Red River Paper Blog

Free Photo Magazine Subscriptions

2009-07-01T06:31:00.000-07:00

Residents of the U.S. can request free subscriptions of two great photo magazines:

After Capture

http://www.submag.com/sub/ak

Rangefinder Magazine

http://www.submag.com/sub/rj?tc=1

Dye or pigment ink: What does your printer use?

2009-06-23T12:17:00.000-07:00

Photo inkjet printers either have dye or pigment inks. The differences are profound when you consider print life and fade resistance. Pigment inks typically resist fade for a minimum of 35 years and may exceed 100 years under very controlled conditions. Some folks would like that print life expectancy while others really do not need long lasting prints.

To guide a purchase or help you ID a current printer, here's the current list of all pigment inkjet printers past and present:

If your printer is not on this list it most likely uses DYE INKS

Epson

R1900 / R800/ R1800
R2880 / R2400
Pro 3800
Any C series printer
Pro 4000 / 4800 / 4880
Pro 7600 / 7800 / 7880 / 7900
Pro 9600 / 9800 / 9880 / 9900
2200
2000P
Pro 7000 / 7500 / 5000 / 5500
Pro 9000 / 9500

Canon

iPF Prograf Series
Pro9500

B9180
B8850
Z-Series Wide Format

Pigment inks are compatible with a select number of Red River papers. If you do not have one of these printers, you are free to use any of the greeting card papers we offer.

We can see Pecos River Gloss from here!

2009-06-18T18:43:00.001-07:00

The new, exclusive, Pecos River Gloss arrived at the Red River dock today!

Pecos is one of a kind here in North America - a super smooth pigment friendly high gloss with a plain paper back. This means we can score and fold it for outstanding quality photo note and greeting cards. Plain paper on the back means you can print text and light graphics on the inside of your cards.

Coming Pecos River Gloss Sizes:

7x10 - Folds to 5x7 (A7)

6.25x9 - Folds to 4.25x6.5 (A6)

5.5x8.5 - Folds to 5.5x4.25 (A2)

4x6, 5x7

Look for more information and release dates here and at www.redrivercatalog.com

New Epson Printer for Greeting Cards

2009-05-27T09:07:00.000-07:00

The Epson Artisan 50 looks to be a worthy printer for printing your custom photo note and greeting cards on Red River greeting card papers.

With six colors and a rear feed tray, the Artisan 50 should be a dandy choice for any of Red River's glossy, matte, specialty, or fine art card stocks.

A new Artisan 50 is on the way to RRP HQ today. We'll have a full review of this new machine shortly.

Check out the printer over at Amazon.com:

Epson Artisan 50

Go to TheDigitalStory.com - Great interview Great offer

2009-05-21T07:10:00.001-07:00

Make sure to listen to the great interview with Red River pro Joseph Victor Stefanchik. He and Derrick talk about the importance of the print and how inkjet makes it possible for Joseph to print truly stunning work.

And see a special offer for Digital Story readers/listeners (hint look for our banner on the right side of the page)

New Paper - 60lb. Premium Gloss Inkjet Greeting Cards

2009-05-14T15:41:00.001-07:00

60lb. Premium Gloss is a cast coated inkjet paper. This paper has the same coating as the long time best seller, 53lb. Premium Gloss. The new paper features a heavier and thicker base stock.

Cast coated paper is the "traditional" inkjet gloss that feels more like a sheet of paper than a photo. One of our most popular papers, this card-weight, blue white sheet features a mirror smooth reflective printing surface. Premium comes in a variety of sheet sizes and offers high quality reproduction.

If you're a fan of glossy paper for photo note cards (and have a dye ink inkjet printer) then you should consider a box.

Have a pigment inkjet printer? Never fear! Our new pigment friendly glossy greeting card will be here in early June.

60lb. Premium Gloss Inkjet Greeting Cards

Sample Kits - Make Your Own Buying Guide

2009-05-14T12:58:00.000-07:00

Red River invented the inkjet paper sampler kit. Since 1997 we have been encouraging customers to buy samples, print their images, and make the most informed buying decision.

You can add value to your sample kit by making prints on each paper and then creating your own Inkjet Paper Buying Guide.

Simply put a montage of images on each different Red River paper, assemble a book of the prints, and use them when choosing paper for future projects.

Download the Make Your Own Inkjet Paper Buying Guide (PDF) here

ICC Profiles for Epson Pro 7900 9900 Red River Paper

2009-05-09T20:38:00.000-07:00

ICC profiles for the Epson Pro 7900 and 9900 with a number of Red River photo inkjet papers are ready and posted here.

