Hi Brian:
I'm sure you'll probably get some varying opinions on this topic. My personal preference for fine art paper is Moab Entrada Fine Art (that was the old name). Moab has been purchased by Legion and the paper is now called Entrada Rag. I've tried two weights: 190 and 300. the 300 is so heavy that you must use the straight paper path on the 2200. I'm guessing that would be true on your 3800 as well. The 190 is great. Moab's ICC profiles are pretty accurate and I've found their service to be very good. I purchased a 66 foot roll of Entrada and use it to print longer panos. I've been VERY happy with the results. http://www.moabpaper.com
I use Hahnemuhle Photo Rag 308 gsm and German Etching papers for my fine art prints. I buy mine in 24-inch rolls. Unfortunately, in 17X20-inch sheets they're about $5 a copy. The results with Ultrachrome K3 inks are simply stunning.
I print with ImagePrint RIP so I've never used the Hahnemuhle .icc files for my 7800 or 2400. If you are really, really serious about printing perfect colors, check into getting ImagePrint for your 3800. I use EyeOne to calibrate my monitor and the colors on paper are exact. Not just real close, but exactly what I see on the monitor. i tried the Ilford profiles for the 2400 once and wasn't real happy with the results on their Gallery Smooth Pearl paper.
Moab Entrada Right 190gm2, 13" rolls on an Epson R1800.
Posted by Mel Ladewig on August 1, 2007 at 11:48 AM
The answer to your second question is get sample packs from various vendors. There is a wide variety of paper surfaces, textures and brightness and only you can decide what suites your needs best.
I think you're going to get lots of different answers from other people. I've been using fine art papers for a long time, originally for painting. I personally don't like cold press deep textured papers like Hahnemuhle German Etching or Museum Etching and I don't typically care for canvas. I prefer smooth hot press papers or parchment surfaces. That's just my tastes. I also prefer bright white papers over natural brightness in most cases.
I recently received a sample pack of Hahnemuhle papers. I really liked their Torchon 285 paper. It has a nice parchment type surface although it was not as bright as would like. The other paper in their series that I liked was their Photo Rag Bright White (310). It has a fairly smooth surface for a fine art paper. Both of these papers need to go through the straight paper path on my R1800.
Discussion
4 repliesI am currently going through the process of setting up my printing studio, and am very new at this.
I want to print with a fine art paper, but I don't want to make mistakes on something that costs $2 a sheet.
My first question is have any of you used Illuminata papers??
My second question (and a loaded one) : What is the best paper out there, and why??
Thanks for all of your input. I am very excited, and hope to learn.
BTW, I use (or will use, it just came today) an Epson Stylus Pro 3800.
I'm sure you'll probably get some varying opinions on this topic. My personal preference for fine art paper is Moab Entrada Fine Art (that was the old name). Moab has been purchased by Legion and the paper is now called Entrada Rag. I've tried two weights: 190 and 300. the 300 is so heavy that you must use the straight paper path on the 2200. I'm guessing that would be true on your 3800 as well. The 190 is great. Moab's ICC profiles are pretty accurate and I've found their service to be very good. I purchased a 66 foot roll of Entrada and use it to print longer panos. I've been VERY happy with the results.
http://www.moabpaper.com
I print with ImagePrint RIP so I've never used the Hahnemuhle .icc files for my 7800 or 2400. If you are really, really serious about printing perfect colors, check into getting ImagePrint for your 3800. I use EyeOne to calibrate my monitor and the colors on paper are exact. Not just real close, but exactly what I see on the monitor. i tried the Ilford profiles for the 2400 once and wasn't real happy with the results on their Gallery Smooth Pearl paper.
I think you're going to get lots of different answers from other people. I've been using fine art papers for a long time, originally for painting. I personally don't like cold press deep textured papers like Hahnemuhle German Etching or Museum Etching and I don't typically care for canvas. I prefer smooth hot press papers or parchment surfaces. That's just my tastes. I also prefer bright white papers over natural brightness in most cases.
I recently received a sample pack of Hahnemuhle papers. I really liked their Torchon 285 paper. It has a nice parchment type surface although it was not as bright as would like. The other paper in their series that I liked was their Photo Rag Bright White (310). It has a fairly smooth surface for a fine art paper. Both of these papers need to go through the straight paper path on my R1800.