Hahnemuhle William Turner or Museum Etching

[tgphoto]

I'm getting my portfolio together for grad school and would like to print my work on something nicer than the Epson Enhanced Matte.  I spent an hour or so at  Calumet Photo here in Chicago, and checked out a range of paper choices from both Epson and Hahnemuhle.

I've narrowed my selection down to two, both by Hahnemuhle, and would like to hear others' opinions of William Turner (310 gsm) and Museum Etching (350 gsm).

I'll be printing both color and black and white, either 8x10s or 11x17s, on an Epson Stylus Pro 7800 using Photoshop CS2 (I plan on getting ImagePrint, but it's not financially feasible right now). Subject matter includes abstracts with subtle detail and landscapes which are highly detailed.

Would you recommend one over the other, or neither? Or would I be better off with something like Photo Rag (308 gsm)?

[gadget]

I've been told by a local shop here in the Bay Area that Hahnemuhle makes Media Street papers (can anyone confirm?). You might look into them - they cost significantly less.

I'm getting my portfolio together for grad school and would like to print my work on something nicer than the Epson Enhanced Matte.  I spent an hour or so at  Calumet Photo here in Chicago, and checked out a range of paper choices from both Epson and Hahnemuhle.

I've narrowed my selection down to two, both by Hahnemuhle, and would like to hear others' opinions of William Turner (310 gsm) and Museum Etching (350 gsm).

I'll be printing both color and black and white, either 8x10s or 11x17s, on an Epson Stylus Pro 7800 using Photoshop CS2 (I plan on getting ImagePrint, but it's not financially feasible right now). Subject matter includes abstracts with subtle detail and landscapes which are highly detailed.

Would you recommend one over the other, or neither? Or would I be better off with something like Photo Rag (308 gsm)?
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=82092\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

[tgphoto]

I've been told by a local shop here in the Bay Area that Hahnemuhle makes Media Street papers (can anyone confirm?). You might look into them - they cost significantly less.
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=82109\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Thanks for the info, gadget!  I'm not too concerned about the price of the Hahnemuhle paper though, as I'm more concerned with the quality and presentation of the portfolio prints.

[Ed Foster, Jr.]

I'm getting my portfolio together for grad school and would like to print my work on something nicer than the Epson Enhanced Matte.  <snip>
I'll be printing both color and black and white, either 8x10s or 11x17s, on an Epson Stylus Pro 7800 using Photoshop CS2  (I plan on getting ImagePrint, but it's not financially feasible right now). Subject matter includes abstracts with subtle detail and landscapes which are highly detailed.
Would you recommend one over the other, or neither? Or would I be better off with something like Photo Rag (308 gsm)?
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=82092\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Tim,
If the photographs on your site are an example of what will be presenting, I was wondering if you have considered more of a semi-gloss or semi-matte surface paper, especially since the 7800 with photo black inks does such a fantastic job, especially in the dmax of the blacks.  Bill Atkinson has some great profiles for the 7800 posted on this site that with Ilford's Smooth Pearl, Epson's Semi-Matte, or if you desire, Hahnemuhle's Fine Art Pearl, would, IMHO,  do more justice to your work than matte papers will.

Good Luck with you portfolio.

Ed

[tgphoto]

Tim,
If the photographs on your site are an example of what will be presenting, I was wondering if you have considered more of a semi-gloss or semi-matte surface paper, especially since the 7800 with photo black inks does such a fantastic job, especially in the dmax of the blacks.  Bill Atkinson has some great profiles for the 7800 posted on this site that with Ilford's Smooth Pearl, Epson's Semi-Matte, or if you desire, Hahnemuhle's Fine Art Pearl, would, IMHO,  do more justice to your work than matte papers will.

Good Luck with you portfolio.

Ed
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=82175\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Ed, thanks for the recommendations and the well wishes.  Yes, several of the images on my site will be part of the portfolio.  I think I'll have to make another trip to Calumet to check out the semi-matte selections.  Would you recommend one type of paper for B&W and another for color, or do have you been pleased with the results of both types using these papers?

Thanks!

Tim

[Ed Foster, Jr.]

