This quarter in my Advanced Photography Class, our third project of the quarter was all about testing paper. I have done printing in all of my other photo classes, but we didn’t really get to pick the paper other than chose between the matte or glossy papers chosen by the professors for us to use for the class.
For this class, however, we had the choice of what we wanted to print on. We were printing on an Epson Stylus Pro 4900 printer and using it to print 8×10 images, which meant we were only limited to sheet paper that had a color profile we could use for this printer.
We had to report on six paper types, select one paper that we wanted to order and print on, and then later print on four papers that were ordered by us and our peers. The report, which contains the name, brand, paper type, media setting, ICC profile availability, and description, is below.
- Canson Platine Paper
Brand: Canson
Type: Fibre Rag Fine Art paper
Weight: 310 gsm
Media setting: Paper Premium Luster 260
ICC Profile available: Yes
Desciption: “extremely high Dmax and exceptional grey tones make it the product of choice for the more discerning black and white as well as colour photographic prints” - Canson Infinity Baryta Prestige Gloss Paper
Brand: Canson
Type: Fine Art paper
Weight: 340 gsm
Says to use the setting in the ICC profile
Media setting: Premium Photo Luster 260
Description: “Unlike traditional glossy paper, Canson Infinity Baryta gloss paper is smooth and doesn’t have the hard surface that is common with other gloss papers” - Inkpress Media Metallic Gloss
Brand: Inkpress
Type: Premium Photo Glossy
Weight: 255 gsm
Media setting: Paper Premium Luster 260
ICC Profile available: Yes
Description: “allows you to print vibrant & stuning prints that could have only been achived previosly in darkroom. The metallic high gloss surface on this 10 mil, 255 gsm photo paper results in orints that are sharp, vibrant and exceptionally rich looking. This paper provides the perfect way to make portraits, commersial display prints, and competition prints taht stay out. Th einstant dry, scratch-resistant surface of Inkpress Metallic Gloss paper makes it practical for everyday use in busy studios.” - Epson Ultra Premium Luster Paper
Brand: Epson
Type: Luster paper
Weight: 240 gsm
Media Setting: Premium Photo Luster 260
ICC Profile available: Yes
Description: “This instant drying paper produces vivid, lifelike images that rival those of traditional silver halide prints. Premium Luster Photo Paper delivers highly saturated prints by offering maximum ink coverage and a high D-Max for true photographic reproductions.” - Epson Legacy Platine
Brand: Epson
Type: Fibre paper
Weight: 314 gsm
Media Setting: Premium Photo Luster
ICC Profile available: Yes
Description: “This paper combines the look and feel of the revered silver halide F-surface with a true cotton base. It has an industry leading microporous inkjet receptive layer that produces deep, rich blacks (Dmax), expanded color gamut and gentle tonal gradations and will provide outstanding image permanence and durability.” - Epson Legacy Baryta
Brand: Epson
Type: Baryta paper
Weight: 314 gsm
Media setting: Premium Photo Luster
ICC Profile available: Yes
Description: “There are two barium sulphate coatings with an industry leading microporous inkjet receptive layer that produces deep, rich blacks (Dmax), expanded color gamut and gentle tonal gradations. This paper delivers the look and feel of the revered silver halide F-surface darkroom papers and will provide excellent image permanence.”
After this, we needed to shoot and print an original image on 4 types of paper. This was the image I shot with my friend Lexi, who has been featured here many times before.
Then, after printing, we needed to do a report on the 4 papers we tested out. That report is included below if you are interested.
- Canson Platine Fibre Rag was my favorite paper that I tested. This was the paper that I chose and I have used it before, and after testing it with these other papers, it really outshined the others. I love the way the colors are translated and since it is pure white I do not have to be concerned about how people’s skin tones are translated. I think I could afford to potentially be more vibrant with the colors due to this as well, which I would enjoy the possibility of exploring that idea in the future.
- Canson Infinity Baryta Prestige Gloss Paper was the runner up here. I did like it, and while I do feel it would add a nice warm feel to landscapes due to the warm tone, I do believe that the warm tone isn’t something I want in portraits due to the way it could mistranslate the skin tones of my models. Overall, I think I would print on this again, but I would not reach for it over the Canson Platine.
- Harman Professional Inkjet Gloss Baryta Warm Tone was the next paper I tried. Easily ranks third of the papers I tried. I liked that it was a glossy paper, because I think glossy paper fits more with my photography in general. I think the colors were presented fine, but I don’t like how flat it feels in comparison with the Canson Platine, or even the Canson Baryta, which both have a bit more texture to them even though they are a glossy paper. I also was not particularly in favor of how light this paper was. I like a more sturdy paper for my prints because in my opinion it tends to feel higher quality and more tangible.
- My least favorite paper I tried was the Inkpress Metallic Gloss paper. This may be because the ICC Profile was not correct, but I am just not a fan of the physical paper itself. I hate the tones that were presented here, and how muddied the skin tone looks, but again that may have been due to the ICC profile, so I will set that aside and continue on by explaining how I feel about the physical paper. I was not keen on the fact that tge paper is so light weight. As I previously stated, I tend to gravitate more toward thicker papers because I personally feel that they seem higher quality, but I knew I needed to push myself to try something new. I tried it, and I am not a fan. The print itself seems like it has been softened and is not as clear and sharp, and the paper is glossy with no texture whatsoever. Having a slight texture to the gloss is what makes the print more interesting. I mean, if I wanted to view a perfectly smooth image with muted textures, I would look at my images exclusively on iPhone 4 with a glass screen protector. Overall, this was my least favorite paper and I will not be reaching for this again.
Then, we needed to pick our favorite paper, and adjust our print to be the best it could be for that paper. I used output sharpening settings in photoshop, and the final image was adjusted by dodging and burning the leaves behind her, sharpening her eyes, and also using output sharpening settings on 80% with radius of 1.8 pixels and threshold of 12 levels. Here is what the final image looked like.
Overall, I think this project was a great way to help me be more intentional about the printing process and sent me down a path of learning the best way to get a good print for each photograph on an individual basis.
Capturing College 