Hahnemühle Photo Rag Ultra Smooth with Landscapes

[Chiotas]

Hi to everyone!
Does someone have experience of printing on Hahnemühle Photo Rag Ultra Smooth paper?
My need is to print only landscapes images, and what I want to achieve is not so much glossy effect and lot of details.

Right now I testes:

- Photo Rag 308: no reflection at all, but image really flat
- Photo Rag Baryta: some reflection, a lot of details!

I'm waiting the delivery of a sample pack, but I'd like to hear some feedback from experienced users!
Thank you so much

Francesco

[Paul Ozzello]

Hi to everyone!
Does someone have experience of printing on Hahnemühle Photo Rag Ultra Smooth paper?
My need is to print only landscapes images, and what I want to achieve is not so much glossy effect and lot of details.

Right now I testes:

- Photo Rag 308: no reflection at all, but image really flat
- Photo Rag Baryta: some reflection, a lot of details!

I'm waiting the delivery of a sample pack, but I'd like to hear some feedback from experienced users!
Thank you so much

Francesco

Hi Francesco,

The Photo Rag 308 is a beautiful paper but it doesn't have very good dMax. When I want really deep blacks I print on one of the Epson Hot/Cold Press papers.

[Chiotas]

Hi Francesco,

The Photo Rag 308 is a beautiful paper but it doesn't have very good dMax. When I want really deep blacks I print on one of the Epson Hot/Cold Press papers.

Thank you so much for the suggestion Paul!
Currently I own a Canon Pro-1 printer, so I think it will be difficult to test Epson paper properly due to missing ICC
Anyway I'll try to find a store with this paper in stock in order to "taste" the paper with my eyes

[JohnBrew]

You might want to try a sample of Hahnemuhle Photo Rag Pearl. It's awesome on my 6400.

[Alan Goldhammer]

Hi to everyone!
Does someone have experience of printing on Hahnemühle Photo Rag Ultra Smooth paper?
My need is to print only landscapes images, and what I want to achieve is not so much glossy effect and lot of details.

I've done a lot of printing on it and it's my favorite matte paper to print on for both color and B/W.  There are a number of samples undergoing archival testing at Aardenburg with both the Epson ABW and color drivers using the 3880 printer.  Mark and I wanted to look at all the different settings with the ABW driver which is why there are a large number of samples.

Alan

[Chiotas]

You might want to try a sample of Hahnemuhle Photo Rag Pearl. It's awesome on my 6400.

Hello John,
thank you for your feedback.
I already tried to print on this paper. It is really nice, but I think it is quite similar to the Photo Rag Baryta in my opinion.

I've done a lot of printing on it and it's my favorite matte paper to print on for both color and B/W.  There are a number of samples undergoing archival testing at Aardenburg with both the Epson ABW and color drivers using the 3880 printer.  Mark and I wanted to look at all the different settings with the ABW driver which is why there are a large number of samples.

Alan

Hello Alan,
wow, that's great!
Unfortunately I'm not able to find anything on Aardenburg website. Please, do you have any direct link to this reviews/test results?
Thank you!

[artobest]

I use Photo Rag Ultra Smooth regularly, especially for graphic or bright images where colour vibrancy is paramount. I like the totally unobtrusive surface, easy profiling (I have my own custom profile and the manufacturers, both nearly identical and very good) and sparkle it gives to images. The closest paper I have seen to it is the Innova Smooth Cotton Bright White, but the Hahnemuhle seems slightly smoother and whiter. I would recommend it for landscapes, but bear in mind it does contain OBAs, so may not have the highest longevity - the Aardenburg tests will be interesting. For this reason, and because I like it, I tend to use the Innova Smooth Cotton Natural White (IFA 11) more often. Check it out, it's a beautiful paper.

