On Feb 21, 4:06 pm, "Dudley Hanks" <hanks.dud...@gmail.com> wrote:

]Which glossy paper are you using? How (if at all) do you control the
]half toning? Are you printing "color" images on a monotone printer or
]are you converting the images to black and white before printing?
]
]I suspect they are commenting (retro 50's) on the pronounced grain and
]contrast from the output of a laserjet?
]
]I've never tried to print black and white on a laser. The color laser
]prints I've seen were so horrible, I'd never considered black and
]white on a good glossy paper.  I may have to try it.
----------------------------------------

I have a color laser printer (HP2600) that I sometimes use for printing
color 'snapshots'. I don't consider it 'horrible', I consider it better than
a color newspaper picture, about the same as a picture in the newspaper
weekend supplement ("USA Weekend" or "Parade"). and not as good as a
full-page in NatGeo or Sports Illustrated.
Of course none of these is as good as a negative optically printed.

On Feb 21, 4:06 pm, "Dudley Hanks" <hanks.dud...@gmail.com> wrote:

Which glossy paper are you using? How (if at all) do you control the
half toning? Are you printing "color" images on a monotone printer or
are you converting the images to black and white before printing?

I suspect they are commenting (retro 50's) on the pronounced grain and
contrast from the output of a laserjet?

I've never tried to print black and white on a laser. The color laser
prints I've seen were so horrible, I'd never considered black and
white on a good glossy paper.  I may have to try it.

I just picked up a pack of cheap glossy laser paper from staples in order to
run this little experiment.

At first, I thought that the grain thing was why they were coming up with
the retro '50s comment, but on doing a little cross-examination, it seemed
to me that the term was more in reference to the lack of colour than any
undue amount of grain.

Infact, most of the people said that there was no more grain in the BW than
in the colour I get from my 6 cartridge Epson inkjet, which is saying quite
a bit because that R380 series printer does quite nice work.

As for image prep, I simply took some shots with my Fuji E510 (5Meg sensor)
in BW mode and then used the Windows picture viewer to send the file
straight to the printer.  Very quick and easy.

Now, I know that a good tweeking in Photoshop would improve the colour
conversion, but I was curious what kind of reaction I would get from a few
Joe and Janes off the street.  Reaction was so favourable I now need to
follow up and get some more professional feedback.

Given my eye condition I can't rely on my own examination of said images.
And, nobody mentioned BW laser work in any of the previous threads I've
read, so I'm just kind of wondering why these printers aren't being used.

BTW, I believe the printer I'm using is an Epson HP 1024, and it shoots the
pictures through quite quickly -- probably in the 10 to 25 pages per minute.
So, if quality is acceptable, it wouldn't take long to do a run of
commercial prints.

Take Care,
Dudley

It can be a problem, depends on the printer and the paper.

A Laser printer is similar to a photocopier: a static charge is applied to
the paper, which attracts the toner. The paper moves through the fusing
rollers which apply heat and pressure to melt the toner into the paper. If
the paper resists a static charge (moisture content?), it may not attract
enough toner. If the paper surface can't withstand the heat of the fusing
rollers, it may melt on the rollers (possibly a serious mess!). If the paper
is too thick, the fusing rollers might not heat it enough to completely melt
the toner.

I don't use my laser printer for photos, I only use it for pictures.

No, don't use inkjet paper.  What you need is glossy laser stock.  It's a
bit different than photo paper in that it's kind of like a stiffer version
of glossy magazine pages.  But, hey, once it's mounted, who can tell?

Give it a try if you like and let me know what you think.

Good Luck,
Dudley

Very true, which is why you need to specifically check that the paper is
intended for laser printers.

As I noted in a previous post, the paper I used isn't exactly like photo
paper, it's a bit lighter, but it's glossy and looks exactly like an old 50s
BW once it's mounted, or so I've been told.

Thanks for reinforcing that point.  I don't want people running out and
grabbing some glossy inkjet paper and wrecking their lasers.

Good Luck,
Dudley