Printing my miniature photography

A print of one of my Vastarian photos on Hahnemühle Photo Rag Matt Baryta paper.

Over the last few years, I have become increasingly more interested in photography. Last year, after being gifted some film cameras from my grandfather, I was really energized to try to push myself to become better at the craft. Learning to work with the limitations of film excited and encouraged me to focus more closely on my photography, which I tried to put to good use for the Vastarian Inq28 event last November. Working with an analog medium like film got me thinking more about how photography is so often viewed digitally, on phone screens and monitors, rather than in prints like I remember from my youth. This led me to consider getting a photo printer, to take some of the digital and film images I have taken and translate them into physical media, something larger than the tiny phone screen that I use to mindlessly scroll through Instagram. After doing some research, I quickly realized, like so many things, photo/art printing is a complex affair, one that could be a hobby in of itself. Despite this, after watching some videos by Keith Cooper, I decided on starting my printing journey with an Epson EcoTank ET-8550 printer. 

The Epson EcoTank Photo ET-8550 printer in its smallest form, without any of the paper trays out.

The Epson EcoTank Photo ET-8550 printer with its rear paper feed and paper tray extended.

I decided on the ET-8550 printer for a few reasons. The primary reason is that it is an EcoTank printer and therefore does not use ink cartridges and is instead filled with bottles of ink. This substantially reduces ink costs, which make it easier to experiment with different print settings without being worried about wasting ink. The leading pigment ink printers from Epson and Canon have 10 or more ink cartridges that can cost over $600 to replace all of the cartridges. The ET-8550 printer uses a combination of 6 inks, 5 dye inks (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Gray, and Photo Black) and a pigment Black. Most archival printers use all pigment inks, as they are not prone to fading (~200 year lifespan). Dye inks tend to be more vibrant, but traditionally can fade over time, particularly if exposed to direct sunlight. Recent advances in ink technology have started to change this, however, with research showing that Epson’s EcoTank Claria inks will not fade for over 75 years. This long lifespan, coupled with the inexpensive ink helped push me towards the ET-8550. Secondly, the printer can print on relatively large sheets of paper, up to A3+ size (13x19). Although printing this large is not something I intend to do all of the time, having the option to print at larger sizes gives me more creative flexibility in the future. Finally, despite not being a professional printer, many of the larger paper companies have started supporting it by creating ICC profiles for their paper for use on the ET-8550. ICC profiles are digital files that instruct a printer on how to properly reproduce colors, accounting for the different properties of a type of paper and the printer itself. Each of these profiles has to be created for each paper for each printer, and therefore paper companies often do not go through the process for consumer grade printers. Hahnemühle, a famous German paper company dating back to 1584, has a large selection of photo and art papers that have ICC profiles created specifically for the ET-8550.

A selection of different papers I have been trying on the ET-8550.

A few prints on 8.5x11 paper, the top Epson Ultra Premium Photo Paper Luster, the bottom Hahnemühle Photo Rag.

I have only had the printer for about a month so far, but have been really happy with it. Coupled with ICC profiles and some quality paper, I have been able to get some really nice prints of my photography. I am still learning how to best process my images for getting the optimal results, but it is a fun learning experience. I am excited to try different papers and find what works best for my images. More than anything, however, it is amazing to see some of my miniature photography in a physical form, rather than on a screen.

- Eric Wier