Jump to content

Tips for Epson Hot Press Bright


johnloumiles

Recommended Posts

Advertisement (gone after registration)

I recently started using 13x19 Epson Hot Press Bright Matte paper for prints and so far it's the best paper I've worked with. That said I want to make sure I'm getting the most out of it for both color & bw. If anyone has experiences with the paper they would like to share I'd appreciate it. I print out of PS3 on an Epson 2880.

 

Thanks!

 

 

---

I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=33.778580,-118.199089

Link to post
Share on other sites

x

As you may know already, the Bright has UV brighteners in it. And if you display under any sort of UV protection, then you've defeated the purpose of the brighteners (UV is what activates the paper to make it look bright white.)

 

The other issue is the longevity of prints with chemical brighteners. Epson claims that the Bright will end up looking like the Natural over time. Hopefully the Bright won't degrade to the point of looking horrid over time. Time will tell (pun intended.)

 

I use the Natural for those reasons. The Hot Press series are decent papers and the generic ICC profiles that Epson offers on their website are pretty good with just minor tweaking needed (based on each particular device and particular inkset.) They do seem to have a bit of difficulty with reds, however.

 

fwiw, filmmaker David Lynch also likes Hot Press Natural:

Link to post
Share on other sites

fwiw, filmmaker David Lynch also likes Hot Press Natural:

 

Thank you for sharing your thoughts as well as the video, which I enjoyed even though it was an advert.

 

Interesting points you brought up. I might check out the natural as well for BW work. You say the profiles are decent...what papers do you consider better then decent?

 

 

 

---

I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=33.778898,-118.199760

Link to post
Share on other sites

Thank you for sharing your thoughts as well as the video, which I enjoyed even though it was an advert.

 

Interesting points you brought up. I might check out the natural as well for BW work. You say the profiles are decent...what papers do you consider better then decent?

 

 

 

Another paper you might want to try out for black & white printing is Moab Entrada Natural. It is available in two weights and coated on both sides for printing. It is a favorite of many fine art photography printers and it feels great to the touch.

Link to post
Share on other sites

You say the profiles are decent...what papers do you consider better then decent?

 

The generic ICC profiles that Epson provides are decent meaning that outside of making your own profile that will be specific to your own printer, they work pretty well. As far as what papers are 'better than decent' it all gets very subjective. Papers have characteristics that are all over the place and one needs to choose what works for them and what works with any given subject matter. Most printers have several different papers they like to work with depending on the output they are looking to achieve.

 

I personally prefer to use papers that don't have chemical UV brighteners in them since the look of the print can shift over time, and they can often degrade the print and undermine longevity.

Link to post
Share on other sites

I personally prefer to use papers that don't have chemical UV brighteners in them since the look of the print can shift over time, and they can often degrade the print and undermine longevity.

 

I went with Epson paper solely on the fact I have an Epson printer. I'm not sure it makes much of a difference with these professional papers though since I only have the consumer large format printer which doesn't have specific presets for these types of media. I'm going to start experimenting though and see what paper I end up preferring.

 

Another paper you might want to try out for black & white printing is Moab Entrada Natural. It is available in two weights and coated on both sides for printing. It is a favorite of many fine art photography printers and it feels great to the touch.

 

Thank you! That will be one of the next papers I go with.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Perhaps generating your own profiles for the paper with a ColorMunki might produce better results aligned to your exact printer.

 

Also for B&W try the Epson Exhibition Fiber Paper.

 

Also the Cold Press papers (bright and natural) are very nice papers too.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...