As I’m printing more and more every day and trying different kinds of paper, I’m starting to see how drastically different the results can be when printing the same photo on different paper. All paper was purchased directly through Red River Paper’s website. I’ve put links below for each paper type mentioned if you’d like to learn more about the paper, cost, etc.
Polar Matte:
http://www.redrivercatalog.com/browse/60lb-polar-matte.html
Aurora Art White:
http://www.redrivercatalog.com/browse/aurorawhite.html
Palo Duro SoftGloss Rag:
http://www.redrivercatalog.com/browse/palo-duro-soft-gloss-rag.html
You can see my print store at http://www.mattdayphoto.com
Price:
HP Printer Paper Premium 32lb, 8.5x 11, 1 Ream, 500 Sheets, Made in USA From Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Certified Resources, 100 Bright, Acid Free, Engineered for HP Compatibility, 113100R
HP Papers is a premium line of uncoated printing paper optimized to provide superior print paper performance when used with HP hardware and supplies and in all other makes and models of printing and copying equipment. Launched in 1996, HP Pap... (as of January 16, 2020 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
Price: $89.99
Canon TS8220 Wireless All in One Photo Printer with Scannier and Copier, Mobile Printing, Red, Amazon Dash Replenishment enabled
Introducing the sleek and streamlined PIXMA TS8220 Wireless Inkjet All-In-One home printer, available in Black, White and Red color options. The PIXMA TS8220 is a high-end Inkjet All-In-One printer designed with fast prints, robust features a... (as of January 15, 2020 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
Price: $69.97
KODAK Mini Shot Wireless Instant Digital Camera & Social Media Portable Photo Printer, LCD Display, Premium Quality Full Color Prints, Compatible w/iOS & Android (White)
Instant gratification for today’s smart generation! Experience super high quality image processing and super-fast printing with the NEW Mini Shot Instant Camera from KODAK Featuring powerful patented 4Pass Printing Technology this 10-megapixe... (as of January 12, 2020 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
Price:
how long is the paper ink combination supposed to last before it fades
Matt
One should never ‘adjust’ their own vision of their artwork so that it fits a customer needs better, in fact, I think that is a ridiculous thing to do. Imagine buying a print from someone like Elliot Erwitt or maybe even HCB and you’ll get the print from their gallery and you telling them you don’t like the paper or look because of ‘x,y,z’, you’ll get laughed at and you would disrespect the photographers work.
Never, alter your vision…
Matte Day
all i use in my darkroom in harman paper lustre i find it produces the best silver gelatin prints as you said as we all know gloss paper in the darkroom can be a pain to deal with good watch matt cheers
Why push hp5 to 1600 if you prefer lower contrast images?
Great Review! Thanks Matt!
I received the 8×10 sample pack from Red River and I’m anxious to try it out. I need to find the right image to use for testing first, but plan on trying them out this week. Thanks for the recommendation!
Matt. Are you printing with inks or pigment?
Reflections aside, the soft gloss is by far my favorite. Then again, I’m a sucker for billowy clouds on silver gelatin.
First!
try hahnemühle paper
For what it’s worth Matt, I’ve had much better results using the Canon Print Studio Pro plug-in for Lightroom, instead of Lightroom’s built in print module. With very little initial tweaking, I’m able to get nice dark, rich shadows and blacks on RR Polar Matte.
“And I’ll see you guys in the next time ©”
I don’t print ink jet anymore I really don’t like the ink jet look. So if I am not printing in my darkroom I send the files to mpix and love the traditional wet print they give. But when i did I learned it is best to stick with the printer manufactures own paper. Epson for Epson Canon for canon etc. However I do love the different paper surfaces you can get with ink jet. I prefer Matt paper when they will be behind glass. Cuts back on the reflections. Choices choices
Not sure I agree with altering prints to suit client expectations. A print is a final product based on what that artist wants for the image. I can see changing a print to give an image a different feeling based on what the artist is thinking/feeling .
matte just looks cheap to me
I print on Moab Entrada, which is a bright white matte paper that gives really black blacks. But I do like the grayish blacks on the Red River too.
Try hahnemühle UltraSmooth or BrightWhite, best matt paper. The UltraSmooth, smooth the entire image, especially with the depth of field. The BrightWhite is really really white, with little bit of texture, ad little bit contrast really nice paper !!! it’s hard to explain in english for me, but try them, you can trust a FineArt printer, who use only hahnemühle paper which a Epson Stylus pro 9890 every days !!! Good luck !
Hey, Matt. Seriously, you HAVE to try this:
Canson Infinity Baryta Photographique 310gsm,smooth white inkjet paper, A4 , box of 25 sheets https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0038LWVY6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_XIvGAbSV79SZ6
You know I didn’t put that much stock into paper choice as far as contrast/shadow detail goes. I’ve usually just ordered whatever description sounds best for prints, haha. I definitely learned a lot from this video. Thanks for sharing your findings, Matt!
Palo Duro SoftGloss Rag would definitely be my choice. Matt i am only interested in Black and white. Have you used a dedicated black and white printer? What printer are you using now? Any recommendation. I primarily shoot film mostly in 120 format.
I use canon pro premium matte pm-101 paper for BW. It has reach black and sort of 3D organic look! BTW it has a warm tone too, bullseyes 🙂 For “glossy” or better say color print i use ilford studio satin – so far i love it. I don’t think I need something more.
Redriver paper doesn’t make one, but I would suggest trying a platine paper. It’s kind of like a matte paper but with richer blacks.
I tried a lot of matte papers and I don’t like them at all. Things look so flat on them and I prefer some contrast. I prefer the semi gloss oder luster papers a lot.
Hi, do you do Caffenol? if you do, can you make a video? i fell in love with your channel
Every time you say Matte, I just think you’re saying Matt.
Were all three printed with the same file and same settings?
Check out the ILFORD GALERIE this is my go to photopaper when i do my prints.
Solid info.. I love the soft gloss and it’s punchiness..
I’ve never tried Red River’s papers, but I may now after watching this vid. I have been pretty faithful to Hahnemuhle over the past year or so, but seeing the results (at least on video) of the semi gloss, it seems like its pretty comparable to the Baryta paper, which has a nice silver gelatin print type feel to it. How tricky was it to get true black and white prints out of it? Is there much shifting going on when changing light sources and viewing the prints?
You are dealing with a minefield of variables for which unfortunately you will never please everyone. Like you say all you can do is offer up info on the paper stock you use and let the customer decide. I would also be mindful of not reprocessing images to customers taste, this will have you tied up in all sorts of knots, as a one off I’d let it slide but I wouldn’t offer it up as a service. Cheers, Jon
Tell you what, I’ll send you one of mine to save you spending out. : )
Video starts at 4:06
If you make them they’re all Matt prints…