Photo Paper Recommendations

redline

redline

redline

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Devonia :)
What do you guys use for high quality prints from your photos, and what surface?... I intend to mount, frame and glaze some B&W photos. I've tried some Kodak Premium paper, with a silk finish, and some Bockingford art paper, which is matt with a subtle texture... I really love the Bockingford, which is more aimed at reproducing paintings, although it can look a little flat, lacking contrast; however the darks have a beautiful velvety look. The Kodak paper gives a distinct red tint on my printer (Canon iP4950) using greyscale, whereas the Bockingford is slightly green... I'm surprised there is such a colour difference, with the same settings.

I want something that works well for B&W.. especially images that contain lots of dark and will remain fairly neutral in terms of tint.... I guess this is also printer/ink dependant.

I am also looking to get an A3 printer at some point, so any recommendations in that area would be good too.
 
If you plan on mounting, framing and glazing... I would replace the printer first or have a professional print shop do the print.

It won't cost a drastic amount of money (depending on how many you want) and the quality will be significantly better, IMO.

I have a printer of similar quality to yours & while it may be o-k for family photo album style prints, I would never want to use it to stick something up on the wall... it just doesn't have the quality for my liking. Tesco photo don't have the quality for my liking, either (washed out blacks).

If you plan on printing quite a few, then maybe a mid-range A3 printer is a good starting point?

Take a look at how many you are planning on and in what size... perhaps weigh up the pro-printing vs home-printing costs and see what you come up with?

Not the best answer to your question, just someone who has seen a big difference between low-end home printer and low-end pro printer :)

The Canon printers are good for what they do and especially the price vs performance... just... if it's something you plan to keep for a long time in a very open display location... you might be better served elsewhere.
 
I've had good results from Ilford Gallerie (though I believe that Ilford might be no longer making inkjet paper), Permajet, and Hahnemuhle papers.

To make the most of them, get a profile file for your printer from the paper manufacturer.
 
Thanks guys :) .. I'll give Permajet and Hahnemuhle a try... maybe see if I can get some samples to test. I've see some branded paper that is 'made by Ilford' so it seems they are still manufacturing.

Profiles is something I had not looked at, so thanks for bringing that to my attention.

Crinkleshoes... thank you... I do want to upgrade to an A3 printer at some point, but in the mean time want to get the best out of this one. While I appreciate this is not the finest printer, the results on highest quality look pretty decent to me, and it does use dye based inks that should not suffer fading or moisture damage [not that I've tested that thoroughly]... however I will look into using a printing service, as long as the cost is not too high.... any recommendations gratefully received :)
 
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