ipf 9100 water color paper?

[Skyline John]

Hello, Newb here.
I am currently trying to find a good watercolor paper for my ipf9100.
I'm getting ready to do a fine art print run within the next week and the client requested watercolor paper.
Does anyone have any recommendations or color profiles?
Any input would be much appreciated.

[hugowolf]

I would rush to get sample packs from Hahnemühle and Canson because defintions of watercolor paper vary greatly, they could mean anything from smooth rag to Arches Aquarelle. I have had people say they want watercolor paper and then when I have shown them, they have found even etching paper too heavily textured.

Brian A

[Dan Berg]

BFK Rives.

[hugowolf]

BFK Rives.

See, there you go. BKF Rives is not a watercolor paper. I have seen it used for drawing, lithography, intaglio, screenprinting, relief printing, linocut, woodcut, and collotype. It was never sized for watercolor - it would buckle badly.

A lovely fine art paper, but not a watercolor paper.

Brian A

[bill t.]

BC Elegance Velvet is a nice, easy-going paper with a subtle watercolor-ish surface and an artsy in-hand feel.  Coats easily with Glamour II which makes it about as resilient as canvas.  There's a 9100 profile for it in the profile-pack download from BC.  The advantage over an officially named watercolor paper is that it probably has a wider color gamut available, which should make a little easier to deal with in the color matching department.

[Dan Berg]

See, there you go. BKF Rives is not a watercolor paper. I have seen it used for drawing, lithography, intaglio, screenprinting, relief printing, linocut, woodcut, and collotype. It was never sized for watercolor - it would buckle badly.

A lovely paper, but not a watercolor paper.

Brian A

Guess we have a terminology difference so I need to clarify.
I do digital reproductions for several watercolor and acrylic artists.
Almost to a tee their choice of paper for inkjet reprints are on Canson BFK Rives.
From the samples we have printed this gave the look and feel similar to their originals.

[hugowolf]

BC Elegance Velvet ... The advantage over an officially named watercolor paper is that it probably has a wider color gamut available, which should make a little easier to deal with in the color matching department.

You would think so given how bright white it is, but just a few days ago I soft proofed an image with Elegance Velvet against Harman Gloss Baryta and Canson Rag Photographique. I cannot speak for the total gamut, but the BC paper had out of gamut areas and the other two papers didn't. I had three BC Elegance Velvet profiles: a generic from BC for the Epson 3880, a BC custom made profile for the 3880, and a generic from BC for the Epson 9890.

The new BC Pura Velvet looks interesting. I keep forgetting to order a trial roll.

Brian A

[hugowolf]

Guess we have a terminology difference so I need to clarify.
I do digital reproductions for several watercolor and acrylic artists.
Almost to a tee their choice of paper for inkjet reprints are on Canson BFK Rives.
From the samples we have printed this gave the look and feel similar to their originals.

Acrylic and oils would be different, but this is why I suggested showing samples to clients. When someone says 'watercolor paper', there is no way of telling what they mean.

The problem with traditional watercolor papers, like Arches Aquarelle, is that once the watercolor goes down, the surface of the paper changes completely - it becomes much softer and less textured. The same effect doesn't happen with inkjet printing on coated papers.

Most watercolor and gouache reproductions I do are on velvet or Hanhemühle German Etching for large sized works. For smaller sized reproductions, BKF Rives is definately popular too.

Brian A

[marcsitkin]

Try Lexjet Sunset textured fine art. It runs well on a 9100, and has more of a texture to it than most fine art papers.