narrowing down my paper choices

[sgwrx]

hello. so i think i've narrowed down my paper choices and would like to know if there's anything else i should look at/test?  Also curious to see comments on these papers as a group.  I've done a lot research, gotten the gist of most of it and sat in awe of the tests that some or all of you have done! it's been a long and dizzying journey!  printer is epson 3880 w/vivid magenta.

the biggest surprise to me this time around, is that i realized i might prefer the look and feel (mostly look, in fact 98% look) of a paper for a given photograph.  an old sports car on the race track to me asks for contrast, sharpness and smooth glossy paper.  a photo of a landscape might call for softer gloss and more textured paper or maybe less detail.

my primary criteria are: 1. OBA free 2. Epson Photo Black 3. Detail or sharpness in prints 4. Color loading, how saturated can i get if needed.  (edit) as far as color vs. black and white, i'm happy with both on these papers.

my list (in no particular order):

1. Canson Baryta Photographique
2. Canson Platine
3. Ilford Prestige Gold Fibre Silk
4. Harman by Hahnemuhle Gloss Baryta (not warmtone)
5. Museo Silver Rag
6. Hahnemuhle Photo Rag Pearl - primarily because it is an option when ordering the leather bound albums

(regarding #6, sports car prints do look ok on this, just not as exciting as on H by H Gloss Baryta to me

another thing to add is that during my research it seems that for the 3880 the best settings to print for any of these are: 1440dpi, paper thickness of "4", platen gap of "wide", allow some dry time 10-25 (which equates to .1sec - .25sec), high speed unchecked and rear sheet feeder one at a time.

it'd be interesting to hear comments on which of these in your experiences match the primary criteria the best.  overall i think this is a pretty good grouping.

next up for me will be whether or not a color munki for a custom profile would be an improvement. which i think is yes, but i've got another thread on that to see what i should expect in changes.

thanks!
steve

[kers]

Just found your post today...
I am on a HPz3100 and really like Canson Platien.

Why do you prefer Canson Baryta Photographique  over Platine?


thanks in advance..

Pieter Kers

[howardm]

my list (in no particular order):

1. Canson Baryta Photographique
2. Canson Platine
3. Ilford Prestige Gold Fibre Silk
4. Harman by Hahnemuhle Gloss Baryta (not warmtone)
5. Museo Silver Rag
6. Hahnemuhle Photo Rag Pearl - primarily because it is an option when ordering the leather bound albums

If requirement #1 is 'no OBA's', then you may want to delete #1, #3 and #4 as they do have OBA's in various amounts.  And, #1 & #3 are essentially the same paper.

I'm personally not a fan of Silver Rag as I don't care for it's 'feel' and surface.

The Harman and the Rag Pearl are very 'sharp' papers.  The Harman's surface is quite delicate and needs to be handled w/ great care to avoid surface scratches (so delicate that it's almost not worth the effort but it is awesome paper).

Are you planning on adding any warmer tone or 'natural' papers into the mix?

[sgwrx]

yes, 1 3 4 have OBAs. small amounts though so i'll be flexible on that.  and yes 1 3 are essentially the same which is what i found when really doing research for this list - thanks to this forum!

i like the surface of silver rag, colors etc... but not for every print.

so far i've held off on the h by h gloss baryta, if i really want something glossy as of now, i'll burn through left over epson whcih i got for some prints at work.  i do admit i like epson glossy and luster. there's times when i don't want the "blue" cast.  il'm staring at a glossy black and white of a render i did and it is  nice and sharp!

for the baryta photographique vs. platine, i do like the platine and yes it's totally oba free, but to me the surface is not quite as smooth as the baryta.  the platine seems like it catches highlights from reflected light a little more than the baryta.  the platine also seems a little more flexible so that worried me when doing 17x22 paper. not sure why it worried me maybe i was thinking of the feeding and movement through the printer.

as a side  note, i've got to say that i REALLY like doing prints on 17x22 paper.  yes i have to crop most of the time to fit 16x20 print size, but if i really want the 4x6 ratio i just do it.  but man, it's like a whole different experience than printing on 13x19 sheets. i've done several car prints on the baryta photographique and love it.  as far as printing vs monitor - i achieve something i like on my monitor but when printing i'll often change it a bit here and there, mostly curves and saturation because it makes the print "pop" more.  i'll do that mostly in soft proofing, but still sometimes i can push it more for the actual print.

[PeterAit]

Have you tried Slickrock Metallic Pearl? Talk about bright, sharp prints! I think it might be perfect for car photographs. Don't know about the OBA situation, though (the fear of which is, IMO, greatly exaggerated).

I am a big fan of Epson Exhibition Fiber, which gives great dMax, neutral and bright whites, and a surface texture that reminds me of air-dried "wet" prints. It's one of the more expensive papers, unfortunately.

What do you mean about Canson Baryta Photographique and Ilford Prestige Gold Fibre Silk being "essentially" the same paper? That they give very similar results?

[sgwrx]

Have you tried Slickrock Metallic Pearl? Talk about bright, sharp prints! I think it might be perfect for car photographs. Don't know about the OBA situation, though (the fear of which is, IMO, greatly exaggerated).

I am a big fan of Epson Exhibition Fiber, which gives great dMax, neutral and bright whites, and a surface texture that reminds me of air-dried "wet" prints. It's one of the more expensive papers, unfortunately.

What do you mean about Canson Baryta Photographique and Ilford Prestige Gold Fibre Silk being "essentially" the same paper? That they give very similar results?

its been reported here that its a similar base mfg'd by two different companies but sent to the same place to get the same coating.  at least that was what i understood it to mean.

for obas i guess thats why i bent my rule to include low amounts of obas.

the gfs and photograpique were a lot whiter than i thought they would be.  but in the end i thought it was a good thing despite the low iba content.

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