13 inch Roll Paper

[davehood]

Hello All,

I'm looking at the Epson R3000 as a new printer for a lot of reasons, including it's ability to hold 13 inch rolls for printing panoramas. Is there anyone that has any input into how reliable this solution would be? And if it is a solid, inexpensive way to print panoramas, is it possible to cut a 17 inch roll down to fit since it seems that my favorite paper doesn't come in a 13 inch roll? Or recommend a paper that is in 13 inch that would be a close to Ilford GFS?

Thanks for your help-

[JeffKohn]

13-in rolls are pretty hard to find, most of the 3rd party papers only come in 17" or larger. Additionally, if the R3000 is like my old R2400, it only support 2" diameter roll cores; which means you still have a problem if you cut down a 17" roll, since most of them are on 3" cores. It's possible to cut down a 17" roll and then rig up some sort of roll feed behind the printer that can handle the 3" roll cores, but it's pretty clunky (not to mention the money wasted throwing away 20% of what you buy).

For RC papers, Epson does make their premium luster and premium glossy papers in 13" rolls with 2" cores. I've used the premium luster 13" rolls in the past, and as far as RC-luster papers it's one of the best. The only thing to be aware of is that it comes off the roll with pretty heavy curl due to the 2" core and the nature of the paper.

[davehood]

Thanks Jeff, I didn't realize the core size could be an issue.

[NikoJorj]

In 13inch rolls, paper availability is scarce to say the least.
I don't know any baryta-like paper, only RC and a few matte ones (Hahnemuhle Photo Rag 188 and Moab Entrada).

I've heard of cutting rolls on this forum, but never tried.

Additionally, if the R3000 is like my old R2400, it only support 2" diameter roll cores; which means you still have a problem if you cut down a 17" roll, since most of them are on 3" cores.

I've printed from 3" cores papers (10" and 13" inches width) on my R1800 (RIP) - it's not that a big deal with any support for the roll and careful alignment at paper feeding.