I have a Canon Pro9500 and I ordered the Red River Paper sample pack. Using my rotatrim trimmer I have cut the pages to 4x6 size to compare to the Ilford Pearl I have at that size. I have printed out color prints from the same photo to make the comparison easy. Here are some quick impressions and comments.
Profiles: I have my monitor calibrated and profiled. I also downloaded printer profiles from each manufacturer and used the corresponding profiles when making the print. What I found was that the Red River Papers share a similar look that compared to the Ilford Pearl appears to be more saturated
Ilford Pearl: Using LR4 softproof + Similute Paper & Ink, I was able to get the most accurate screen to print match with the Ilford Pearl. However, I found it very difficult to get the vibrancy and contrast I want out of the Ilford Pearl. As a result, the colors were a little bit muted in comparison to the Red River renditions (RR Matte aside). With that said, the Ilford Pearl supposedly doesn't contain any OBAs so there's no telling whether the Red River paper will eventually or quickly fade making the fresh off the print comparisons mute.
Polar Metallic: Really like the unique look but I'm not sure if that's a look I want to go with. I'm probably just not used to looking at a metallic print so it looks a bit odd. I printed a picture with a sky without much detail. The metallic print turned the sky into metal looking. The bigger problem is that it's so easy for it to show scratch marks or even finger print impressions. I checked out the unused paper that is still sitting in my box and notice that it is not perfect. I suspect that it would be mighty difficult to come out with a flawless print with this printer and have it transferred to an album or frame without you leaving a mark on it.
Polar Lustre: It's the most "Pearlescent" of the papers. For some reason, despite it being "Polar" it is not as white as the Polar Satin but it's also not as as yellow as the UltraPro Satin. Colors are clearly more vibrant with the Lustre than with the Satins.
UltraPro Satin and Polar Satin: These two are VERY close with the Polar Satin sometimes being too white in the sense that white almost looks blue. Whereas the UltraPro sometimes looks too yellow. In terms of being Pearlescent, Polar Satin is a bit more Pearlescent. I consider the UltraPro Satin to be the closest to Ilford Pearl with less "Pearlescence". Given the prices, I think I'll go with either the UltraPro Satin or the Lustre.
Polar Glossy: I expected a vibrant print but it's not as vibrant as lustre. Perhaps things would be different on a dye based printer, but on the Canon Pro9500, it actually doesn't that glossy. It actually looks similar to the Polar Metallic without the metallic look.
Polar Matte: I actually really like the matte, although I usually lean more towards the glossy. It's cleary a matte print so the colors are less vibrant. Still, I think it's a really nice looking matte paper.
That's the extent of my impressions. I also ordered a Hahnemuhle sample pack that I intend to make comparison with, but I'm not sure which would be a fair comparison given the sample pack is fine art paper based.
