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Author Topic: Canson Platine Fibre Rag review  (Read 18286 times)

mhecker*

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Canson Platine Fibre Rag review
« on: January 21, 2010, 10:25:07 am »

Hi All,

I've got my review of Canson Platine Fibre paper up on my web site.

See http://wyofoto.com/Canson_Platine_review.html

If you print B&W it may be of interest.

Thanks,
Miles

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nemophoto

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Canson Platine Fibre Rag review
« Reply #1 on: January 21, 2010, 03:34:52 pm »

Miles,

Nice review on the Canson Platine. I've been curious about the paper, so now I'll have to try it. My "standard" for the past few years has been Museo Silver Rag. Now I know why! Thanks.

Nemo
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mikev1

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Canson Platine Fibre Rag review
« Reply #2 on: January 22, 2010, 01:05:15 am »

Very interesting review.  I might just try this out.

Also, it was good to re-discover your website.  I recall visiting it a number of years ago.

Mike
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Ernst Dinkla

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Canson Platine Fibre Rag review
« Reply #3 on: January 22, 2010, 04:23:02 am »

Quote from: mhecker*
Hi All,

I've got my review of Canson Platine Fibre paper up on my web site.

See http://wyofoto.com/Canson_Platine_review.html

If you print B&W it may be of interest.

Thanks,
Miles

Miles,

If spectral curves of the paper tell it then I see little difference if compared to Photorag Baryta or Pearl.

http://www.pusztaiphoto.com/articles/print...s/webchart.aspx

Did you by any chance compare the Canson Platine to the Photorag varieties on this and on other aspects?


Off Topic: for matte papers the Entrada Natural and William Turner follow both Photorag (semi) gloss curves quite well. Despite the textured surface of the William Turner the reflectance is high.


met vriendelijke groeten, Ernst Dinkla

Dinkla Gallery Canvas Wrap Actions for Photoshop
http://www.pigment-print.com/dinklacanvaswraps/index.html
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Mr. Capp

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Canson Platine Fibre Rag review
« Reply #4 on: January 22, 2010, 11:24:43 am »

Thanks for the review, I have a couple general questions for anyone out there.
It seems this platine rag uses photo black ink. That guy Michael who just reviewed the new canzon baryta photographique
said it used matte, so he just passed this paper over? He's mistaken?

It seems like a great alternative to hahnemuhle photorag baryta. I've seen both and think the platine has an even smoother
surface. Is it just me but is the platine cheaper than silver rag and photorag? That's really the holding back point
for great rag paper.

I would be excited about the recently reviewed baryta photographique but it seems so similar in weight to the GFS that it probly won't consistently come out of my 3800 without any scratches, that stuff just curls up when wet, especially in drier winter weather. I've had a moderate amount of luck with EEF being a tad heavier(?). The rags, especially if more inexpensive would be a savior as they don't curl as much and lay down coming out of the printer. Plus I'm not really crazy about the surface quality of the GFS and CBP, once inked it's okay but on it own it looks almost streaked and "weird"
just a few cents, please add any comments, thanks guys.
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Colorwave

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Canson Platine Fibre Rag review
« Reply #5 on: January 22, 2010, 01:04:11 pm »

I understand that this paper makes very nice black and white images.  Is there any characteristic that makes it less ideal for color images?  Just curious if that is just a passion of the OP, or if there is something else to consider.
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NashvilleMike

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Canson Platine Fibre Rag review
« Reply #6 on: January 22, 2010, 01:16:50 pm »

Quote from: Mr. Capp
I would be excited about the recently reviewed baryta photographique but it seems so similar in weight to the GFS that it probly won't consistently come out of my 3800 without any scratches, that stuff just curls up when wet, especially in drier winter weather. I've had a moderate amount of luck with EEF being a tad heavier(?). The rags, especially if more inexpensive would be a savior as they don't curl as much and lay down coming out of the printer. Plus I'm not really crazy about the surface quality of the GFS and CBP, once inked it's okay but on it own it looks almost streaked and "weird"
just a few cents, please add any comments, thanks guys.