<snip>I think I'll have to make another trip to Calumet to check out the semi-matte selections.  Would you recommend one type of paper for B&W and another for color, or do have you been pleased with the results of both types using these papers?
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I have used Ilford's Smooth Pearl Paper with Bill Atkinson's profile on a 7800 and it does an outstanding job with both color and black and white. It is an RC Paper.  
If you want a true fiber base paper then Hahnemule's Fine Art Pearl has worked very well for me for both color and BW  on that printer.  And, if you want an RC type 2 sided, Kokopelli's Studio semi-gloss is not bad for both. The epson semi-matte is RC and very nice but mostly only available in rolls.

I hope this helps,
Ed

[thompsonkirk]

"Would you recommend one type of paper for B&W and another for color, or do have you been pleased with the results of both types using these papers?"

Your portfolio is already diverse if it contains both BW & color, so IMO drawing it together with one printing style would be to your advantage.

I'd suggest Hahnemuele Photo Rag 308 instead of the other two Hahn. papers you'e considering - it's hard to see how a more textured paper like Wm. T. would work for all images in a diverse portfolio.

You might consider papers in relation to the kind of program you're hoping to enter:  If it's commercially oriented, matte fine-art prints may be regarded as lacking 'punch.'  On the other hand, if it's a fine-arts program and your portfolio will be reviewed by artists in other media, then semigloss papers may look too 'plastic' to some of them.

[tgphoto]

I have used Ilford's Smooth Pearl Paper with Bill Atkinson's profile on a 7800 and it does an outstanding job with both color and black and white. It is an RC Paper. 
If you want a true fiber base paper then Hahnemule's Fine Art Pearl has worked very well for me for both color and BW  on that printer.  And, if you want an RC type 2 sided, Kokopelli's Studio semi-gloss is not bad for both. The epson semi-matte is RC and very nice but mostly only available in rolls.

I hope this helps,
Ed
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Ed,

This is a huge help!  Thanks so much for your insight into these papers!

[tgphoto]

Your portfolio is already diverse if it contains both BW & color, so IMO drawing it together with one printing style would be to your advantage.

Good point!  I hadn't thought of the media as a way to tie it together.  Or are you suggesting I show Color OR black and white, not both?

I'd suggest Hahnemuele Photo Rag 308 instead of the other two Hahn. papers you'e considering - it's hard to see how a more textured paper like Wm. T. would work for all images in a diverse portfolio.

My thought was a toothier paper would enhance the detail in my work versus say, glossy, which might smooth or flatten details.

You might consider papers in relation to the kind of program you're hoping to enter:  If it's commercially oriented, matte fine-art prints may be regarded as lacking 'punch.'  On the other hand, if it's a fine-arts program and your portfolio will be reviewed by artists in other media, then semigloss papers may look too 'plastic' to some of them.

I'm looking at RIT, RISD, UNM, CalArts, SAIC, and Columbia Chicago.  I think the only program with a commercial focus in this group is RIT, but I might be wrong.

[Geoff Wittig]

Just my 2 cents-
I've tried most of the papers being discussed on a broad range of images. Hahnemuhle photo rag has a beautiful weight, extremely fine texture, and does a fabulous job of rendering both detail and color saturation. The matte surface avoids any reflection, gloss differential or bronzing problems. I use this paper for most of my prints. William Turner and Museum Etching can look nice for certain images, but the texture tends to detract from fine detail in landscapes.
For black & white prints, the deeper d-max and hence greater dynamic range provided by photoblack ink is worth the minor hassle of bronzing/gloss differential on glossier paper. After experimenting with everything from Innova f-type gloss to Ilford smooth pearl, I confess that I am still quite satisfied with Epson's premium luster paper. For what it's worth, Pete Turner's current (color) exhibition at George Eastman House is printed entirely on this paper. I find that the excellent d-max and surface texture work great with my black & white landscape images.

Of course, I may be barking up the wrong tree here. Grad school photography programs might be looking for pretentious self-indulgent art school stuff, like torn photos printed on old newspaper stock.

[tgphoto]

Of course, I may be barking up the wrong tree here. Grad school photography programs might be looking for pretentious self-indulgent art school stuff, like torn photos printed on old newspaper stock.
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Geoff,

Thanks for the advice.  I'm warming up to the idea of semi-matte / semi-gloss.  You're right about the DMax on those RC papers.  As for the comment on grad school photo programs, that's my biggest fear, that I'll waste 2yrs and $30k on a useless degree filled with pretentious people.

I hope some of the people I meet at an upcoming Open House prove me wrong!

Tim