Can I print on any paper w/o a coating?

I did a search but it seemed to pull up tradtional photo printing.

 

I have an Epson 2200 and I wanted to experiment with papers that I

have found at art stores, etc. I was just wondering if I *had* to use

a coated paper. Or, can I buy that RC coating or whatever coating and

put it on anyting I want to.

 

Thanks!

Yes, you can print on uncoated stock. The image will not be as sharp as on coated

papers because of dot gain. The ink spreads out when it hits the paper. The orginal

giclee prints were all done on uncoated papers.

 

If you want to coat your own try a product call InkAid.

The closest you can get with conventional art paper is watercolor paper. It is coated to some extent, but there is still excessive dot gain, and a lot of the paper surface shows, reducing contrast. Epson art and watercolor paper performs the best, but at a price. I doubt that you could apply a coating yourself and get consistent results. If you are not consistent, hence accurate, what's the point? The mantra is "you get what you pay for".

There are two problems with the uncoated art papers. First, is whether they will accept the

inks or not. I have found some that are too hard and the ink just sits on top, pools if you

will. These will probably not work under any circumstance. The second problem is just

getting a good profile. I have printed on Rives BFK and Arches watercolor paper. Rives

has no sizing and so is much harder to print on. I used a workable fix spray and got

better results, but I have not tried it since I bought a high quality print calibration device.

Arches was the only watercolor paper that I got a good print on. Arches (natural) has an

all organic sizing and works well. After getting the printer calibration device, the prints

are gorgeous, but do not have the detail of a paper coated for digital printing, but if I

showed you one and not a comparison print, you would not know what you were missing.

I have not had good success with other manufacturers watercolor papers in low grade

tests, as the sizing seemed either too much or too low--more like BFK. If you don't have a

way to calibrate the printer for the paper, you will just have to buy paper and try it until

you get what you like--you will have to try various combinations of settings for the profile

and the medium. Good luck.