Not happy with Epson Premium Glossy (250) any recommendations?

[disneytoy]

Unfortunately I have about 600 feet of Epson Premium Glossy 250 paper. I find it hard to call it GLOSSY. even compared with Epson's sheep paper offerings. Without getting to crazy in price, can anyone recommend roll paper that is truly glossy? i mainly use 36" and 24" rolls.

Thanks!

Max

[howardm]

take a look at this from Canson-Infinity......

Photo HighGloss Premium RC consists of an ultra-smooth, alpha-cellulose, acid-free paper coated with polyethylene and multiple microporous colour receiver layers.
This ultra-white photo paper currently has the highest gloss level of the photographic resin-coated paper market. This paper offers vivid colours and deep blacks, coupled with excellent image sharpness, with a resolution of up to 5760 dpi.

[Ernst Dinkla]

That Canson quality comes from Felix Schoeller. I can get the same paper here from another supplier way cheaper than Canson. The searchwords are High Gloss 315 gsm and possibly Beluga. There will be more distributors of that paper.

Met vriendelijke groet, Ernst

http://www.pigment-print.com/spectralplots/spectrumviz_1.htm
December 2014 update, 700+ inkjet media white spectral plots

[disneytoy]

Thanks. i'm in the US. and the Canson is about 60% more expensive than the Epson. I'll see if I can find something no more than 20% more expensive.

[bill t.]

Might be worth trying a coat of Premier Art Print Shield one of those neer-glossy surfaces.  It does wonders to my favorite glossy paper, I mean serious wonders!  Makes it both more glossy and less crass, and totally removes all bronzing and hazing, and offers a lot of physical surface protection.  Looks facemount-like smoothly mounted on not only aluminum composite panels, but also on Gator. 2 or 3 thin coats about a minute apart is all it takes.  Back to the wind, try not to breathe, and wear a good organic filter mask.

[disneytoy]

Thanks Bill. coming from you, I will definitely try it. thanks

Maxi

[bill t.]

If you just want to get a quick, ballpark idea of how it looks, Watco Super Clear Finish spraycans at Lowes creates a very similar surface.  The long term effects of Watco have not been studied as well as with the Premier product.  Cracking and yellowing are possible if not likely.

Krylon UV Resistant Clear from Michaels and online suppliers is another cheaper close approximation that at least claims to be for art surfaces.  None of those do much visually for matte media, the magic is pretty much restricted to already glossy surfaces.

Looking at all my samples, Premier is definitely #1 for the subtle smoothness of the finish and what seems to be excellent leveling.

I have not used any of these until recent experiments so I have no way to evaluate longevity.  Does anybody have any horror stories about Premier Art Print Shield in particular?

[Paul2660]

You may have some defective Epson PGPP250. To me it's very glossy.  I have other issues with PGPP250 but not a lack of glossy finish.

Lexjet has a very nice RC glossy in the Sunset line which is 300 weight and will sometimes scratch. Moab Lasal has a very nice glossy 270 weight which should cost the same as the Epson.   If I am printing on glossy RC I use to the Moab.

Paul

[Some Guy]

Pictorico White Gloss Film is about as glossy as they come.  I've run it through a gloss optimizer (K7 ink printer) after printed and dried as well and followed it with a good buffing of "Renaissance Wax" and it comes out very slick (Hard to fingerprint it.) and glossy.  Don't use the wax on an uncoated inkjet print as it sometimes darkens the whites and can be difficult to remove.

Bill is right on the Premier Shield coating.  It looks like water in the bottle, but it really sprays out nicely and better than I've gotten out of a can with a decent gun.  They sell it in spray cans too.  McDonald's has a glossy spray too (SureGuard, I think?) that I've had good luck with.  My luck with Krylon isn't so good, sort of dulls the image and soemtimes it spatters a lot.  Might be too thick in general.

SG

[bill t.]

