Paper, Paper, Paper

[GEOFFREYJAMES]

I  am taking delivery of an Epson 4900 next week,  and am going to be doing my first digital printing.  I have  been working in B/W for 40 years,  all formats up to 8 x 10.  I shall be working mainly in colour,  and find myself overwhelmed by  the choice of papers for inkjet.   It's kind of like photography around the First World  War when there was a huge explosion of the medium,  and things hadn't really become standardized.  The only paper I have tried on a friend's 9900 was Ilford Galerie Gold Fiber Silk; it was extremely good for B/W.  Where does one begin?  For me,  forget canvas, water-colour paper, etc.  I like papers with some luster -- the best of all time was Ilfobrom,  which was in fact a French Lumiere paper with an egg-shell surface and glowing tonality.  Any advice,  people ?

[neile]

Congrats on the new printer!

There are *plenty* of threads in the forum about paper selection. Do a few searches for some of the big names (Ilford, Hahnemuhle, Harman, Epson) and you'll find info. Also check some of Michael's paper reviews on the main Luminous Landscape site. Again, search for some of the big names and you'll find plenty of reviews.

If you like a LOT of detail, I maintain a spreadsheet with a long list of papers that you can sort and filter until you find something you like. http://www.danecreekfolios.com/inkjet-paper-list/

Neil

[Alan Goldhammer]

Congrats on the new printer.  It sounds as though you are making your life a little easier by sticking to gloss/luster paper finishes.  You don't need to worry about buying a new matte black ink cartridge as you won't be using it.  I like the Ilford Gold Fiber Silk as well for both color and black and white.  The other paper that I have enjoyed printing on is Museo Silver Rag which has a slightly different finish from the Ilford paper but does render colors quite well.

[howardm]

get some sample packs (most mfgrs or the larger paper vendors have them) and print out a good test image (northlight images or the PDC or the digitaldog) and see what paper(s) float your boat

[John R Smith]

Geoffery

There are very many really good papers around now, which was not at all the case just 5 years ago. And there have been reviews here on LL, here are some links -

http://luminous-landscape.com/essays/surface-reflections.shtml

http://luminous-landscape.com/reviews/printers/new-papers.shtml

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/printers/Surface2.shtml

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/printers/baryta.shtml

I hope this helps. My personal favourite is the Harman Gloss FB Al Warmtone, which I have used exclusively since it first came out - I've gone through boxes of the stuff, and I love it.

John

[GEOFFREYJAMES]

Folks,

  Thankyou for all the kind replies.  I will do my homework and report back.

[kenben]

So what is recommended for fine art printing?

[GEOFFREYJAMES]

Given my leanings, I will try out the Harmon Gloss FB,  and the Ilford Galerie Gold Fibre Silk.  Possibly a Hahnemuhl gloss, too,  but I suspect it will be between the other two.  The links have been most helpful,  and has avoided  endless searches. 

[Randy Carone]

Harman Gloss FB is no longer marketed under that name. Hahnemuhle bought Harman and now their products are sold as Harman by Hahnemuhle and the Gloss FB is now called Gloss Baryta. Same paper. It is also available in a Gloss Baryta Warmtone version.

[Kirk Gittings]

Actually it is not the same paper. Everyone I know who loved the original Harman Gloss FB (myself included) has been disappointed with the new paper. I switched to Canson Plantine.

[Alan Goldhammer]

Actually it is not the same paper. Everyone I know who loved the original Harman Gloss FB (myself included) has been disappointed with the new paper. I switched to Canson Plantine.

Do you see the micro-scratches that are mentioned here?

[Kirk Gittings]

No, but I am only printing B&W if that makes a difference.

[Alan Goldhammer]

No, but I am only printing B&W if that makes a difference.

One of my test prints is a B&W landscape and I saw some of what are called "scratches" but only under magnification.

[John R Smith]

Actually it is not the same paper. Everyone I know who loved the original Harman Gloss FB (myself included) has been disappointed with the new paper. I switched to Canson Plantine.

Why were you disappointed? I have used the Harman Gloss FB ever since it came out, and when I ran out of the Harman switched to the Harman by Hahn replacement. All the tests I have done show absolutely no difference between the two papers, either to the naked eye or under a loupe. Prints from the same file on both papers seem absolutely identical, both to me and everyone else I have shown them to. Same files, same printer, same profiles. That's standard boxes of A4 Gloss and Gloss Warmtone.

John

[Robcat]

I'm with John on liking the Harman/Hahnemuhle and not seeing a difference w. the new version. One advantage with that paper is that it's the only one w. 17 x 25 sheets (vs. 17 x 22 that everyone else supplies), which helps since Harman from rolls requires some attention to flattening.

Regarding paper choice in general, doing a few test prints with each paper (from a trial sample pack, say) will give you a good sense of the surface texture, which will likely let you exclude a few possibilities. But after that, because I've never been satisfied that canned profiles show me what a paper will really do, I'd suggest getting a look at actual prints by folks who've already worked up settings and profiles for your final candidate papers. Of course, depending on where you're located, that may be easier said than done. Or you could do what I did once, which was pick a paper that seemed to have a nice surface, feel, etc. in the factory sampler in the store and buy a whole roll, only to find that I hated it 

[GEOFFREYJAMES]

Again, many thanks for all the advice and tips.   I am getting a new part=time assistant who has experience in Lightroom,  which I use with the M9.  I am just going to try to print my own stuff systematically until we get it right.  Those sampler things with cheezy landscapes and flowers and patterns are completely useless for my purposes because I wouldn't  want anything to look like that.  I am starting with Ilford Gold Silk and Harman/Hahnemuhl.  The choice is not as dizzying as I thought.

[Andy Aldrich]

Ilford and Hahnemuhle were at the top of a comparison test of baryta papers I did. Other papers that we liked equally were Canson Baryta Photographique and their Platine Fibre Rag based on test images. We are going through a box each using a 3880 and factory profiles printing my images from Lightroom hoping to narrow the choices.

[GEOFFREYJAMES]

Andy,  Thanks.  Let me know what conclusions you reach.  One consideration for me is availability.  I have also heard about cutting problems with Canson.  I am trying to keep things simple.