Pondering a paper choice

Zerodog

I have a larger print job that I am doing in the next few days. 10 16"x20" prints to hang in a gallery for a few weeks. I may or may not have any sales off of this. So, cost is a consideration. The 2 papers I have in consideration are Epson Hot Press Bright (cotton based photo rag) and Ilford Smooth Pearl (Nice heavy weight luster photo paper)

The cost per print for the paper is this:
Hot Press Bright $3.84
Smooth Pearl $1.44

Glare could be an issue, prints will be behind glass pressed against it in frames.

The other consideration I am unsure of is the cost per print in Ink. In general, does matte paper use more ink than semigloss? :dunno

Helvegr

I use Red River Paper myself on my Epson 3880. At least from the ink cost testing they have done, it suggests that matte does take a bit more ink then at least luster.

Not sure if this helps or not.

http://www.redrivercatalog.com/cost-of-inkjet-printing.html

Zerodog wrote: »

I have a larger print job that I am doing in the next few days. 10 16"x20" prints to hang in a gallery for a few weeks. I may or may not have any sales off of this. So, cost is a consideration. The 2 papers I have in consideration are Epson Hot Press Bright (cotton based photo rag) and Ilford Smooth Pearl (Nice heavy weight luster photo paper)

The cost per print for the paper is this:
Hot Press Bright $3.84
Smooth Pearl $1.44

Glare could be an issue, prints will be behind glass pressed against it in frames.

The other consideration I am unsure of is the cost per print in Ink. In general, does matte paper use more ink than semigloss?

Overfocused

Zerodog wrote: »

I have a larger print job that I am doing in the next few days. 10 16"x20" prints to hang in a gallery for a few weeks. I may or may not have any sales off of this. So, cost is a consideration. The 2 papers I have in consideration are Epson Hot Press Bright (cotton based photo rag) and Ilford Smooth Pearl (Nice heavy weight luster photo paper)

The cost per print for the paper is this:
Hot Press Bright $3.84
Smooth Pearl $1.44

Glare could be an issue, prints will be behind glass pressed against it in frames.

The other consideration I am unsure of is the cost per print in Ink. In general, does matte paper use more ink than semigloss?

If these are to be long term art pieces, pressing prints against glass is a big no-no. (At least if you asked me and most serious professional framers) You might want to consider using the less expensive paper + some over-matting or a spacer or whatever option is available to keep the print from touching the glass. It would cost a bit more than the paper though. Lol.

The main reason is inks over time still evaporate and adjust with temperature and humidity changes. It can cause the print to stick to the glass and then when it needs to be removed from the frame it will get ruined. I've stored some prints in a relatively hot room before and when I took them out, there was quite a bit of residue on the glass from the ink changing and off gassing from the high temperatures. Luckily I had them over matted, otherwise they would have been glued to the glass and would have gotten ruined if i tried to pull them out. If pressing your prints on the glass is really the only way you can go, let your prints dry out for as long as possible before you frame them.

Also, paper brands are unique to their own surface when it comes to ink usage, but, in general, matte most definitely needs more ink than semi gloss papers. To my knowledge and experience I believe matte and cotton rag take the most ink out of all papers since they're both more porrous than the other surfaces.

Zerodog

I ran a report on a few test prints, it turns out the use is pretty similar for "total ink". But, each paper uses more or less of different inks. So I guess, it doesn't matter too much. But in the long run I am sure you run out of one or another. In the end I used the cotton. The Epson Hot Press is some sexy stuff. It beats out the Hahnemühle 308 photo rag by a long shot in color and blacks. It might be because it is so white or it might be the paper profile from epson? Either way it is really nice paper.

Overfocused, you make a really good point about the glass. These will be touching the glass. But this is not really long term. 3 weeks or so. But that is a good point for mounting in the future. I have never really thought about the possibility, that and that matting has more of a function than looking cool.

