colour perception in prints.

[david m]

I have a Canon 9500 Mk2 and have just printed a scene which although a colour print is mainly shades of grey with small areas of black and white.
To my eyes the print has very faint pink tinge which I assumed was a fault with my colour management as I was viewing the print by a window in bright cloudy daylight.
The paper is Hahnnemuhle Baryta FB which I have used previously for prints with a full range of colours and have been pleased with the results.
I then printed the same scene using Epson Archival matte paper which lacked the pink tinge and to me was better colourwise.
In fact the more I looked at this print and then switched my gaze to the Hahnemuhle print the pinker it looked.
Comparing a blank Epson sheet with a blank Hahnemuhle sheet outside under a cloudy bright sky the Epson looks cream and the Hahnemuhle white!!!
The Hahnemuhle paper, back and front, compared with a Dulux brilliant white painted window sill looks pink.
Has anyone else seen these colour casts in papers or is my poor colour perception?
I can't ask my wife's opinion as she is partially colour blind.

[bez]

My sample of Hahnemuhle baryta cotton rag 315gsm viewed in daylight has the cream/yellow tint typical of unbleached fibrebase. Epson Archival Matte is a strange paper which I don’t use, although it does have a rather dull colour.
I don't recall ever seeing a paper I would describe as 'pink' - the spectrum usually ranges from yellow to increasingly white/blue with the bleached wood-pulp RC papers. Harman FB Gloss has a very slight grey tint to its off-white.

Try experimenting with profiles, although the paper-base colour will always show though in highlights, and may need tweaking to suit the display method.
While unbleached FB baryta prints are usually tinted, they can often show more luminance
Canon had a reputation for over-saturated reds but this shouldn’t mean an overall colour cast.

[Vincent]

I think Metamerism could be the key to your problem. Some ink paper combination can take on a small colour cast under different lighting conditions, this will be most noticeable in the grey areas on monochrome prints (black & white). When creating a new profile you should ideally create it for the lighting conditions in which the print will be viewed I know this may not always be practical, especially if you are producing prints for a traveling exhibition or to be sold as a limited edition print etc.

I have always found that Canon printers favour reds, which can be great for warming skin tones on a portrait, but not always desirable on other prints.

[The Crofter]

Metamerism crossed my mind but was not sure if it applied just to inks.

[Vincent]

It is generally the ink pigment that causes the Metamerism problem, but certain combinations of media and inks can highlight the effect.

[dutyhog]

Luminous Landscape had a strange story about this paper's colour - http://www.luminous-landscape.com/revie ... tale.shtml

As well as ink, the colour depends on how much (if any) optical brightener is in the coating and then what proportion of various UV, blue etc light illuminates the print. Unless you can completely control the lighting your print will have you need to use papers with no brightener, or put up with these slight colour casts.

With Hahnemuhle Photo Rag Baryta (not the same as FB) I've sometimes applied a minus magenta correction to diminish a pink/purple tinge in light grey areas seen in daylight. But it's no bother in any artificial light that I use.

[david m]

Thank you for all your replies, especially that link from dutyhog.
David