Please suggest an affordable proofing paper for these expensive semi-gloss fibre papers.

I'm currently evaluating three of the new fibre papers (I like them all!). But

as they're quite pricey, I'd like to find a less expensive paper for day to day

proofing that uses the Photo Black cartridge in my R2400. Swapping out the black

carts for my normal matte proofing paper is unacceptable. (Not to mention, matte

paper does not tell me how a print will look on the semi-gloss papers.)

 

BTW, the three papers are, from highest to lowest cost, Hahnemuhle Fine Art

Baryta, Innova Semi-matte, and Ilford Galerie Gold Silk Fibre. In case anybody

wants to know, here's my take on them:

Ilford: best value, warmest white, smoothest surface, ink appears to sit very

slightly on the surface.

Innova: Slightly blue, least bright, smooth surface with unobjectionable

texture, curls at edges a bit; my favorite, but just slightly and only if cost

is ignored.

Hahnemuhle: bright neutral white, very saturated, slight luster texture that

shows up when the light isn't just right, ink sits down in the surface like a

silver print, expensive!

Try Legion Moab Lasalle matte. You may even prefer it visually to the fibre papers...I do...it's ultra cheap and two sided, literally the brightest cold/neutral paper I've seen.

 

You might also compare Legion Moab's Satine to the "fibre" papers you've tried...doesn't have the obnoxious glitter, doesn't curl at edges, doesn't have the surface-sitting issue (though I'm using an old 2200, so I get excessive bronzing)

Easy to make a 4x5 print on one corner of an 8x10 sheet. Keep resuing the sheet until it is

filled.

 

Go to The Radiant Vista website and look at video tutorials. Mark just added some

excellent ones on color management and one demonstrated soft proofing, ie no print

required.

have you try the premium luster photo paper by ..epson? it my 1rst choice for eveything that i print, from proof, portoflio to art gallery. Really nice paper that have a really good look.

Seeing as how the surface look of EPL is completely different from all but possilby the Hahnemuehle, I would recommend epson premium glossy as a good every day proofing paper. It's cheaper than EPL, too. Either that, or what Ronald describes.

John, I've got plenty of dual-sided matte papers I already like, and the Moab Satine is not that much cheaper than the Ilford Gold Silk

Ronald, I do small prints, and I use soft proofing. But there's nothing quite like a real print at the intended final size to help you really evaluate an image. I'm hoping to find a less expensive paper to make full-size workprints on before using the expensive stuff.

Patrick and Aaron, a friend is recommending Ilford Smooth Pearl, and from what he's shown me, it's a less grainy surface like most of the Lusters, but is less glassy than a glossy. I may try that.

One interesting candidate, but it turned out not to have adequate D-max was some Mitsubishi dual-sided semi-glossy I had lying around. Just not black enough.

John, I've got good matte papers I like already (including a couple of boxes of Kayenta, the precursor to Lasal). And the Satine is almost as expensive as the Ilford Gold Silk.

 

Ronald, I've got my colour management system under control and get very predictable colour. What I'm looking to do is to print to final size on a cheaper paper before printing on the expensive stuff. Yes, I can evaluate colour on smaller prints, but sometimes you just need to see an image in a large size to evaluate certain elements of its impact.

 

One inexpensive paper I've tried is Mitsubishi Dual Sided semi-glossy, but it's D-max is pretty limited, compared to the fibre papers.

Epson premium luster photo paper, really nice black blacks. 8.5 x11 sheet about $1.50 You can get there less expensive, Photo Paper Glossy and save $0.25 a sheet, but the black's won't match premium luster, IMO