Paper Recommendations for Epson R2400

[glenerrolrd]

I am attempting to set up my digital workflow for an Epson R2400 and could use some perspective on papers to start with.   I have some experience with doing this last year for the Epson pro 4000 but we stuck pretty much to Epson Premium Luster paper as our standard.  I  have the Gretag Macbeth Eye-One Photo and have sucessfully made custom paper profiles .  My subject matter is quite varied from family, sports , wildlife , landscapes, travel etc.....not much studio work.  I plan to do do both B&W and Color probably about 50/50.   My standard paper size will probably be 13X19.  I have some of the new Crane Silver Rag on order .  I like the smooth finish and the heavy weight.  I expect that I will have to try a few combinations and that of course the "best paper" is  a personal choice.   Cost isn t a factor as I don t expect to be printing anything for commercial use.  Any insights would be appreciated.

[Geoff Wittig]

Paper surface is an artistic choice which ideally should serve the needs of the image. For what it's worth, I think black & white images are strongly dependent on a deep black d-max for impact. This limits you to Epson's photo black ink and compatible papers. I'm fond of Epson's premium luster paper, which yields a good dark d-max and has a slightly pebbled surface texture that works well at least with my photos. Premium glossy is a bit too smooth for my liking, with more evident bronzing. Crane's silver rag does sound intriguing.
For color, I've always preferred the lush surface of cotton rag fine art papers with matte black ink. The glossier papers with photo black ink do provide a bit more snap from the deeper black, but the difference is pretty subtle, and to my eye they lack the character of rag papers. Hannemuhle's photo rag is very nice, though I've gotten better d-max and superb prints overall on Epson ultrasmooth fine art paper. Finally, I really like Somerset velvet paper for images like snowy landscapes; the pronounced texture of the paper works beautifully to add apparent depth to snow or sky.

[glenerrolrd]

Thanks for your insight on paper selection.  I found some good intelligence on Fine Art Papers for B&W in Uwe Steinmueller s ebook The Art Of Fine Art printing.  Since at least 50% of my printing has been in color , I am particularly interested in alternatives that work in both B&W and color.  The new semigloss rag products look like the best alternative .