Obvioulsy Hahnemuhle has set the high bar for years with their paper quality, high gamut coatings, etc.. But I just got word a massive price increase is about to hit. From 2 to 30% or so depending on which paper. I've kind of hit my patience limit with this stuff, they have the exchange rate going in their favor, they have US clients (everywhere actually) trying to weather a big slowdown, and now this. I can't pass this increase off to my artists. Also, despite my enthusiasm for HPR Baryta as a top photo surface performer, I have to say the specks in the paper have made for a very high print rejection rate, higher than any paper I've used. Why would I want to even pay more for it when it's badly made? Photo Rag, German Etching, and William Turner make for nice prints but other papers are getting damn nice too.
So, I'd be interested in a lot of exchanging of user experiences here with alternative papers.
I'll be the first to toss one in, Generations Alise Fine Art Paper.
http://www.premierimagingproducts.com/pg_alisefineart.phpSurface is nice, seems more robust than Photo Rag, there is a natural and a bright white. Dmax with Epson MK ink is higher than HPR, and the gamut quite comparable, though with a RIP limits have to be handled carefully. With Jon Cone's inks dmax was a hair lower than HPR, but still up over 6, depending on setup. Give it a try.
Anybody seen anything along the lines of German Etching and W Turner they like?
Tyler
http://www.custom-digital.com/