Picking paper for learning ink-jet printing

andreios · Oct 12, 2012

Hello,
this is my first post here, coming from apug/LF forum - recently I decided to cure my pining for larger formats by trying to make digital negatives for kallitypes and such. I got a very good deal on an epson R2880, already have some pictorico on order, but would also like to make some prints besides the negatives. I looked at the offer of inkjet paper and was completely lost, so please, forgive my simple question:
What paper would you recommend for a complete newbie in ink-jet printing? I am looking to print BW only (will try QTR and Epson's ABW perhaps) and I am mostly interested in some decent matte papers - I don't want to get into those rather expensive fine-art papers yet - I would like to find a compromise between cost and performance.
What are your ideas of a daily use proofing paper?

Thank you for your time and advice.

A

Felinik · Oct 13, 2012

Epson Archival Matte, is a fairly inexpensive paper for daily "proofing", and in my opinion it looks pretty good for it's price. Apparently it's not free from acid etc. so in reality not so good for Archival use, but since this is not the issue here, I'd give it a shot. I do indeed have a pack that I use for testing/proofing, and for the real deal, I use Hahnemuhle Photo Rag and Moab Entrada...

Have a look at some of the satin/luster/pearl papers too, if you want prints that are not for framing, these types of papers are pretty astonishing. Examples; Canson Infinity Photosatin, Epson Premium Luster, Ilford Galerie Smooth Pearl, all three are quite different but really useful to have in your arsenal as a complement to Matte papers. For non Matte "proofing" I use Ilford Galerie Smooth Pearl in 4x6 and 5x7, as they are quite inexpensive in 100 pcs. packs.

Pioneer · Oct 13, 2012

I use Epson Premium Presentation Double Sided Matte for the majority of my working copies. It is inexpensive (sometimes even cheap), getting a profile for my printer is easy, I can find it at just about any office supply store, and it doesn't matter which side goes into the printer.

Actually, to be totally truthful, I use it for just about everything right now. At some point in the future I may get worried about using true "archival" paper but that is really the least of my worries right now. Most of what I print goes in a binder, and if the few prints that are on my wall (3 in total right now) start to fade I'll just print them again.

andreios · Oct 14, 2012

Thank you very much for your replies! I have been looking at epson archival as well as enhanced matte paper - both seemed quite affordable to me and I hoped they would be decent enough to learn things..

Thanks also for pointing out satin/pearl papers - I'll have a look at them as well. Which black ink do those paper use? Gloss or matte?

Felinik · Oct 14, 2012

andreios said:
Thank you very much for your replies! I have been looking at epson archival as well as enhanced matte paper - both seemed quite affordable to me and I hoped they would be decent enough to learn things..

Thanks also for pointing out satin/pearl papers - I'll have a look at them as well. Which black ink do those paper use? Gloss or matte?

I have an Epson 1400 with Michigan Ink Supply UT-14 Ultratone set. For the matte, I use QTR and "black only" which uses only carbon, and for the luster/satin/pearl it use a mix of the other "glossy" blacks in the set (carbon only wont settle on a non matte paper).

Felinik · May 10, 2013

For black and white, check out the new Gold Mono Silk from Ilford, looks great, I just got me a cpl of boxes here to test print with and it already has become a favorite.

Only problem is the pizza wheel trails on the Epson printers on very dense and dark prints as the surface is very delicate of these papers, but this is more of an Epson problem, and only on very dark and dense prints.

Joe Lipka · May 11, 2013

I use the Epson Premium Presentation Matte. This is good stuff. I use it for just about everything. I only wish in came in rolls for some panoramic photographs I would like to print.

RalphLambrecht · Jun 15, 2014

I'm in the same boat and decided to order sample packs of paper to grt started.although,I must say that I got instant good results with the sample paper ,which came with my Epson 3880.Looks like the darkroom might not be missed after all.I didn't say that, did I?

RalphLambrecht · Jul 4, 2014

andreios said:
Hello,
this is my first post here, coming from apug/LF forum - recently I decided to cure my pining for larger formats by trying to make digital negatives for kallitypes and such. I got a very good deal on an epson R2880, already have some pictorico on order, but would also like to make some prints besides the negatives. I looked at the offer of inkjet paper and was completely lost, so please, forgive my simple question:
What paper would you recommend for a complete newbie in ink-jet printing? I am looking to print BW only (will try QTR and Epson's ABW perhaps) and I am mostly interested in some decent matte papers - I don't want to get into those rather expensive fine-art papers yet - I would like to find a compromise between cost and performance.
What are your ideas of a daily use proofing paper?

Thank you for your time and advice.

A

I'm in a similar position and cost to me is a factor due to my volume of printing.I decided to get some paper on 17"rolls.They come as 100ft long rolls for about $80.so,I will cut my ownto learn printing on my new 3880

L Gebhardt · Jul 4, 2014

Cutting from rolls doesn't work well with the 3880 on the few papers I have tried. You get curl, which at the ends causes head strikes. So make sure you flatten the paper well after cutting it. And set the platen gap much wider to avoid the head strikes.

I find the InkJetArt Micro Ceramic papers excellent for proofing. The luster seems identical to the Epson luster. And the price is very good in larger quantities. IT Supplies - Inkjet Art Photo Paper

RalphLambrecht · Jul 4, 2014

L Gebhardt said:
Cutting from rolls doesn't work well with the 3880 on the few papers I have tried. You get curl, which at the ends causes head strikes. So make sure you flatten the paper well after cutting it. And set the platen gap much wider to avoid the head strikes.

I find the InkJetArt Micro Ceramic papers excellent for proofing. The luster seems identical to the Epson luster. And the price is very good in larger quantities. IT Supplies - Inkjet Art Photo Paper

thanks, yes, I had that issue too and hope that the old dry-mount press will be of some use to flatten the paper.otherwise,I try to adjust the platten gap or try to support the paper when it exits the printer but thanks for the tip;good info!

Picking paper for learning ink-jet printing

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