Choice of paper for printing.

[spylaw4]

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A subjective thing most probably, but I would be interested to know what paper etc. forum members use when they make a print. I've asked specific numbered questions below in the hope that it makes things easier, and keeps answers somewhat standardised. I should say that it's for prints from digital image, not directly from negatives, and although I would prefer answers from those printing at home, professional printing is ok too..

 

1. Your printer make

2. Inks used (maker's own or generic)

3. Paper(s) for glossy

a) Colour

B&W

4. Paper(s) for matte

a) Colour

B&W

5. Paper(s) for Fine Art

a) Colour

B&W

6. Other relevant info.

 

Many thanks in advance!

[wparsonsgisnet]

1. Your printer make -- Epson 2400 (color) with ImagePrint, and 1400 (b/w w. Cone CIS and profile)

2. Inks used (maker's own or generic) -- Epson for color, Cone K6 for b/w

3. Paper(s) for glossy

a) Colour -- Ilford Galerie Glossy

B&W -- N/A

4. Paper(s) for matte

a) Colour -- N/A

B&W -- Hahnemuhle photo rag, thickest

5. Paper(s) for Fine Art -- see 4.b.

a) Colour

B&W

6. Other relevant info.

 

I print the b/w on matte for archival reasons.

 

When printing color, I trust the watered-down specs regarding image life and use glossy only. I see no difference in the image between glossy and matte when they are behind glass.

 

Regards,

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[archi4]

1. Your printer make Epson 3800

2. Inks used (maker's own or generic) Epson's own

3. Paper(s) for glossy

a) Colour Ilfor Galerie Glossy

B&W No B&W on glossy paper

4. Paper(s) for matte

a) Colour Innova IFA06 Smooth white cotton or Epson Enhanced Matte

B&W not applicable

5. Paper(s) for Fine Art

a) Colour Ilford Gold Fiber Silk or Innova IFA09 White Gloss or IFA06 or various Permajet papers

B&W As above

6. Other relevant info.

Make my own profiles with x-rite Eye-One

[delander †]

1. Your printer make: Canon i9950 (i9900 in US)

2. Inks used: maker's own - Canon

3. Paper(s) for glossy

a) Colour: Ilford Galerie Classic Gloss

B&W: Ilford Galerie Classic Gloss

4. Paper(s) for matte

a) Colour: Ilford Galerie Classic Pearl

B&W: Ilford Galerie Classic Pearl

5. Paper(s) for Fine Art

a) Colour

B&W

6. I have several custom profiles, for the papers. Using these it is possible to get B&W prints relatively free of tints. This is not a pigment ink printer.

 

Jeff

[underground]

Epson R1800

Epson Ink ONLY

B&W Innova Fiba Print Matte 280g

Color Ilford Fibre Silk Gold 310gsm (Killer Paper)

and my 4x6 color print's sometimes on Canon Pro Platinum 300g

13x19 Epson Ultra Premium Luster 5 star

Edited April 26, 2009 by underground

[spylaw4]

Thanks you all for your answers! Hopefully more to come?

[thompsonkirk]

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I'm not sure a poll will reveal much - more important that you select tools that complement your own photographs. I assume the 'Decisive Moment' set on your Decisive Moment site are the sort of thing you're most interested in printing.

 

From your work it looks like you'd value clarity, strong graphics, strong (but not overly vivid) colors, & a full BW tonal range in your prints.

 

The best printer choice for most folks is an Epson: 2xxx series if you want to print up to 13" paper, 3800 if you want to go 17". Not an 1800 - inkset not optimized for fine-art printing. You'd use nothing but the manufacturer's inks (the only exception being the sort of specialized BW printing that Bill Parsons does). For BW, the Epson advanced BW mode prints just about as well as the ImagePrint & Harrington RIPs used to.

 

Your best bet for making inexpansive work-prints is Epson's Enhanced Matte (now called Ultra Premium Presentation Something in the US). For final prints of the kind of work you do, most people choose a luster or semi-gloss paper - preferably one of the new entries on the market that look more like gelatin-silver surfaces. All of them mentioned so far are good, but IMO the only ones that really look like gelatin-silver are Epson Exhibition Fiber (another name in GB?), which is too expensive; & Harman Glossy FBAl. The latter comes in regular white or warmtone, but the regular white has less aartificial 'optical brightening' than some of the competing papers.

 

Many fine-aart photographers do their best fine-art printing on Hahnemuele Photo Rag 308 paper, which is a matte surface; try it, but your images might look better on luster or semi-gloss.

 

Oh, about your questions:

 

1. Your printer make: Canon 5100 (basically, I got one free & I'm very happy with its prints, though it's needed more service calls than my previous Epsons).

2. Inks used (maker's own or generic): Never ever generic.

3. Paper(s) for glossy: Harman FBAl. (Looks like the surface of Kodak F or Agfa 111).

a) Colour

B&W:

4. Paper(s) for matte: Hahnemuele Photo Rag 308.

a) Colour

B&W

5. Paper(s) for Fine Art: As above.

a) Colour

B&W

6. Other relevant info: Calibrate your monitor & use soft-proofing. The Epson generic papeer profiles are OK for the 2xxx series & fine for 3xxx series & above (because the latter are manufactured to higher tolerances, hence less sample variation).

 

My 2 cents,

 

Kirk

[cocker]

Brian,

 

1. Your printer make - Epson 3800

2. Inks used (maker's own or generic) - Only use Epson Inks

3. Paper(s) for glossy

a) Colour - Hahnemulle Pearl & Ilford Galerie Gloss

B&W - Ditto

4. Paper(s) for matte

a) Colour - Don't print colour on matte

B&W - Hahnemulle Photo Rag

5. Paper(s) for Fine Art

a) Colour - as above

B&W - as above

6. Other relevant info. I print using the Print module in Lightroom 2 - it works very well for me

[miami91]

Interesting to see what others are using!

 

Here's mine:

 

1. Your printer make: Epson 4880

2. Inks used (maker's own or generic): Epson K3

3. Paper(s) for glossy

a) Colour: Museo Silver Rag

B&W: Museo Silver Rag or Hahnemuhle FA Baryta

4. Paper(s) for matte: Don't print matte (changing black inks is wasteful and inconvenient with the Epson 4880).

a) Colour

B&W

5. Paper(s) for Fine Art: see above

a) Colour

B&W

6. Other relevant info.: Print with ColorByte Image Print RIP and paper-specific profiles.

 

 

Jeff.

[wparsonsgisnet]

 

3. Paper(s) for glossy: Harman FBAl. (Looks like the surface of Kodak F or Agfa 111).

 

Kirk

 

Now that the name Harman has come up, I want to mention a few things.

 

1. I have seen prints on this paper and they are excellent with fine detail.

2. I have also read articles about new products that use nano-sized particles and the articles mention that the human body has no defenses against particles of this size.

 

In other words, the particles will pass into your body, unhampered. It's not clear, of course, that the particles in the Harman paper are harmful to any of us, but it's the reason I don't buy this paper.

 

Again, I think the prints I have seen are terrific and I would like to support companies like Harman. I suggest you do some research on nano-particles and form your own conclusions.

 

You can see information from their site here:

 

Inkjet - Technology - HARMAN technology Limited

 

Regards,

[spylaw4]

A further thank-you to Kirk, Keith, Jeff and Bill for their contributions. All responses have proved most helpful and useful and certainly seem to me to be pointing towards a couple of preferred choices.

Thanks again to all.