Hp Premium Super Heavyweight Plus Paper

[Xanthor]

I printed a client's photo on 4 papers and placed them side by side to help him decide which paper he liked best.

1 Fine Art Paper (Hamm. Smooth Fine Art Paper to be specific)
2 HP Professional Matte Canvas
3 This Hp Premium super heavyweight plus stuff
4 RC Matte Photo Paper.  

I have placed them side by side .... 5 people looked at them and 5 people all agreed the cheap paper looked best.

Can anyone suggest why the super heavyweight plus stuff look better than the expensive stuff?  Am I doing something wrong?  Missing something?

I used the same color profile for the print on all 4 papers.  (adobe 1998) and let the printer render.   The heavyweight stuff just looked richer, fuller and had more depth.   I was shocked it that it looked better than the Fine Art paper.... shocked enough to make this post.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts on the matter.

[bill t.]

Profiles, ya gotta use the right profiles!  Adobe 1998 isn't really a printer profile, one of the papers just happened to be served better by it than the others.  Download the paper manufacturer's recommended profiles and try again.  Let Photoshop do the color management, not the printer.

Which is not to say there can't be surprises.  It's very difficult to convey in words how the various papers really relate to other or work with specific types of images, you were absolutely on the right path when printed side-by-sides.  I have more than once had the current darling of the various printing forums be less than what I had hoped for.  One of the best smooth matte papers I ever used was bought dirt cheap on ebay so I could use it for nozzle checks when really expensive paper was loaded.  Turned out to be great stuff, of course it disappeared off the face of the Earth soon after.

[dct123]

I printed a client's photo on 4 papers and placed them side by side to help him decide which paper he liked best.

1 Fine Art Paper (Hamm. Smooth Fine Art Paper to be specific)
2 HP Professional Matte Canvas
3 This Hp Premium super heavyweight plus stuff
4 RC Matte Photo Paper.  

I have placed them side by side .... 5 people looked at them and 5 people all agreed the cheap paper looked best.

Can anyone suggest why the super heavyweight plus stuff look better than the expensive stuff?  Am I doing something wrong?  Missing something?

I used the same color profile for the print on all 4 papers.  (adobe 1998) and let the printer render.   The heavyweight stuff just looked richer, fuller and had more depth.   I was shocked it that it looked better than the Fine Art paper.... shocked enough to make this post.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts on the matter.

Most of these papers have a place in my production. The canvas will achieve a certain effect that some photographers like. The Hahnemuhle Fine art will work well in reproducing watercolor paintings that originally were painted on a similarly colored paper. The Super Heavyweight is an often overlooked alternative to the expensive matte photo papers. Super Heavyweight Plus is one of my favorite papers, and a dozen of my photographer/clients agree with me. A couple of reasons: Unlike Hanahmuhle Fine Art and some other 'fine art' type papers, no colors are imparted to the print via the paper...it has a bright pure white eggshell finish with no reflective properties. You will get a slight yellow cast or warming effect from the Hanahmuhle and some other fine art papers. Canvas needs to be coated with acrylic or varnish before the colors 'pop'. Did you coat the canvas? As far as color profiles, when you choose 'Printer Managed Colors' the profile you set in the software doesn't matter if you choose the correct paper at the printer when you load the paper. If you choose 'Application Managed' then the profile you choose will matter. In Qimage, there are two places that you set a paper profile...in the printer preferences window and in the Qimage program itself. (in addition to a monitor profile choice).

[Sensi]

Using the right color profiles when printing images can really make a difference. A few of the different image file extensions are .png, .jpeg, .tiff, .psd/.xcf/.crd, .pdf, and .gif. Different kinds of files are better for different kinds of digital images and graphics. First, .Png is better for printing web buttons and logos. The .jpeg file extension is better for printing web photos. The .tiff works well with printing images. The psd/xcf/crd files are all good for editing images. Pdf files work well with printing images in documents. The .Gif  file works better for viewing simple web animations. Visit this hyper-linked blog for  more on image file extensions and ways you can use image file extensions.

[Ernst Dinkla]

 In Qimage, there are two places that you set a paper profile...in the printer preferences window and in the Qimage program itself. (in addition to a monitor profile choice).

With Qimage in control of color management I set a media preset in the HP driver and an ICC profile in Qimage's CM window. The HP driver is set on: let application control color management and does not take part in color management then.

If color management is done by the HP driver it will use LUTs that correspond with the media preset chosen. It will then expect either AdobeRGB or sRGB as the assigned profile in the images. For the PS driver there is a wider choice of image color spaces.

The message that started the thread is obscure on what CM has been used, I guess printer driver CM. Not an optimal choice especially if third party papers are in the mix. That papers falling outside the arty category can still score high is no news to me, especially if the tactile experience is not added to the viewing.


met vriendelijke groeten, Ernst

New: Spectral plots of +250 inkjet papers:

http://www.pigment-print.com/spectralplots/spectrumviz_1.htm

[Damir]

It seems to me that Hp Premium Super Heavyweight Plus Paper does not exist, only Hp Super Heavyweight Plus Paper. Or am I missing something? 

Specification for paper: Q6626A   HP Super Heavyweight Plus Matte Paper         210 g/m2

[Damir]

I bought paper and try it. Nothing special, for me Matte Litho Realistic is much much better for practicaly the same price.

[douvidl]

Does this paper come only in rolls or sheets as well?  I can only locate rolls. 
David

[SergeyT]

I bought paper and try it. Nothing special, for me Matte Litho Realistic is much much better for practicaly the same price.

If you would like to see something really special (on matte) try Canson BFK Rives.

SergeyT.