Printing Astrophotographs

Monty:
I just recently got the epson et 8550. Did some research and the Epson came highly recommended, but also cost efficient on ink. Just got my shipment on metallic paper from Red River Paper as they have ICC profile for the printer as well. Planning to so some prints tomorrow

Is your Epson 8850 a dye-based or pigment-based printer.  Have you printed astrophotographs with it?

I do art shows and a wide range of print media.  I currently use the Epson P900 - with Roll feeder. - that uses ink jet dye (10 colors - to provide a wide gamut that can provide deep RGB colors).  This post may not address dye vs. ink - but provides some of my lessons learned.

Epson and Canon are great printers.  Depending on your goals, using a commercial print lab may be much easier and cheaper to get good prints.
Having a printer lets me do proofs - but I tend more towards print labs for final images.

Printing is quite the experience and takes more work than you would think to get superior prints.  You need to calibrate your monitor, and understand printer and paper profiles - otherwise you will be really frustrated with why things don't come out like you expect.

The glossier the paper the deeper the blacks and higher the contrast (but you have to deal with glare).

Also - a lesson learned the hard way - prints need to dry for > 1 week before you frame them.  Otherwise the frame glass will get fogged from solvent emissions over the first year. (some papers are worse about this than others)

I now do spray coatings on the paper to minimize fading and off gassing.

When working with print lab outputs - I don't have any of those issues.

I totally agree with you Brent, I am not an expert but have done a significant amount of printing and have a dedicated room with neutral grey walls, specific lighting and calibrated monitor and printer. I printed family photos, architect and landscape projects and found for proofing purposes a home setup is fine but in reality, between the ink, paper and frustrations of getting a high-quality print was beyond my capabilities. I leave the printing to the pro's.

Brent:
I do art shows and a wide range of print media.  I currently use the Epson P900 - with Roll feeder. - that uses ink jet dye (10 colors - to provide a wide gamut that can provide deep RGB colors).  This post may not address dye vs. ink - but provides some of my lessons learned.

Epson and Canon are great printers.  Depending on your goals, using a commercial print lab may be much easier and cheaper to get good prints.
Having a printer lets me do proofs - but I tend more towards print labs for final images.

Printing is quite the experience and takes more work than you would think to get superior prints.  You need to calibrate your monitor, and understand printer and paper profiles - otherwise you will be really frustrated with why things don't come out like you expect.

The glossier the paper the deeper the blacks and higher the contrast (but you have to deal with glare).

Also - a lesson learned the hard way - prints need to dry for > 1 week before you frame them.  Otherwise the frame glass will get fogged from solvent emissions over the first year. (some papers are worse about this than others)

I now do spray coatings on the paper to minimize fading and off gassing.

When working with print lab outputs - I don't have any of those issues.

*Is there a print lab you would recommend?

Pat

Brent:
I have been really happy with Red River Metallic paper
https://www.redrivercatalog.com/browse/metallic-paper.html

the metallic layer gives it a depth that standard papers don't have. And these prints sell the best for me.
But, this is one that has produced the most 'glass fog' once framed.  So I have to print and let them dry for a long time.

Saw some astrophotos on this paper, made me buy some just now!

Patrick Graham:

Brent:
I do art shows and a wide range of print media.  I currently use the Epson P900 - with Roll feeder. - that uses ink jet dye (10 colors - to provide a wide gamut that can provide deep RGB colors).  This post may not address dye vs. ink - but provides some of my lessons learned.

Epson and Canon are great printers.  Depending on your goals, using a commercial print lab may be much easier and cheaper to get good prints.
Having a printer lets me do proofs - but I tend more towards print labs for final images.

Printing is quite the experience and takes more work than you would think to get superior prints.  You need to calibrate your monitor, and understand printer and paper profiles - otherwise you will be really frustrated with why things don't come out like you expect.

The glossier the paper the deeper the blacks and higher the contrast (but you have to deal with glare).

Also - a lesson learned the hard way - prints need to dry for > 1 week before you frame them.  Otherwise the frame glass will get fogged from solvent emissions over the first year. (some papers are worse about this than others)

I now do spray coatings on the paper to minimize fading and off gassing.

When working with print lab outputs - I don't have any of those issues.

*Is there a print lab you would recommend?

Pat

Bay Photos are exceptional.  Metallic prints for astro stuff.  You'll need to prep your images for printing.  Usually brighten the image and scale at 300dpi.  I usually print at 16x20 minimum.  This avoids the home printer issues or drying/fading/clear coating, etc.   Best of luck!

I am sure that nobody wants to hear this, but I never print my astro-images anymore (I used to).

The reason is simple. With the continued rapid progress in the hardware and especially the software and processing, a print that I make this year will look sad by comparison in a very short period of time. It bothers me not to have my best work displayed. I would prefer something like this that can be kept up to date. Expensive but a one time cost, not having to be redone all the time.....

Sammy Frame

I now confine my prints to things where not much change is happening, specifically landscapes and travel photos. My walls are filled with those (and I agree about Bay Photo, BTW).

Has anyone ever heard of Duratrans backlit printing film?

When used with a backlight, astrophotos look incredible.

BTW, thanks for mentions about Bay Photos; the customization is really cool.

This google search might be useful https://www.google.com/search?q=what+is+the+difference+between+dye+and+pigment+ink&oq=what+is+the+difference+between+dye+and+pigment+ink&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyCQgAEEUYORiABDIICAEQABgWGB4yCAgCEAAYFhgeMg0IAxAAGIYDGIAEGIoF0gEJMTE4MzVqMGo3qAIAsAIA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

EDIT: didn't read that you wanted to hear from an astrophotographer's experience  sorry about that