The Mono Paper Chase

lawrence

lawrence

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I like to develop and scan my mono negatives and then print digitally, via an Epson R2880. The problem is that I've never been totally happy with the look & feel of the results because I've never found an inkjet paper that I could enthuse about.

On the whole, I think I prefer the matt papers to the glossy or semi-gloss but the issue with the former is that they tend to remind me of blotting paper and the latter feel (and usually look) rather plasticy and synthetic.

I wonder who else has experienced the Mono Paper Chase and which paper you ended up with?

Lawrence
 
I'm also interested to hear from anyone that's found a paper that really 'sings' with b&w inkjet printing. I've used the Epson ultra premium matte and glossy with the same results as the OP's. I know there are inkjet papers that claim to match wet darkroom paper characteristics, but I haven't yet been willing to take the time & money to check them out. So others' experiences would be much appreciated.
 
Got the T-shirt, in the end I tried some of those trial packs from Fotospeed and Hahnemuhle.. found a paper that looked half handy, now starting to learn my way around the printer.. Not sure I've got the right paper but until I get consistency in the prints, I won't change it.
The paper I settled on is Fotospeed Platinum Baryta and I only tend to do B&W... and I agree with your comment about the Matt
 
Tricky question as it really also depends on your inkset and whether you like a look where the ink sits ON the paper as opposed to an image IN the paper (if I can say that). I actually despair of getting all the variables nailed down. Silver chloride paper and chemistry was, I think, comparatively simple. Currently on the Epson bandwagon. Cheapie prints on Costco glossy. Quality? About 85% of what I would have accepted in the silver days. Longevity? I haven't really found a paper ink combo that is what I would call "stable." I have run my own display/fade/sun tests with Cone's peizo carbon inksets and last-gen HP and Epson pigment media. They all fade and they all fade worse than displayed silver or platinum/pd prints.


Edit: I have also ruined two printers, an Epson 3000 and a Photo R2400 using various carbon formulations. Many of these inksets require regular use to avoid particle-settling and or clogs of death. Since my printing fits into the rest of my life, rather than running it, I had to jettison these workflows as I could not print enough to save the printers.
 
Most papers work well for BW, if you have a good workflow for printing. My experience is that it is basically impossible to get good BW prints on any paper without using a dedicated printer driver, like QuadTone RIP, Colorbyte Imageprint, or (for those Epson models that have it) Epson's Advanced Black and White Mode.

My favorite papers are Ilford Gold Fibre Silk for a print with the look of a fiber based glossy print, and Epson Velvet Fine Art for a cotton art paper matte finish print.
 
Chriscrawfordphoto said:
Epson's Advanced Black and White Mode.
Click to expand...
For me that's the best thing to happen to mono printing so far...
Chriscrawfordphoto said:
My favorite papers are Ilford Gold Fibre Silk for a print with the look of a fiber based glossy print, and Epson Velvet Fine Art for a cotton art paper matte finish print.
Click to expand...
Try as I might, I can't get on with the Gold Fibre Silk -- it still seems too synthetic. I may give the Epson a try but I was disappointed with their Traditional Photo Paper (Exhibition Fiber paper in the USA) because the Soft Gloss version has a finish a bit like the old lustre papers, which I was never crazy about.

The one paper that I used to love was Agfa Multicontrast Classic (glossy, unglazed) but of course that was a paper for darkroom printing. Now if only...
 
I have been through this and offer up Canson Baryta Photographique and Harman Glossy Baryta.
First the bad news - neither in my view matches atraditional fiber glossy print. Traditional fiber has an absolutely gorgious surface that reeks quality. I can't match it digitally.
Now the good news - both the Canson and Harman are outstanding in their own right. I print them on my Epson R3000 and use ABW mode. I adjust the values to cool them both down because the ABW settings are designed for the cooler Epson paper.
The results i get are striking. The Canson maybe can't match a fiber gloss print, but its surface is fabulous in its own right. It is a satin type gloss, basically if the traditional darkroom had a beautuful semi gloss satin finish it would look like this. The paper is sharp as well, has great contrast, and prints easily with no scratching.
The Harman is different but also great. It is glossier than the Canson, but not that fake RC gloss that I can't stand. Also very sharp with good dmax.
I switch between canson and harman for B&W ... Just on feel ... I really like them both. Note one issue - the Harman is thicker and tends tonget a few dimples when printing. I adjust platen/etc settings to minimize this but there is always a defect or two. I like the paper enough to live with it.
I easily get cold, neutral or warm tone with these papers...as we all know in the traditional darkroom these days real cold tone is quite hard given lack of materials.
Use one of these two, practice and get used to them, and the results while slightly different than traditional fiber glossy, are very close in terms of quality.
 
Since i started printing in a wet darkroom more than 40 years ago i have always preferred the glossy papers and now that the workflow also include digital printing i still want a glossy paper.
For now i have settled on the Epson Exhibition Fiber Paper. It is not overly shiny and the image does not look like being on the surface of the paper as with so many of the alternatives.
I really like the Ilford's Gold Mono Silk for it's tonality but the image is so much on top of the paper.
I print with QTR.
 
hansformat said:
I have been through this and offer up Canson Baryta Photographique and Harman Glossy Baryta.
First the bad news - neither in my view matches atraditional fiber glossy print. Traditional fiber has an absolutely gorgious surface that reeks quality. I can't match it digitally.
Now the good news - both the Canson and Harman are outstanding in their own right. I print them on my Epson R3000 and use ABW mode. I adjust the values to cool them both down because the ABW settings are designed for the cooler Epson paper.
The results i get are striking. The Canson maybe can't match a fiber gloss print, but its surface is fabulous in its own right. It is a satin type gloss, basically if the traditional darkroom had a beautuful semi gloss satin finish it would look like this. The paper is sharp as well, has great contrast, and prints easily with no scratching.
The Harman is different but also great. It is glossier than the Canson, but not that fake RC gloss that I can't stand. Also very sharp with good dmax.
I switch between canson and harman for B&W ... Just on feel ... I really like them both. Note one issue - the Harman is thicker and tends tonget a few dimples when printing. I adjust platen/etc settings to minimize this but there is always a defect or two. I like the paper enough to live with it.
I easily get cold, neutral or warm tone with these papers...as we all know in the traditional darkroom these days real cold tone is quite hard given lack of materials.
Use one of these two, practice and get used to them, and the results while slightly different than traditional fiber glossy, are very close in terms of quality.
Click to expand...

I haven't tried either of those so I'll put them on the rather long list 🙂
 
I've tried quite a lot.

Fotospeed Platinum Baryta is my champion. I also like Ilford Gold Fibre Silk, but concluded that the Fotospeed is enough better - more expensive, but worth it

For matte paper, Hahnemuhle do a couple of rag papers that are very good, but again expensive and you need to get the print process nailed down. I forget which I used the most - photorag bright white rings a bell.

I print using the epson inkset in the 3880.

Mike
 
Fotospeed for me also, it's not as good as silver FB paper but is as close as it gets and as long as you don't put them side by side you'll be happy.
 
ink jet printer paper b/w

ink jet printer paper b/w

what paper are person using in epson 3880 for b/w . is canon printer being use. is there a good printer froum .best place to by paper
 
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