Papers

Charlatan

Charlatan

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Can't seem to find too much searching for information about papers to print on at home. Is this because most dont bother with the hassle and have Pro labs print for them?

I have found a very good price on Hahnemuehle Fine Art Pearl 285gsm A3 paper and would be printing a mix of B/W and full colour but was looking for a topic that discussed the merits of various types/finishes of paper.
 
labs generally don't use inkjets hence why the paper choice is very limited. fine art pearl is overrated and overpriced IMHO.

what printer do you have?
 
I have both a Canon IX4000 and a daily use Espon RX560 & Epson BX300F. I have access too plotters aswell, namely the HP DesignJet 1050c but not really looking for using those, more home printing.

I understand that labs don't use inkjets but surely there is some sort of market for those printing at home or is the time/effort and cost just not economical?
 
there are plenty of papers to choose from

innova

harman

hahnemuhle

epson

ilford

permajet

fotospeed
 
Normally I have prints done by a lab - which one varies depending on price offers at the time. However, as I have Epson printers at home and only use Epson genuine inks I also only use Epson papers.

Viewing the results it's almost impossible to tell the difference between those I print at home and those I have printed by a lab. The real difference, of course, is in the longevity and durability of the print, which definately favours the lab output.

From my calculations it is also cheaper to get prints done by a lab provided you are doing several at a time (to amortise the postage costs).
 
actually it doesn't with modern day pigment printers lol


Bristolian said:
Viewing the results it's almost impossible to tell the difference between those I print at home and those I have printed by a lab. The real difference, of course, is in the longevity and durability of the print, which definately favours the lab output.

From my calculations it is also cheaper to get prints done by a lab provided you are doing several at a time (to amortise the postage costs).
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A thread discussing papers would be interesting, but the choice of paper is a very personal thing. Just look at the range of finishes available from a whole range of manufacturers.

I've just done some prints on Hahnemulhe smooth Photo Rag. Now some images looked fine but others I think I preferred those on Ilford Smooth Pearl paper I normally print on. Plus it's a bit of a pain changing the Photo Black cart to a Matt black one which does waste ink.

You can spend forever testing papers, The best suggestion I can give is get some of the sample packs. Find a couple of papers you like and stick with them. By all means try others but have a standard to work with and compare against.
 
you can use the photo black ink to print on matt papers you loose a wee bit of DMAX but that's all.
 
POAH said:
you can use the photo black ink to print on matt papers you loose a wee bit of DMAX but that's all.
Click to expand...

Yes that's true, but when you have an image that has a lot of shadow detail it can really show up, especially when you do something stupid like a side to side comparison :)
 
Chappers said:
Yes that's true, but when you have an image that has a lot of shadow detail it can really show up, especially when you do something stupid like a side to side comparison :)
Click to expand...


stop taking pictures at night then :lol:
 
You can spend forever testing papers, The best suggestion I can give is get some of the sample packs. Find a couple of papers you like and stick with them.
Click to expand...

Just like the days of film - some people spent their time experimenting with film and developer combinations to get the perfect one - and others shot with tri-x and D76 for everything, and learned how it would look before they even took the photo....

There are some fantastic papers out there - and they will lend something to the final image. Photorag and some of the other Hahnemuehle are fantastic - and using Sugarcane or bamboo would be good choices for the "green" brigade.

Again - don't spend your life trying every paper you hear about - and unless you have the right profiles for your printer, the results will be very variable.

I am about to add a large format inkjet machine - and I have set aside half a day at FOCUS just to look at all the paper out there to decide on my papers of choice - one or two matt arts and a couple of coated to give my clients the choice...

Comparing the same image on different papers reminds me about the saying about watches....

A man with a watch knows the right time
A man with two watches never knows the right time!
 
I popped into a pro photo printing shop recently and they took me through the paper choices they offered (nine or ten in total, five inkjet I think), showed examples and were happy enough to chat as they weren't that busy. If there is one local it might be worth trying.
 
I remembered the name now: The Print Space (prices at http://www.theprintspace.co.uk/photographic-print-prices.php)

They aren't cheap but they seem to aim at the pro end of the market. While I was there lots of couriers came in to drop or collect work, while I think I was the only casual amateur in the place. They have mac terminals available for PP work, do framing etc.

I will try them to see just what the difference is between what I can generate at home and what they can do. I also like the look of their C-type prints and will use them should I take anything suitable.

Very helpful staff there. The front office/receptionist knew what she was talking about, answered all my daft questions, let me wander around looking at the pics on the wall, and was very pretty so I was happy I went in.
 
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