Some Guy, can you compare the surfaces left by the spray can lacquer versus what I assume is the water based version you are spraying with the HVLP?  I have been wanting to try the water based HVLP version, but right now there's no supplier that can reach me via a non-freezing route.  I don't see a liter or gallon sized lacquer version for sale for spray guns, I think they discontinued those.

I assumed the properties I have been seeing with the can solvent spray would not carry over to the water version.  For the most part I have not much liked aqueous varnish on papers.  With careful technique a reasonably transparent surface can be had that eliminates bronzing and adds a lot of protection, but that still slightly hazes midtones and dark areas about the same as an uncoated baryta print.

What impressed me about the can stuff is how it seems to remove any barrier between viewer and print.  One beholds an image through a window of perfect clarity.  Sure you can see reflections, but not a trace of haze or masking.  To get a better looking art piece I would have to go to something like (almost) zero-reflection TruLife acrylic and face mounting, which is a world-beating presentation at around 20 times the production cost.

[disneytoy]

I have 6 rolls of Epson premium gloss 250, 16", 24" and 36". At best I'd call it semi-gloss. this is on a 9890.

[Paul2660]

I have 6 rolls of Epson premium gloss 250, 16", 24" and 36". At best I'd call it semi-gloss. this is on a 9890.

It's been a few years since I purchased PGPP250W from Epson, and they very well may have changed it.  Epson doesn't have a mill (many don't know this) and thus they don't make any paper or canvas, it's all jobbed out.  Very often you can see a change in a paper over a few years as another manufacturer has picked up the process and there will be some slight changes. 

You will find that most of the paper and canvas companies don't own a mill.  Breathing Color is one of the only ones I know of in the US still tied to their own production mill.   

Paul

[Some Guy]

Some Guy, can you compare the surfaces left by the spray can lacquer versus what I assume is the water based version you are spraying with the HVLP?  I have been wanting to try the water based HVLP version, but right now there's no supplier that can reach me via a non-freezing route.  I don't see a liter or gallon sized lacquer version for sale for spray guns, I think they discontinued those.

I assumed the properties I have been seeing with the can solvent spray would not carry over to the water version.  For the most part I have not much liked aqueous varnish on papers.  With careful technique a reasonably transparent surface can be had that eliminates bronzing and adds a lot of protection, but that still slightly hazes midtones and dark areas about the same as an uncoated baryta print.

What impressed me about the can stuff is how it seems to remove any barrier between viewer and print.  One beholds an image through a window of perfect clarity.  Sure you can see reflections, but not a trace of haze or masking.  To get a better looking art piece I would have to go to something like (almost) zero-reflection TruLife acrylic and face mounting, which is a world-beating presentation at around 20 times the production cost.

This is what I use:  http://www.premierimagingproducts.com/pc_printshield.php

It looks like water in the clear bottle, but it is lacquer.  A very, very thin liquid much like ink and not normal lacquers you see from hardware stores.  I shoot it with a Sata MiniJet gun and use a respirator and eye goggles.  About 2-3 thin coats using about 2-3 ounces out of the gun for a 17x25 inch print.  Clean up with acetone.

Their other stuff is the thicker water-based roller stuff (Eco Shield) which looks much like the Golden Clear Gel sold at most art supply stores too (Looks like white glue and dries clear.).

As to spray cans, they don't always spray well.  The Marshall's SureGuard does, but it's expensive and probably like the Premier Shield in a spray can.  The can cloud portioins and make the image soft which is annoying on glossy surfaces.

The best coating I've seen is using the Cone Gloss Optimizer with maybe two separate thin coats of 20K GO out of the K7 piezo printer using QTR.  Little smell, and very even if you are unsure of spraying.  Cheap HLVP guns I haven't had much luck either (Waggners) with so I had to use the Sata as the tips are changeable and the compressor's supply is water-free and consistent via a muffler, etc. much like an automotive spray gun setup.

SG

[bill t.]

Thanks Some Guy!  That's great info.  The usual suppliers don't carry the 5 liter lacquer bottles, shipping those is probably a hazardous materials hassle.