Overfocused

Zerodog wrote: »

I ran a report on a few test prints, it turns out the use is pretty similar for "total ink". But, each paper uses more or less of different inks. So I guess, it doesn't matter too much. But in the long run I am sure you run out of one or another. In the end I used the cotton. The Epson Hot Press is some sexy stuff. It beats out the Hahnemühle 308 photo rag by a long shot in color and blacks. It might be because it is so white or it might be the paper profile from epson? Either way it is really nice paper.

My experience with matte papers vs. glossy/luster is that they have weakness in blacks and contrast, so it takes more to achieve similar levels of contrast. As to how much more ink it really uses %-wise, I have no idea. We never ran those types of tests in school... lol.


As for the Hahnemuhle 308 vs. Epson rag... do you make your own paper profiles or use factory profiles? Is there even a profile provided for the Hahnemuhle? Paper profiles are extremely important for accurate printing. Let's say we have a full sized pool... a few gallons of that water is the paper tone, and the rest of the pool is the printer profile matched with the document color data.

Custom profiles are needed for some brands of paper much more than others. Once you see a print from a precisely calibrated system and have that standard in your mind, you find that acquiring a factory paper profile that works beautifully is a lottery. Some do work really well, and some are complete garbage.

Zerodog

Yes Hahnemuhle offers complete profiles for most of the epson line up. The difference could be the paper color on the Hahnemule. It isn't as bright white. For B&W I really dig the warmer tone. For color, not so much. Maybe I need to do a custom profile for it to try to get more out of that paper. I have done a few in the past with my color munki. The kirkland gloss was HORRIBLE until I profiled it. Now it is ok gloss proof paper. Not my favorite but, it shows what custom profiles do for you too. I think the epson profile for their photo rag is spot on perfect. Very good in every way.

Overfocused

I used Kirkland gloss for proofing in school... was so cheap in packs of 200 sheets

Manfr3d

Interesting thread. Tell us how it went and which paper u choose.
I have an Epson 3880 in the mail and can't wait to try out a couple
of papers. Any experience you share is very much appreciated.

I got some sample packs from Epson (Signature Worthy), Hahnemuehlen
(Smooth, Textured) and Canson. The plan is to create a profile for each
paper and do some testprints on each of them because I have no idea yet
what the real world difference between those papers is.

Zerodog

You will dig that printer. I have the 2880 as well. Aside from small cartridges it is fantastic. That 3880 has good size tanks and does some pretty big prints too. The epson profiles are great. There is no reason to waste the ink on profiling them. The hahnamule stuff you may need to. Their smooth pearl looks really nice. Their bamboo, sugar cane and rice are interesting as well. People love crap like that too!

I have tried a lot of stuff. So far my favorites have been.
Ilford smooth pearl. Best price and all around performace.
Ilford gold fiber silk. Like smooth pearl on steroids. Very nice. But it curls as you print. It took a lot of tries to get it right without getting head stikes on it.
The epson hot press bright beats the crap out of the hahnamule photo rag for color and feel. It is thicker and even softer in your hands. It is also cheaper in a roll.

Overfocused

Zerodog wrote: »

The epson profiles are great. There is no reason to waste the ink on profiling them.

Blashphemy.

Zerodog wrote: »

I have tried a lot of stuff. So far my favorites have been.
Ilford smooth pearl. Best price and all around performace.
Ilford gold fiber silk. Like smooth pearl on steroids. Very nice. But it curls as you print. It took a lot of tries to get it right without getting head stikes on it.
The epson hot press bright beats the crap out of the hahnamule photo rag for color and feel. It is thicker and even softer in your hands. It is also cheaper in a roll.

I 2nd Ilford on price to performance ratio. And, I 2nd that Epson rag paper is also the best if you can afford it. A class I took in 2009/2010 experimented with about 20 different papers and Ilford Luster/Ilford Pearl/Epson Rag/Epson Luster came down to being the general favorites and best performers.

I forgot the other brands, well, since I don't need to remember them anymore haha.