Red River Paper question

I have recently purchased a Canon Pro-100 and I'm not quite sure what papers to use with it (13x19). I don't have a ton of money right now, but I appreciate quality so I've looked towards Red River Papers. I tend to prefer luster papers over the glossy look. In the past I have made a bunch of prints from Adoramapix on their luster paper and liked the look.

I have heard a lot of good things about Red River papers, but I'm not sure which one would suit my needs. I shoot landscapes and wildlife, never portraits. Would the Ultra Pro Satin, the Arctic Polar Satin, or the Arctic Polar Luster fit my needs more?

I have also heard great things about their Polar Pearl Metalic paper, but I have never printed on a metallic paper before. What genres would this paper tend to print best with? Landscapes? Would this be worth it considering the price?

Thanks for all the help.

PS.

Does anyone know of any deals or coupons with Red River papers? I don't think that I've seen them for sale anywhere except for on their own web site.

CallumRD1 wrote in post #16562867
I have recently purchased a Canon Pro-100 and I'm not quite sure what papers to use with it (13x19). I don't have a ton of money right now, but I appreciate quality so I've looked towards Red River Papers. I tend to prefer luster papers over the glossy look. In the past I have made a bunch of prints from Adoramapix on their luster paper and liked the look.

I have heard a lot of good things about Red River papers, but I'm not sure which one would suit my needs. I shoot landscapes and wildlife, never portraits. Would the Ultra Pro Satin, the Arctic Polar Satin, or the Arctic Polar Luster fit my needs more?

I have also heard great things about their Polar Pearl Metalic paper, but I have never printed on a metallic paper before. What genres would this paper tend to print best with? Landscapes? Would this be worth it considering the price?

Thanks for all the help.

PS.

Does anyone know of any deals or coupons with Red River papers? I don't think that I've seen them for sale anywhere except for on their own web site.

I use RR and really like them. I would suggest you call them and ask for the sample pack, I don't know the price off hand but it was reasonable then you can try each of the papers and see what you like.

An option to Red River is Moab paper. You can find their line at B&H, Adorama, and even some items on eBay. Moab makes excellent paper.

Arctic Polar Satin is a good, inexpensive choice from Red River. I use it with my PRO 100 as my basic paper. Arctic Polar Luster is heavier and a bit more expensive but also a good choice.

I can also recommend Canon's Luster and Canson Photo Satin Premium. Both are moderately priced and quite good. Ilford Prestige Smooth Pearl is also quite good and very heavy but you should buy quickly before supplies run out.

Thanks for the help. I think that I'll order some Arctic Polar Satin soon. Does anyone know of any sales, coupons, or deals that I could use?

They have specials every now and then. If you're not in a hurry, make an account and give your e-mail address, and you'll get their newsletter and occasional coupons. I haven't seen any specials in the past couple of weeks; their most recent newsletter was Dec 19 and there weren't any specials or coupons in it.

I use their Ultra Pro Satin as my usual go-to paper, and the Polar Pearl Metallic for occasional specialty prints. I also have a little Arctic Polar Gloss.

As suggested above, their sample pack is a great deal - I'd probably recommend just the basic pack; I got the "full" sample pack and there's stuff in there that I'll realistically never have a need for.

Don't forget to download their paper profiles.

CallumRD1,

Thank you for considering Red River Paper. If I may, here are some important notes about each satin/luster paper.

Arctic Polar Satin and Luster are both cool tone papers. They are also bright white, meaning you will get better overall contrast (darker blacks, whiter whites)

UltraPro Satin is a warmer tone paper because it is low in optical brighteners.

For nature and landscapes, our customers tend to prefer a warmer tone paper which enhances the natural feel of an image. Black & white images usually benefit from a cooler paper and resulting higher contrast ratio.

Metallic inkjet papers are being used quite a bit for landscapes. Bear in mind that metallic enhances colors and creates more of a "pop". This works great for desertscapes, flowers, and in some cases water/reflections. Living creatures may be too "cartoon like" for some so you would want to experiment a bit before going heavy into metallic.

I hope this helps.

Thanks for the reply! I went ahead and ordered a sample pack with a code I found online. Only $2.99 shipped! It's a great deal. I'm looking foreword to trying out the different papers.

redriverpaper wrote in post #16564930
CallumRD1,

Thank you for considering Red River Paper. If I may, here are some important notes about each satin/luster paper.

Arctic Polar Satin and Luster are both cool tone papers. They are also bright white, meaning you will get better overall contrast (darker blacks, whiter whites)

UltraPro Satin is a warmer tone paper because it is low in optical brighteners.

For nature and landscapes, our customers tend to prefer a warmer tone paper which enhances the natural feel of an image. Black & white images usually benefit from a cooler paper and resulting higher contrast ratio.

Metallic inkjet papers are being used quite a bit for landscapes. Bear in mind that metallic enhances colors and creates more of a "pop". This works great for desertscapes, flowers, and in some cases water/reflections. Living creatures may be too "cartoon like" for some so you would want to experiment a bit before going heavy into metallic.

I hope this helps.

Now that's customer service! I've always found Red River to be very customer friendly as the above response shows.

rgs wrote in post #16565155
Now that's customer service! I've always found Red River to be very customer friendly as the above response shows.

Ditto, I have called them a couple of times re icc profiles and how to set up my printer and they have always made time to help me get set up. Great customer service.

cdiver2 wrote in post #16565493
Ditto, I have called them a couple of times re icc profiles and how to set up my printer and they have always made time to help me get set up. Great customer service.

Same here, been using them for almost all my papers for years. They also provide ICRC profiles and lots of advice for us printers.

CallumRD1 wrote in post #16562867
I have heard a lot of good things about Red River papers, but I'm not sure which one would suit my needs. I shoot landscapes and wildlife, never portraits. Would the Ultra Pro Satin, the Arctic Polar Satin, or the Arctic Polar Luster fit my needs more?

The surfaces of Polar Satin and Polar Luster are nearly identical, but Luster is a heavier paper, 75lb vs. 66lb. After Luster was introduced I stopped buying Satin.

I love their Ultra Pro Satin and have it here in a plethora of sizes up to 13x19. I'm very, very happy with the results I get with it and it's competitively priced.

Got an email from them today announcing 20% off polar pearl metallic in 8x10.

I saw that, but I'm a little disappointed that it wasn't in 13x19. I'm not interested in 8.5x11.