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Author Topic: Better matte than Enhanced, at same price?  (Read 3106 times)

walter.sk

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Better matte than Enhanced, at same price?
« on: January 22, 2008, 05:56:07 pm »

I tried a roll of Epson Enhanced Matte on the recommendation of a friend.  My Z3100 made an accurate profile but the paper seems to lack dynamic range and contrast.  In addition it is very sensitive to saturated yellows and oranges, which print as random gray blotches.

Is there another matte roll paper of roughly the same cost that gives any better results?
« Last Edit: January 22, 2008, 05:57:11 pm by walter.sk »
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rdonson

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Better matte than Enhanced, at same price?
« Reply #1 on: January 22, 2008, 06:27:17 pm »

What paper type did you use for profiling EEM?

Are you creating profiles with APS?

If you want to try out a profile that's working well for me and some others check out this wiki page

Another paper that you may like is the HP Matte Litho-Realistic.  It's not as bright as the EEM but it holds a lot of ink very well and is significantly heavier.  A very nice paper.
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Regards,
Ron

walter.sk

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Better matte than Enhanced, at same price?
« Reply #2 on: January 22, 2008, 06:59:04 pm »

Quote
What paper type did you use for profiling EEM?

Are you creating profiles with APS?

If you want to try out a profile that's working well for me and some others check out this wiki page

Another paper that you may like is the HP Matte Litho-Realistic.  It's not as bright as the EEM but it holds a lot of ink very well and is significantly heavier.  A very nice paper.
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=168875\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Thanks.  I profiled it with APS using Matte Litho-Realistic as paper type.  I might check out the Litho-Realistic when I run out of the Enhanced Matte.

The colors are accurate and pleasing, but after looking at some of the same pix on Epson Premium Luster, they just look a little wimpy (except for the one with the little gray blotches in the saturated orange).  I'll check out the profile on the Wiki page, but I don't think it was done with the 6.0.0.7 firmware.
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JeffKohn

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Better matte than Enhanced, at same price?
« Reply #3 on: January 22, 2008, 07:56:57 pm »

Quote
The colors are accurate and pleasing, but after looking at some of the same pix on Epson Premium Luster, they just look a little wimpy [a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=168882\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]
Any matte paper is going to look wimpy compared to Premium Luster or other gloss/semi-gloss/luster papers.
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Jeff Kohn
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rdonson

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Better matte than Enhanced, at same price?
« Reply #4 on: January 22, 2008, 08:25:29 pm »

Quote
Thanks.  I profiled it with APS using Matte Litho-Realistic as paper type.  I might check out the Litho-Realistic when I run out of the Enhanced Matte.

The colors are accurate and pleasing, but after looking at some of the same pix on Epson Premium Luster, they just look a little wimpy (except for the one with the little gray blotches in the saturated orange).  I'll check out the profile on the Wiki page, but I don't think it was done with the 6.0.0.7 firmware.
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=168882\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

As Jeff says, the matte papers simply aren't going to have the gamut of a luster/satin or glossy.

I usually adjust the image using soft-proofing for matte prints but there's only so far you can adjust.
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Regards,
Ron

Chris_T

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Better matte than Enhanced, at same price?
« Reply #5 on: January 23, 2008, 09:07:33 am »

Quote
As Jeff says, the matte papers simply aren't going to have the gamut of a luster/satin or glossy.

I usually adjust the image using soft-proofing for matte prints but there's only so far you can adjust.
[{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Agreed with both Jeff and Ron. Here's a good article showing the difference in dynamic range between matte and semi/glossy papers (compare Fig2 and Fig3). Wish I had came across it before wasting my time and money trying different papers and profiles. While other mattes more expensive than EEM may improve some, the difference is still there. The same holds true on other printers as well. I guess that's just the nature of mattes available today.

[a href=\"http://daystarvisions.com/Docs/Rvws/EpsonPaper/pg1.html]http://daystarvisions.com/Docs/Rvws/EpsonPaper/pg1.html[/url]

Epson Premium Luster does have more dynamic range, but its reflective surface is another problem. Here's a recent thread about this.

http://luminous-landscape.com/forum/index....44&#entry157244
« Last Edit: January 23, 2008, 09:11:45 am by Chris_T »
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