000 but it will not work fine with your Epson 9800. Some inks simply don't stick or dry on certain papers. Certain papers can cause an electrostatic charge on some printers and may wind up frying the print heads. Aside from these oddities there are some very fundamental characteristics of printer, ink and paper that make it imperative that the paper be designed and characterized for your specific printer and ink. Even great paper can make lousy prints. (Techies may want to read "Digression" ? below, others may skip to Mistake 3.)

Digression: The size of the printer's color palette for any given media is dependent on how much ink of each color you can lay down on the paper before you have a dirt brown soup or a soggy, wrinkled mess. In tech terms this is called the "ink limit" ?. The intensity of color on paper compared to the amount of ink you are laying down does not act linearly, meaning that if you double the amount of ink on a spot it will most likely not double the color intensity, and may in fact reduce the color intensity. (It's counter-intuitive but true.) Measuring how ink amounts affect color intensity on a given printer, ink, and paper is known as linearization. To use a paper effectively on a printer, the print driver or rip has to take into account ink limits and linearization when sending the job to the printer.

Mistake 3: Convince yourself that you do not need a specific ICC profile for the intended print paper. An ICC profile is the final piece of the puzzle in getting a great print on paper. A profile is a table of values that tell your printer how to print the precise colors you want on a given paper. The best profiles use ink limits and linearization as a starting point and incorporate measurements of a series of target color patches (the target can contain 1000s of patches) to define and refine how your printer actually works on a given paper. Profiles for Epson papers are built in to the standard Epson drivers (as well as ink limits and linearization.) Rips normally have them as well. Don't think that you can skip this step or use a profile of a paper that is similar to the paper you intend to use.

Here's how to avoid those mistakes:

1. Consider what you will be printing before setting your budget. You already own the printer so other than the actual art work or photograph, the paper you choose will have the biggest impact on the quality of your final product. Skimping here is a novice mistake.

2. Choose a paper that is compatible with your specific printer. Epson has a great selection of paper for all of their printers and many other companies make papers for Epson printers that work very well. Many dealers have sample booklets of paper available for your specific printer. These booklets are a really great resource and can open up new possibilities in your thinking.

3. Ask the store or dealer if the paper comes with ICC profiles that were made for your specific printer. Avoid the paper if not. FYI: Epson papers that are compatible with a specific Epson printer have been ink limited, linearized and profiled for that printer. In some cases, Epson offers more than one ICC profile for a paper as well as different profiles for different print resolutions. Many manufacturers of paper provide ICC profiles for your printer.

4. Don't try and find great paper at your local office superstore, they have lots of cheap paper and only 1 or 2 decent papers, if any. You will find your best paper selection at a dealer that specializes in Epson printers. A knowledgeable dealer can make experienced suggestions, tell you about profiles and help with insider tips and tricks.

Follow this advice and you are sure to avoid disappointment and raise the quality of your fine art or fine art photographic prints.