Funny - I have the opposite problem. I haven't been able to get ANY of the Hahnemuhle rag papers (Photo rag bartya or the older photo rag) through my 3800 without head strikes, corner inking, curls, and so forth - to the point of much frustration (and I've tried everything - grand canyon sized platen gaps, attempts at decurling, the whole bit), but I can run Ilford GFS all day long without issues. Sure - it curls like something else when it's wet but since I outgas prints between some plain paper it calms down nicely over a day or so. I will say, though, that even beyond my preference (so far) of Epson Exhibition Fiber for it's (to me) superior imaging qualites, another reason I like that paper is that it's *always* run through my 3800 fine as long as I use a "wide" gap and 3mil on the paper thickness. In my experience (and climate/humidity, etc) it is without question the one "high end paper" with the least problems in terms of feeding. You'd think in this day and age a paper manufacturer could make a paper that lays frickin' flat in the box, but apparently that's beyond Hahnemuhle's capability, which is why, as much as I like some of their papers, I no longer use them. (and don't even get me started on the Moab Colorado papers - ugh, I'd rather have a root canal then endure that disaster again)

I'm extremely interested in the Canson - particularly the baryta and now the platine rag after Mile's review. I've got the Canson bartya on order but it's on a long backorder and both papers seem rather difficult to find. Maybe by the summer I'll have a new paper, lol. I gotta say, the samples I saw in the Canson booth were impressive, so I await actually getting some to try (and of course will hope the paper is flat and isn't going to be a pain to deal with).

-m
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Light Seeker

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Canson Platine Fibre Rag review
« Reply #7 on: January 22, 2010, 02:22:11 pm »

Quote from: NashvilleMike
Funny - I have the opposite problem. I haven't been able to get ANY of the Hahnemuhle rag papers (Photo rag bartya or the older photo rag) through my 3800 without head strikes, corner inking, curls, and so forth - to the point of much frustration (and I've tried everything - grand canyon sized platen gaps, attempts at decurling, the whole bit
FWIW, I fed a box of 17x22 Photo Rag Baryta through my 3800 without any problems. Most of these were 11x17 or smaller however. I currently cut sheets of Silver Rag from a 17" role (mostly 11x17 or 13x17, but also some panos), decurl and print. I get the odd corner with black ink on it, but not an issue since I typically print 8x10 or 8x12 on these.

Quote from: NashvilleMike
I'm extremely interested in the Canson - particularly the baryta and now the platine rag after Mile's review. I've got the Canson bartya on order but it's on a long backorder and both papers seem rather difficult to find. Maybe by the summer I'll have a new paper, lol. I gotta say, the samples I saw in the Canson booth were impressive, so I await actually getting some to try (and of course will hope the paper is flat and isn't going to be a pain to deal with).
I have a sample pack of Canson's Photographique Baryta on the way, and I'm very curious to see how it performs. It will be used for printing black and white using Cones Piezography K7 inks and K3 colour. It does not look OBA free, which concerns me. I also wish it was based on a Cotton Rag paper. However, it may make a nice contrast to Silver Rag, which is what I'm looking for. Based on Michael's comments, it sounds like it has great dimensionality and is very sharp. I've noticed this with other Baryta papers, and I quite like that look.

I've been using Canson's Rag Photographique and BFK Rives, and I'm very happy with these papers. They look great for both colour and b/w work.

The Platine review is timely. I was very interested in it last year, but the introduction was delayed and I went with Silver Rag. If I could get a sample of it I would evaluate it alongside Photographique Baryta. Platine is OBA free and Cotton Rag, and I assume somewhat warmer in tone than Photographique Baryta. Perhaps a nice complement to Photographique Baryta, and a contender to replace my Silver Rag.

I will watch the discussion with interest.

Thank you Miles, for documenting your findings. It was all of interest, but I found the spectral curves especially fascinating.

BTW, are you printing K3 and ABW. Are you spraying the prints, or is the gloss differential / bronzing acceptible?

Terry.
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mhecker*

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Canson Platine Fibre Rag review
« Reply #8 on: January 22, 2010, 06:27:52 pm »



......Did you by any chance compare the Canson Platine to the Photorag varieties on this and on other aspects?