[Chiotas]

I use Photo Rag Ultra Smooth regularly, especially for graphic or bright images where colour vibrancy is paramount. I like the totally unobtrusive surface, easy profiling (I have my own custom profile and the manufacturers, both nearly identical and very good) and sparkle it gives to images. The closest paper I have seen to it is the Innova Smooth Cotton Bright White, but the Hahnemuhle seems slightly smoother and whiter. I would recommend it for landscapes, but bear in mind it does contain OBAs, so may not have the highest longevity - the Aardenburg tests will be interesting. For this reason, and because I like it, I tend to use the Innova Smooth Cotton Natural White (IFA 11) more often. Check it out, it's a beautiful paper.

Wow, thanks for this fantastic feedback, really appreciated!
Do you think that the longevity issue can be removed using the Hahnemuhle  protective spray?

[Alan Goldhammer]

Hello Alan,
wow, that's great!
Unfortunately I'm not able to find anything on Aardenburg website. Please, do you have any direct link to this reviews/test results?
Thank you!

You have to register to access the test results and registration is free.

Alan

[RachelleK]

I use Photo Rag Ultra Smooth regularly, especially for graphic or bright images where colour vibrancy is paramount. I like the totally unobtrusive surface, easy profiling (I have my own custom profile and the manufacturers, both nearly identical and very good) and sparkle it gives to images. The closest paper I have seen to it is the Innova Smooth Cotton Bright White, but the Hahnemuhle seems slightly smoother and whiter. I would recommend it for landscapes, but bear in mind it does contain OBAs, so may not have the highest longevity - the Aardenburg tests will be interesting. For this reason, and because I like it, I tend to use the Innova Smooth Cotton Natural White (IFA 11) more often. Check it out, it's a beautiful paper.

Is there a difference between Innova Smooth Cotton Natural White and Innova Photo Smooth Cotton Natural White?

[Chiotas]

You have to register to access the test results and registration is free.

Alan

Thank you Alan, test results found!
I'll start to study them

[RachelleK]

Is there a difference between Innova Smooth Cotton Natural White and Innova Photo Smooth Cotton Natural White?

Found the answer.  The Photo is 315gsm and the regular is 215gsm.

[MHMG]

The AaI&A test results for HN photo rag Ultrasmooth that Alan referred to are in the process of being updated to a new report format which is why I'm running so far behind on the latest test results (that and the fact that I lost my volunteer who was helping me stay on top of all these measurements). Anyway, I hope to have the report conversions completed this weekend, so look for "new and improved" reports early next week for batch K. Batch K has these HN Ultrasmooth samples in it.  

The new report style will be more automated and thus ultimately a time saver for me once I get the sample documentation manually moved over into the new format. The new report format will also contain graphs as well as all the original tables. The new graphs will feature media whitepont stability plots, I* color and tone plots, delta E plots, and for B&W samples such as Alan's HN PH rag ultra smooth sample submissions, also the initial tone reproduction curves plus a*and b* values versus L* plots (which reveal initial "hue and chroma" character of the B&W image).

kind regards,
Mark
http://www.aardenburg-imaging.com

[shadowblade]

Detail or lack of detail is largely dependent upon print size - with a large print, even a heavily-textured paper like Torchon or Albrecht Durer will show great detail, simply because the details are larger than the texture.

I'm a little of two minds regarding Hahnemuhle Photo Rag and the Ultra Smooth version (which is basically a hot-press version of the regular Photo Rag). On the one hand, it consistently tops the charts among matte papers in the Aardenburg ratings for print permanence, no matter what inkset it's being tested with. On the other hand, it contains OBAs - and, according to the results there, not just in the paper base, as some claim.

[MHMG]

I'm a little of two minds regarding Hahnemuhle Photo Rag and the Ultra Smooth version (which is basically a hot-press version of the regular Photo Rag). On the one hand, it consistently tops the charts among matte papers in the Aardenburg ratings for print permanence, no matter what inkset it's being tested with. On the other hand, it contains OBAs - and, according to the results there, not just in the paper base, as some claim.

