Hi,
I'm new to fine art printing. I'm plannig to get an epson 3880 next week. It's clear is a great printer. The problem is I don't know which paper should I start with. I've heard great words about Hahnemuhle Photo Rag, Ilford, Somerset...I even don't know if I should start with matte or glossy. I prefer matte papers but I'm told blacks are not so much deep compared when using glossy paper.

Could you give me any advice?

Thanks in advance.

Lluis

Try this thread: Paper Talk

If you want to print Matte Paper, I like the Hahnemuehl offerings, as well as the Epson 5 star Enhanced Matte paper (for less than critical missions), as well as the Moab Entrada 300 gsm Natural. The Epson Exhibition Fiber is a wonderful paper for non matte ink (PK), as is the Hahnemuehl Photo Rag Baryta. Hope this helps.

Ink Jet Art

Moab Paper

Hahnemuehl Paper

Epson Exhibition Fibre

Epson five star

Paper choice depends first and foremost on what you want to print. The first question to ask yourself is which criteria is most important to you ? Do you want the highest possible contrast and the deepest blacks ? Do you want your paper to have a particular texture or tone ? Do you need your prints to be considered "archival" quality ? What about environment-friendliness ?

For example, I print only art & illustrations, therefore I almost never use glossy papers. Instead, I use smooth and textured heavyweight matte papers (Epson Ultrasmooth, Hahnemuhle Bamboo, Velvet Fine Art...), because I want to give my prints an artistic look and feel.
But occasionally, if a friend ask me to print one of their photos, I switch to Ilford Gold Fiber Silk to ensure the best possible contrast and color depth.

You must first decide what you need the most. Then, you could purchase sample packs of your selection and try for yourself.

Subject matter counts for a lot, as has already been mentioned. But personal taste plays a big role as well - in terms of paper texture, weight, warm or cold cast, etc. For example, some people like luster paper whereas I don't care for that texture.

If I were you I'd read the threads in this printer forum to see what people are discussing and using. Then buy sample packs or boxes of smaller size paper to test for yourself.

My current favorite papers are Moab Paper's Entrada Rag for matte and either Epson's Exhibition Fiber paper or Harman's Gloss FB AI baryta for gloss.

Paul

I suggest starting with Epson premium luster paper. It's an excellent paper with a smooth but not glossy finish gives you really good blacks and bright (but not too bright) whites. The cost is reasonable and it's available in rolls (if that matters to you). To my mind it is a great "workhorse" paper and I use it for all my printing, at least the first try. Then I go to a specialty paper when I think it would improve the print, but that's needed only about 20% of the time. WHen I first got my 4880, I used this exclusively paper for a month or so until I really knew the printer well and felt I was getting the most I could out of it. Only then did I start investigating the specialty "pick your pocket" papers.

Recently I have been doing a fair amount of printing on Museo papers: Portfolio Rag, Textured Rag, and Silver Rag. The first two are matte finish, the latter one glossy. I find them all to be quite fine. Textured Rag has supplanted Hahnemuhle William Turner for me as the color reproduction is much better for the type of work I do.

I suggest starting with Epson premium luster paper. It's an excellent paper with a smooth but not glossy finish gives you really good blacks and bright (but not too bright) whites.
*********
As a hobbyist who had the same question a year ago, I agree with the Epson Luster suggestion. Learning the techniques for getting consistent results with one paper is probably more important, initially, then the choice of paper. Also the Michael and Jeff "Camera to Print" videos are an excellent investment to go with the 38xx.

Steve

You can get sample packs of many different types of inkjet paper from the paper vendors. That is, without a doubt, the most sensible way to go about finding the right papers for you.

Howard

Can't agree more : switching from paper to paper and between many kinds of output makes initial learning much more complex.
It could be possible to settle on 2 papers, one matte and one "glossy" in the broad meaning (ie that takes glossy ink), but that's not as easy as with one paper.
I'd advise you to begin with a cheap paper if budget is any concern, as you'll have to experiment quite a bit and need not to hesitate to print one more test proof.

Luster is certainly not a bad choice on the glossy side, alternatively here in Europe the 4stars or 5stars Epson glossies are cheaper due to frequent BOGOF sales.
In Matte, the Epson 5 stars Matte is not bad either ; I use it as my workprint paper, as it's a tad on the dull side it ensures you just pick right images and are not distracted in editing by some additionnal eye-candy coming from the paper and not from the image. It's hard to find a cheaper one without stepping into the office paper range ; nice papers as Hahnemuhle ones are much more pleasant but much more expensive too.

Once you passed through that first step and feel you ar reasonably comfortable to predict what will be the output of this or that image on paper, then get all the sample packs you can.
I really can't think of any rule, but I'd venture to say one aspect of the paper choice is a matter of adapting the paper texture to the image content, specifically to the textures that are in the image.

Example :

In this photo, a watercolor-like matte paper (hahnemuhle german etching for demonstration purposes) does really well with the sky : the grainy textures echoes a bit the larger-scale clouds textures, and moreover this paper grain kinds of whispers "this could be a watercolor painting" which goes well with not-too-figurative subjects.
It may well be dependant on inks used (InkjetFly inks for me), but I also feel that good matte papers as Hahnemuhle's ones go better with some 'quiet' (muted?) colors, giving them the subtlety needed. Otoh, bright subjects and vivid colors need more of a glossy output (baryta-like papers come handy here) to give them the punch they deserve. Your mileage may wildly vary here!
However, in the given example the paper texture does interfere with the architectural details, and just does not fit with the geometrics patterns of the stucco ceiling under the arches.
I haven't some at reach now to test the assumption, but I'd say the best paper for this image and to my taste would be a smaller-texture matte paper like the 'plain' Hahnemuhle Photo Rag.

Thank you very much for your kind comments.
I think as some of you have said, it's best to try to learn the different results I can get from a matte paper amb a glossy one. And understand how to get consistent results. I think I'll get some sample packs to experiment. I've seen that Ilford are a lot cheaper than others similary regarded.

Kind Regards,
Lluis





MyFlickr

Hi,

I am also brand new to printing so have read this thread with interest. At the risk of asking a dumb question, is "photo" black ink for all papers except matte or semi-matte?

Thanks.

General rule : gloss or semi-gloss papers use glossy Photo black ink (PK), matte papers use Matte black ink (MK).
Peculiar sub-rule : the 2 semi-matte papers I know (Innova Fibaprint and Epson premium) are actually in the "semigloss" category, they use PK.
Exception : although it definitely has a sheen, hahnemuhle Photorag Satin takes matte ink.

Others have provided many wonderful comments. Based on my (painful and costly) experience, I fully agree that learning to get the MOST out of ONE paper. and for YOUR purpose, and to YOUR satisfaction is the way to go for a novice.

For me, the printing problem is NOT with the printers and media. They were great starting with the Epson 1270. But the drivers, profiles and color management all sucked big time, and evolved at snail pace with each new printer release. Novices starting printing today are facing much lesser problems. But be prepared to tear you hair out when the prints don't match what's on the monitor, and burn a lot of paper and ink. If you think you are paying a lot for a printer, wait till you start buying paper and ink. The manufacturers are (almost) giving away the printers, and profiting from the media sales alone.

This article includes images demonstrating print problems, something not often seen in such artcles. If I had read this before I started printing, I would still have some hair left, and my piggy bank would be less empty.

http://daystarvisions.com/Docs/Rvws/EpsonPaper/pg1.html

And a few more:

http://daystarvisions.com/DatedText.html

Thanks, Nicolas