What is warm-tone inkjet paper used for in black-and-white printing?
Asked 11/22/2017
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I’m experimenting with different inkjet papers and noticed some are described as warm-tone. In digital black-and-white printing, I could simply add a warm tint in editing and print on a neutral paper, so I’m unsure what advantage a warm-tone paper provides.
Also, if the printer/paper is properly profiled, wouldn’t color management try to neutralize the paper’s warmth? Or are these papers mainly intended to be used without profiling?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
8y ago
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The primary use case is to get results similar to warmer photosensitive papers used for B&W prints in the pre-inkjet past. By using a paper with such a color cast, monochromatic inks (various shades of gray and black) can be used rather than depending on color inks to give the image a warmer tone. This allows results to be much more consistent over time. (That is, I can print a copy of an image today that will likely be more consistent with an image I may have printed two or three years ago on a different printer.)
Additionally, wouldn't profiling bring the Warm tones back to neutral, with the printer trying to make up for the color cast?
Not really, because the "pure whites" in the image are areas that get no ink and rely on the color of the paper for how they appear. CMYK ink can only darken paper that is lighter than the inks, it can never brighten the paper. So while you might use a warmer paper and correct it to a neutral gray by adding some cyan ink, it would be a shade of gray, not white.
Originally by user15871. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user15871
8y ago
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Warm-tone inkjet paper is mainly used to mimic the look of traditional warm-tone darkroom papers in black-and-white printing.
Its advantage is that the paper base itself provides the warmth, so the print can be made primarily with black/gray inks instead of relying on color inks to create a warm tint. That can improve consistency and repeatability over time, including across different printers.
Profiling does not simply turn the paper back to neutral, because the paper white is the paper itself. Areas with no ink remain the paper’s natural color, so the “white” of the print stays warm. A profile can account for the paper’s characteristics, but it cannot make the unprinted paper base neutral.
So yes, warm-tone paper has a real purpose even in inkjet printing: it gives black-and-white prints a traditional warmer paper white and overall character, rather than simulating all of that only with ink.
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