I hope my test reports don't contain any data or descriptive comments that imply HN Photo Rag and the Ultra Smooth version contain OBAs anywhere other than the paper core. Neither Photo Rag nor the ultra smooth version appear to have any OBAs in the top coating. This fact can easily be ascertained by UV blacklight examination. There is indeed a low level of fluorescence from OBAs in the paper core which trims the b* media white value a point or two towards more neutral.  As such, these two Hahnemuhle media don't suffer from significant OBA fade and subsequent image color shift as usually happens when OBAs are added to the top coat. If they did, they probably would not score so well in testing.

You may be thinking  of Hahnemuhle Photo Rag Bright white. That does have OBAs in the top coat, and the total fluorescence is considered to be in the "high" category by AaI&A standards.

regards,
Mark
http://www.aardenburg-imaging.com

[shadowblade]

I hope my test reports don't contain any data or descriptive comments that imply HN Photo Rag and the Ultra Smooth version contain OBAs anywhere other than the paper core. Neither Photo Rag nor the ultra smooth version appear to have any OBAs in the top coating. This fact can easily be ascertained by UV blacklight examination. There is indeed a low level of fluorescence from OBAs in the paper core which trims the b* media white value a point or two towards more neutral.  As such, these two Hahnemuhle media don't suffer from significant OBA fade and subsequent image color shift as usually happens when OBAs are added to the top coat. If they did, they probably would not score so well in testing.

You may be thinking  of Hahnemuhle Photo Rag Bright white. That does have OBAs in the top coat, and the total fluorescence is considered to be in the "high" category by AaI&A standards.

regards,
Mark
http://www.aardenburg-imaging.com

Going on the numbers in the 'UV Delta-b influence', Hahnemuhle Photo Rag and the Ultra Smooth version are shifted by 1-1.5 points by UV light, as opposed to 0.1-0.2 points for most non-OBA papers. So, clearly, there is some OBA influence there. If the OBAs were merely in the paper base, why would they cause a colour shift visible through the inkjet coating?

Of course, given that paper tends to bleach towards the cool side with UV exposure, the gradual burnout of the OBAs may counteract this, leading to reduced colour change over time.

On a separate note, it seems that Hahnemuhle Protective Spray and PremierArt Print Shield reduce the UV influence by 50-60% in OBA-containing papers.

[MHMG]

If the OBAs were merely in the paper base, why would they cause a colour shift visible through the inkjet coating?

Because no coating is 100% opaque. For that matter even the paper core itself is not 100% opaque for many media such that backside printing can show through a little when looking at the image on the front side

best,
Mark

[shadowblade]

Because no coating is 100% opaque. For that matter even the paper core itself is not 100% opaque for many media such that backside printing can show through a little when looking at the image on the front side

best,
Mark

Fair enough.

I might do a bit of an experiment now - scraping the coating off a piece of Hahnemuhle Photo Rag and illuminating the resulting powder under UV light to see if it glows. If it doesn't, it's probably OBA-free. If it glows, I can look at it under a stereo microscope to see whether it's the coating particles that are fluorescing, or merely contaminant paper fibres.

I'll get back with the results later.

[MHMG]

Fair enough.

I might do a bit of an experiment now - scraping the coating off a piece of Hahnemuhle Photo Rag and illuminating the resulting powder under UV light to see if it glows. If it doesn't, it's probably OBA-free. If it glows, I can look at it under a stereo microscope to see whether it's the coating particles that are fluorescing, or merely contaminant paper fibres.

I'll get back with the results later.

Or just look closely at an edge under backlight. You will find that virtually all RC media and many fine art media like the ones in question have OBAs glowing very nicely in the cross-sectional region of the paper core. Only truly OBA-free media like HN Photo Rag Pearl, Canson Platine. Canson Rag Photographique, etc., will show no fluorescence when viewed under backlight from the front, back, or in cross-sectional edge direction.

cheers,
Mark

[JRSmit]

Plus 1 on  the ifa11. A great paper. If you need a bit more brightness the ifa14 is a good alter ative but with some OBA.