The Pro 7900 / 9900 are new wide format inkjet printers from Epson that use the new HDR inkset.

Our profile provider, Chromix, says that these profiles have some of the largest and best looking color gamuts they have seen. Red River papers are going to make stunning prints on these new great Epson printers.

How-to Modify Your Canon Pixma Printer to Print on CD/DVD Media

2009-04-17T09:48:00.000-07:00

If you have one of the LONG list of Canon MP or IP or Pro series printers and want to print on CDs read this great article. Click here

35 Free Photo Podcasts

2009-04-12T19:59:00.000-07:00

The Ultimate List of Free Photography Podcasts

These podcasts are not numbered as they are not in any particular order. The list only contains currently active photography podcasts that I listen to through iTunes or on my iPhone - and some that have just come to my attention

Click here

- From cameratown.com via imaginginsider.com

Epson Artisan 700 & 800 Color Profiles for Red River Paper

2009-03-24T14:35:00.000-07:00

ICC color profiles for the Epson Artisan 700 and 800 are made for you by Chromix, a leader in color management. Use these ICC profiles with Photoshop, Qimage, or other profile aware application for consistent and accurate color results.

Download Red River Paper color profiles for the Epson Artisan 700 and 800 here

2 Day Lighting Workshop + From RAW to WOW! 1 Day Workshop

2009-03-12T11:10:00.000-07:00

Red River is please to again be a sponsor for:

2 Day Lighting Workshop + From RAW to WOW! 1 Day Workshop

Start your new season with a hands-on Workshop!

JVS & Anne's 2 Day Lighting Workshop will show you how to make small strobes look big along with hands-on shooting (yes, you will be shooting) in 10+ lighting scenarios!

Explore the world of artificial light with JVS through multiple demonstrations and in studio learning. You will learn how to effectively use your own strobes, modify your strobes and have the chance to shoot with AlienBees monolights.

New for 2009 is the From RAW to WOW! 1 Day Workshop on April 16th.

From RAW to WOW! will teach you the importance of a calibrated monitor and color managed workflow, RAW conversion and working with the Totally Rad actions. JVS and Anne will also present live printing demonstrations with Red River inkjet papers.

JVS Workshops are open to all professional photographer’s, including studios in the DFW area.

For more information please visit http://www.jvspictures.com/2day

Red River Paper Affiliate Partners Program is Live

2009-03-05T08:46:00.000-08:00

Earn commissions on any product Red River Paper sells. If you have a website, particularly one related to the photographic or design world please consider signing up today! The beginning commission rate is a healthy 5% - quite a bit higher than standard affiliate programs. That's because Red River Paper wants to sincerely thank anyone who helps pass along our message of the Premium Affordability of our inkjet papers.

Click here to learn more - join the Affiliate Partner Program today.

Is There An Inkjet Paper Like Kodak Endura Metallic?

2009-02-28T11:13:00.000-08:00

The Kodak Endura Metallic surface is certainly one of the most popular papers used by traditional photo labs today.

We get asked, and read on forums almost weekly comments looking for the inkjet equivalent of that product. Unfortunately one does not exist at this moment.

Red River Paper has prompted several top mills to pursue a similar photobase inkjet paper. Hopefully we'll see one in the near future.

New Pano Greeting Card

2009-02-23T10:05:00.000-08:00

53lb. Premium Gloss is now available in Red River's unique Pano Greeting Card size.

Turn your favorite landscape and wide angle shots into custom note card creations for under $1.00 each. Have a unique vertical shot? Make it into a attention getting vertical pano card.

Shop for the new 53lb. Premium Gloss Pano Cards here

See other Pano Card size papers here

Share Your Red River Paper Review

2009-02-18T07:16:00.000-08:00

We're asking customers to share their thoughts and write product reviews for Red River's paper products. The reviews system is up and running at here. Just pick the paper you wish to review and get started!

Red River Paper Product Reviews

The excellent Epson 1400 price keeps dropping

2009-02-04T08:10:00.000-08:00

If you're looking for a great all around inkjet printer the Epson 1400 is your ticket. Using Claria dye based inks, color saturation and details are excellent. The dye inks are compatible with basically any photo inkjet paper you can find.

There are good deals around the net for the Epson 1400, and here's one we just found at Amazon.com - $275 with free shipping

Red River Paper's line of over 25 different photo inkjet papers are all compatible with the Epson 1400.

