Advice on testing photo papers

[PhotoMini]

Hi all,

First off I am new to the forums here but have been following LuLa for a number of years and taking photographs even longer so I am not a complete alien to photography. However I am somewhat new to printing.

I have been printing images for nearly 18 months but have only just started to dive into 'fine art printing' as the paper that my university provides to print our work on I have not been completely happy with. As such I have purchased sample packs of paper from various manufacturers (Breathing Color, Moab, Harman, Canson) to try out and hopefully move to a paper that i prefer.

Each sample pack only gives 2 sheets of each type of paper and I want a try and see which papers i like and which papers suit my images (both colour and B&W). At this stage I do not want to get into the technicalities of each paper such as which colours are out of gamut for which paper and which paper has a higher D-MAX etc (I will be finding out this and doing more paper testing once i have narrowed it down to a few select papers). I just want to test the papers to see which ones I like and which ones I don't like.

I have done up 2 test sheets (one colour, one B&W) with a selection of my images on each that i feel best represent my work in general, however when consulting the 'master printer' at my university about them, he said it would be better to simply download a 'printer evaluation image' from the web and print that out. However the image i found online i felt did not represent the sort of images i print on a regular basis. I want to try and get the best general representation of each paper without printing out countless test images. I am simply not in a position financially to buy several packs of each sample pack and have them shipped to me. (Shipping along is $80 and lets not mention the exchange rate).

With this in mind, what is the best way to try out and test the papers. I am open to all suggestions and welcome any advice.

Regards,
PhotoMini

[Mark D Segal]

The best overall test image, because it tests for many aspects of print quality and contains photos that are quite representative of a broad range of photos, is this one:

Outback.

If none of what's in there adequately reflects the kind of work you do, the best thing is select representative samples of your own photos, print them on the various papers you've bought and decide which paper gives you the closest rendition responding to your preferences. Follow the instructions for profile selection and printer settings carefully. Also, watch the video tutorial "From Camera to Print" on this website.

[PeterAit]

Hi all,

First off I am new to the forums here but have been following LuLa for a number of years and taking photographs even longer so I am not a complete alien to photography. However I am somewhat new to printing.

I have been printing images for nearly 18 months but have only just started to dive into 'fine art printing' as the paper that my university provides to print our work on I have not been completely happy with. As such I have purchased sample packs of paper from various manufacturers (Breathing Color, Moab, Harman, Canson) to try out and hopefully move to a paper that i prefer.

Each sample pack only gives 2 sheets of each type of paper and I want a try and see which papers i like and which papers suit my images (both colour and B&W). At this stage I do not want to get into the technicalities of each paper such as which colours are out of gamut for which paper and which paper has a higher D-MAX etc (I will be finding out this and doing more paper testing once i have narrowed it down to a few select papers). I just want to test the papers to see which ones I like and which ones I don't like.

I have done up 2 test sheets (one colour, one B&W) with a selection of my images on each that i feel best represent my work in general, however when consulting the 'master printer' at my university about them, he said it would be better to simply download a 'printer evaluation image' from the web and print that out. However the image i found online i felt did not represent the sort of images i print on a regular basis. I want to try and get the best general representation of each paper without printing out countless test images. I am simply not in a position financially to buy several packs of each sample pack and have them shipped to me. (Shipping along is $80 and lets not mention the exchange rate).

With this in mind, what is the best way to try out and test the papers. I am open to all suggestions and welcome any advice.

Regards,
PhotoMini

My advice for testing papers is to not test papers. It's a distraction from the true work of a photographer, which is to take photos.

[chez]

My advice for testing papers is to not test papers. It's a distraction from the true work of a photographer, which is to take photos.

Well from my perspective a photographers job is not complete until the print is made...thus it's good to know your options out there for different types of paper which affect the resulting prints quite drastically.

The presentation of the image through prints has just as much influence on your vision as when you press that shutter.

[Wayne Fox]

My advice for testing papers is to not test papers. It's a distraction from the true work of a photographer, which is to take photos.

interesting.  I've always felt I was trying to make photographs, so taking them was just one step in the process.  If you just take photos, what do you do with them?

[rdonson]

My advice for testing papers is to not test papers. It's a distraction from the true work of a photographer, which is to take photos.

So am I to take this to mean you don't print your own photos?

[Benny Profane]

My advice for testing papers is to not test papers. It's a distraction from the true work of a photographer, which is to take photos.

Who are you taking them from?

To the OP, sorry, but, it's going to cost a little money and time fine tuning your print making abilities, and that means a period of trying out some papers. After a certain point, you will be able to narrow it all down to a few of your favorites, but, for now, it's going to cost a bit of change.

[Ernst Dinkla]

With this in mind, what is the best way to try out and test the papers. I am open to all suggestions and welcome any advice.

Regards,
PhotoMini

Avoid testing identical papers from different distributors/manufacturers. Papers with excessive OBA content are better avoided too. For both you check the SpecrumViz paper white spectral plots.

Avoid papers that show fast discoloring of the paper white. If longevity of papers and ink combinations is important, you need good test data. For both you better check Aardenburg-Imaging.com There are also Dmax numbers in the test result PDFs. It depends on your printer type whether there are enough tests of interest for you.
 
After that search you will still need time to test for your own criteria.

Met vriendelijke groet, Ernst

http://www.pigment-print.com/spectralplots/spectrumviz_1.htm
July 2016 update, 700+ inkjet media white spectral plots

[tastar]

We've been trying out an Epson SureColor P800 - printing sample images from Hahnemuhle on their paper sample packs - and matching the sample image to the paper - and using the canned Hahnemuhle profiles for the P800. I'm not a photographer, but I have to say that Hahnemuhle's sample photos match their sheets extremely well, and their canned profiles seem to be very, very good. And, doing actual photos on various papers is much more effective than doing a test chart. So, I believe that it would be best to stick to the sample packs and your photos - and pick the papers that make your work look its best.

Some examples of the Hahnemuhle photos and corresponding papers: Photo Rag Pearl, Photo Rag Satin, Photo Silk Bartya, Photo Rag Baryta, William Turner.

We've also been testing a lot of different papers on our P9000 - and have been doing profiling using a test chart similar to the one listed above from Digital Outback Photo. The test chart gives us a good reference to compare one sheet to another - a nice absolute to see how various media perform. But, it's much different than seeing a photo that matches the sheet that its printed on.

Tony

[keithcooper]

My advice for testing papers is to not test papers. It's a distraction from the true work of a photographer, which is to take photos.

Utter hokum :-)  Just my personal view as a photographer ... mind you, it's nice to finally find what my 'true work' should be :-)

From my own POV, I like to produce examples of a few known test images, that help me get a feel for how the printer/paper/ink 'behaves', and avoids too much emotional influence of the 'look' of the image. It helps look for technical deficiencies.

The choice of what image (and editing treatment) goes 'best' with a paper/ink/printer is the tricky (and fun) bit and where you get the chance to explore what your prints mean to you and what you want to say  (if anything - I have pics that are from my POV 'just nice to look at').

One other thing (IMHO, and I know opinions differ) is not to be too bothered by the numbers (unless you need them, as in longevity)

[GrahamBy]

So am I to take this to mean you don't print your own photos?

Cartier-Bresson didn't print his own photos. Neither did Helmut Newton, although he kept an eye on the process.
So without dismissing the importance of printing entirely, it's possible to be a photographer without making prints; it's not so obvious that you're a photographer if you only make prints.

Given how good current printers are, and the relatively small differences between coated papers, there is probably more room for improvement at the "where you point the camera" stage than at the printing stage.