With a new printer coming in the next couple months I'm starting to explore new paper possibilities. I'm curious to know what other photographers on our forum are using out there and what your favorites are for landscape, nature, people, and other subjects. My experience has been primarily with Epson Papers. I us the Premium Luster for most of my prints. I use the Velvet Fine Art Paper occasionally.
I seen mention of Moab papers on this forum, but I'm not really familiar with which of the varieties are being used and its advantages. I've been looking at Red River and some others as well.
In the end, I'll probably order some sample packs, download some printer profiles and do some testing, but I'd really appreciate any feedback you all might have.
It might even be beneficial during future get-togethers for everyone to bring sample prints on their favorite paper. That might be interesting.
As you can see, I'm excited about receiving printer I can use to print big (okay not BIG like Mark's 7800) but bigger than a 2400.
Posted by Rick Lamb on October 15, 2006 at 2:07 PM
Hi Ryan, Nancy & I went throuogh a LOT of different papers before deciding on Moab Entrada Fine Art Bright 300. It's for us the best we've used so far and with the Epson UltraChrome K3 inks the end results are outstanding!!!
It is a full mat paper so it doesn't reflect light at all which for our taste is perfect. At 300 grams per square meter it is on the heavy side (which we like) but our 4800 runs this weight paper through just fine.
One thing the 4800 doesn't seem to like is putting a stack of sheets of this paper into the paper bin. At times it will grab more than one sheet for a print job.... There might be a fix for this that I am unaware of that someone else on the forum knows about.
Thanks for your input Rick, I've pre-ordered the 3800, and from what I've read, it is supposed to handle stacked sheets well, although I imagine that I'll be running them through one at a time anyway since I'm not going to be doing any bulk printig with it. I really need to see some work done on matt and fine art papers to get a better idea of how they look. Are there any other opinions out there?
Posted by Randy Hanna on October 15, 2006 at 2:55 PM
Ryan: I was and somewhat still am a MOAB fan. However, I have been getting "out of gamut" warnings of late on those shots that have heavy shadows. I have contacted the rep and he states that I need to change my workflow? I use Crane for my greeting cards, and will soon be trying the new Crane Mueso II and Max. Crane is only only real paper manufactuer in the states with complete control over the product from begining to end. MOAB contracts most of their stuff out, albeit with strict controls. Having said this, I like the punch that I get with MOAB. I'll let you know about the Crane Mueso MAX in the near future.
CALL the fine people at Digital Art Supplies in CA and get into their head. The are very free with their information. You can order sample packs directly from them, exporing any paper selection that you would like. The also produce some killer ICCs based on the paper that they sell.
I wanted to say that my goal is to settle on one type of paper for everything - but that is not going to happen. MOAB is no longer making the panorama greeting cards that I love, but crane is. So it is back and forth for me depending upon the shot. I do agree with Rick, the heavy papers make a difference. For the record, I use both a Epson 2400 and a 4800 for my printing jobs. Just printed a couple of shots for Mearle Gates of some bitteroots which will knock his socks off on MOAB when he see them.
Thanks Randy, I will contact Digital Art Supplies. I'm also interesting in hearing what people are using for B&W prints. My printer lineup for the time being is going to be the Epson 2200 and the 3800 when it arrives. I have been considering converting the 2200 into a dedicated B&W machine with the Piezography K7 inks (replaces the color inks with 7 shades of gray) and perhaps do a series of 12x24 panoramics. Has anyone on the forum experiemented with different papers for their B&W prints? I'd still like to hear more opinions on color printing as well.
I am currently printing with an Epson 7600 and use Hahnemuhle Photo Rag (308 gsm). Its another matte paper (100% cotton and acid-free) similar to the Moab Entrada one mentioned by the others. With good profiles (from inkjetmall.com) I am able to get really dark blacks and nice color. HPR also works really well with b&w and I know several photographers who use it (NPN's Michael Gordon being one of them).
Discussion
6 repliesI seen mention of Moab papers on this forum, but I'm not really familiar with which of the varieties are being used and its advantages. I've been looking at Red River and some others as well.
In the end, I'll probably order some sample packs, download some printer profiles and do some testing, but I'd really appreciate any feedback you all might have.
It might even be beneficial during future get-togethers for everyone to bring sample prints on their favorite paper. That might be interesting.
As you can see, I'm excited about receiving printer I can use to print big (okay not BIG like Mark's 7800) but bigger than a 2400.
It is a full mat paper so it doesn't reflect light at all which for our taste is perfect. At 300 grams per square meter it is on the heavy side (which we like) but our 4800 runs this weight paper through just fine.
One thing the 4800 doesn't seem to like is putting a stack of sheets of this paper into the paper bin. At times it will grab more than one sheet for a print job.... There might be a fix for this that I am unaware of that someone else on the forum knows about.
CALL the fine people at Digital Art Supplies in CA and get into their head. The are very free with their information. You can order sample packs directly from them, exporing any paper selection that you would like. The also produce some killer ICCs based on the paper that they sell.
I wanted to say that my goal is to settle on one type of paper for everything - but that is not going to happen. MOAB is no longer making the panorama greeting cards that I love, but crane is. So it is back and forth for me depending upon the shot. I do agree with Rick, the heavy papers make a difference. For the record, I use both a Epson 2400 and a 4800 for my printing jobs. Just printed a couple of shots for Mearle Gates of some bitteroots which will knock his socks off on MOAB when he see them.
Randy
I am currently printing with an Epson 7600 and use Hahnemuhle Photo Rag (308 gsm). Its another matte paper (100% cotton and acid-free) similar to the Moab Entrada one mentioned by the others. With good profiles (from inkjetmall.com) I am able to get really dark blacks and nice color. HPR also works really well with b&w and I know several photographers who use it (NPN's Michael Gordon being one of them).