Our most popular papers for the Epson 1400 are here

Note: This post is dated 2/4/2009 and the deal / offer will change over time

Media (paper) type selection when using ICC profiles

2009-02-03T06:13:00.001-08:00

We hear this often - "I've installed your ICC profiles and still don't see the Red River paper name in my media selection menu." Here's an explanation of what's going on:

The ICC profile is a small data file that contains the color performance information for a certain paper, ink, and printer. That information is read only by Photoshop (or your other ICC aware editing software). You tell Photoshop that a) you want Photoshop to be in control of color management and b) what ICC profile you will be using in the process.

The next step is in the printer properties. These are the manufacturer built controls where you choose print quality (dpi), media / paper type you are using, and other special features.

The MEDIA / PAPER TYPE is hard coded at the factory and contains manufacturer paper types only! Your ICC profile instructions should tell you what media type to select when using that particular profile.

The reason - when we make a print target for ICC profile production, we set the printer using specific media type, quality settings, etc. You need to replicate what we did when using the profile for best possible results.

So no, Red River Paper products will never show up in the printer properties dialog. You will only see our name in the Photoshop ICC profile selection dialog.

Black & White Inkjet Printing & Papers

2009-01-28T15:13:00.000-08:00

The latest special web feature from Red River Paper helps you learn more about black and white printing. We've gathered information from around the web on conversion techniques, printers, and of course the best Red River Paper for Black & White printing.

You can even download the Black & White Printing Primer in PDF format.

Start at the Black & White home page here.

55lb. Frio Gloss / Matte Super Sale

2009-01-28T14:42:00.001-08:00

55lb. Frio Gloss / Matte is only $17 for 100 sheets of 8.5" x 11".

** 10 mil thickness
** Glossy front
** Photo matte coated on the back
** ONLY FOR DYE INKS

At 17 cents / sheet you really save money and get a great glossy photo paper to boot!

Order Frio here

Convert pounds to GSM for Inkjet Paper

2009-01-19T12:51:00.000-08:00

Quickly convert paper weight from pounds to grams per square meter (gsm) and back again with this handy chart

Red River Paper at Next JVS Workshop

2009-01-16T10:03:00.000-08:00

Red River Paper will be a sponsor at the upcoming workshop hosted by Joseph Victor Stefanchik here in Dallas. More info below:

2 Day Lighting and Portrait Workshop + From RAW to WOW! 1 Day Workshop

Start 2009 off fresh with a hands-on Workshop!

JVS & Anne's 2 Day Lighting and Portrait Workshop will show you how to make small strobes look big along with hands-on shooting (yes, you will be shooting) in 10+ lighting scenarios!

Explore the world of light with JVS through multiple demonstrations and in studio learning. You will learn how to effectively use your own strobes, modify your strobes and have the chance to shoot with AlienBees monolights.

Anne will help you breathe fresh air into your portraits by offering ideas
on how to connect and control with your portrait clients.

New for 2009 is the From RAW to WOW! 1 Day Workshop.

From RAW to WOW! will teach you the importance of a calibrated monitor and color managed workflow, RAW conversion and working with the Totally Rad actions. JVS and Anne will also present live printing demonstrations with Red River inkjet papers.

Workshop dates are February 24-26th

For more information please visit http://www.jvspictures.com/2day

What to do if your inkjet ink freezes!

2009-01-13T12:50:00.000-08:00

If the delivery driver leaves your ink on the front porch over the next few weeks, there is a good chance it could freeze. Here are some facts and tips if your inkjet ink freezes:

1) Most inkjet ink freezes at 28 degrees Fahrenheit

2) The contents are OK and you can use these tanks!!

3) If it is below 28 and your ink is left outside, unpack it and allow it to reach room temperature

4) It is a good idea to shake each cartridge well before using them

Consumer Guide to Modern Photo Papers

2009-01-07T06:38:00.000-08:00

The Image Permanence Institute at the Rochester Institute of Technology recently published the new Consumer Guide to Modern Photo Papers It does a good job of covering inkjet paper technology as well as other forms of photographic printing.

This is a follow up to their A Consumer Guide to Traditional and Digital Print Stability which is a good primer on the causes of print fade.

Epson Advanced Black & White Workflow

2009-01-07T06:12:00.000-08:00

Eric Chan updated his workflow recommendations for the Epson Advanced Black & White mode here. The page is specific to the Epson 3800, but the general ideas apply to any Epson printer with the ABW system (R2400 R2880 4800, 4880, etc.)

Thanks again to Eric for all of his hard work on the topic!