I did not have samples of these papers to measrure.

...... Off Topic: for matte papers the Entrada Natural and William Turner follow both Photorag (semi) gloss curves quite well. Despite the textured surface of the William Turner the reflectance is high.

My favorite matte paper is Museo Max.

I can post a the spectrum of it if you would like to see it.
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mhecker*

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« Reply #9 on: January 22, 2010, 06:30:35 pm »

.....It seems like a great alternative to hahnemuhle photorag baryta. I've seen both and think the platine has an even smoother
surface. Is it just me but is the platine cheaper than silver rag and photorag? That's really the holding back point
for great rag paper.

The Canson Platine as of Jan 21, 2010 is cheaper than the other two papers.    

As for the Epson 3800 and heavy paper rolls, you really need a good strong vacuum to hold these papers down.
Unless of course you want decurl.  I don't want to even think about decurling a 37"x84" print....    
« Last Edit: January 22, 2010, 06:33:34 pm by mhecker* »
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datro

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Canson Platine Fibre Rag review
« Reply #10 on: January 22, 2010, 06:33:33 pm »

You mention building your own profiles for this paper and using the Epson driver, however the article is focused on B&W printing.  Do I then assume that you are printing the B&W using Epson's ABW feature in the driver?  Or are you printing grayscale images with a color profile?

Dave
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mhecker*

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Canson Platine Fibre Rag review
« Reply #11 on: January 22, 2010, 06:36:02 pm »


........You mention building your own profiles for this paper and using the Epson driver, however the article is focused on B&W printing.  Do I then assume that you are printing the B&W using Epson's ABW feature in the driver?  Or are you printing grayscale images with a color profile?

I print with a color profile.

Some of our B&W prints have toning applied, so a color profile is needed.

I have built quite a few custom tone curves using my spectrometer.
It is possible to measure a tonded optical print with the spectrometer and duplicate it's look with a custom RGB curve..
« Last Edit: January 22, 2010, 06:37:15 pm by mhecker* »
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TylerB

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Canson Platine Fibre Rag review
« Reply #12 on: January 23, 2010, 01:58:05 pm »

to address a few of the above questions, along with B&W, my extensive testing with this paper revealed dandy color results after careful RIP setup and profiling. I am slightly less enthusiastic than the reviewer, it's a good paper, but I can't say it rises of above the others used for comparison in any remarkable way, technically or visually, though it is nice. Clearly it met and exceeded the subjective artistic needs of the reviewer, and that is an important part of all of this.
The one issue not mentioned, gloss differential, in my experience amongst the neutral to warmish PK papers, Silver Rag still excels in that regard and remains the dmax winner. The Canson shows a clear gloss difference between lightly and more heavily inked areas and a review I found of the baryta version mentions the same.
With an HP I'd assume this is less of an issue. In general, gloss differential may be important to each user, or not, subjectively.
I don't want to get too far away from the paper this thread is about, but the mentioned handling problems with PhotoRag Baryta is counter to my experience. Being cotton, is is very soft and supple, flattens easier and kinks less, and goes through my printers with far less trouble than the other thick PK papers. Another new paper in this catagory I like a lot is Cone Studio Type 5. It's warmish like Silver Rag, but has a more natural subtle texture like air dried fiber, with a touch less gloss than SR, really nice for B&W and color both. My tests of the new H Baryta FB quickly revealed a light lavender tone in the paper base, visual and measured, but maybe someone out there likes that...
Hope the above adds to the conversation.
Tyler
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KevinMcD

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Canson Platine Fibre Rag review
« Reply #13 on: February 25, 2010, 12:18:42 am »

I just used the Canson Platine paper for the first time. I must say that I'm impressed. There is a depth to the image that I feel comes closest to that seen in a traditional chemical fiber print.  On the gloss differential front, I see much less gloss differential than Ilford's Gold Fibre Silk on the Z3100. In fact, I'd say the differential wasn't even an issue. The stipple texture is very smooth. Me likey!  Let's see how it handles a color image tomorrow.
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