Curious about paper

I'm curious what you guys use for inkjet photo paper. I use Kodak pro, but am not overly enthused with it.

Recommendations for both matte and glossy would be appreciated.

Also, surprised that nothing showed up in a search.

I think you'll find some discussion in the presentation section of the forum, but I use Ilford and Hahnmule(sp?) exclusively. What research and testing I've done led me to those two. Some of it depends on what type ink you're using (pigment or dye).

I have a printer that uses dyes (Canon Pro 9000) so for glossy paper I use Ilford's Classic Gloss. I haen't used much of the Hahnmulhe yet so can't tell you a lot about that.. but I like the samples I've used.

I searched there, but almost all of the threads there are about professional roll paper for pro printers. I have a simple pixma 620 and am just looking for some good paper to print out proofs on. The rest of my printing will continue to be with a lab.

When I just searched for inkjet paper or 8.5x11 paper, it just showed me a couple threads that had never been replied to.

So, thanks for the reply I also think that paper should be an accessory discussion as so many folks talk about printers in here. Well, you need something to feed into them

TaDa wrote in post #9577610
I searched there, but almost all of the threads there are about professional roll paper for pro printers. I have a simple pixma 620 and am just looking for some good paper to print out proofs on. The rest of my printing will continue to be with a lab.

When I just searched for inkjet paper or 8.5x11 paper, it just showed me a couple threads that had never been replied to.

So, thanks for the reply I also think that paper should be an accessory discussion as so many folks talk about printers in here. Well, you need something to feed into them

lol.. ok. I'd suggest getting some 8.5x11 Ilford Gallerie Classic Gloss. You can't go wrong with it. There are other good ones as well, and maybe even a little cheaper. I think Red River makes a good paper as well but haven't used it.

Just make sure you download the printer profile for the paper, which Ilford has on their website. That will make your color reproduction better. Sounds like you just want to be able to print a few shots to get an idea..so that should be enough. If you get real serious about it you need to look into monitor and perhaps even printer calibration to keep colors consistent throughout the process.. but that's a DEEP subject and it doesn't sound like you're interested in getting that deep.

Monitor is calibrated, and just got the printer today. Main use will be just to print small proofs for customers. I've mainly been doing it by CD, but it's nice to be able to just hand some physical proofs to a customer to get a good idea of what a print would look like.

I prefer to use labs like Adorama's, because their prices and convenience become hard to beat for the awesome final product that they produce.

The Ilford at $90 for 250 sheets sounds like a pretty decent price point since I'd be getting between 4-6 shots on to a page.

Kirkland photo paper from Costco. Awesome paper and dirt cheap, may be manufactured by Kodak though, something to look into.

I have been trying Red River lately. So far, just the matte. Like it. Good .icc profiles.

epson 5 star luster here,

Tried many types and went back to it everytime...i cant tell the difference between it and kodak e-surface with luster coating. This is high quality stuff considering what you pay.

TaDa wrote in post #9577610
I have a simple pixma 620 and am just looking for some good paper to print out proofs on.

Use whatever paper you can find .icc profiles for. Probably will be Canon.

A sub-forum with "Printing" in the name. Duh. Someone really needs to give me a tour of the place one of these days .

Now back to the help:

Problem was, when I printed out a picture, that had someone's head in it, the print put a huge black blot in the head and revealed no detail. Essentially looked like someone colored in a big part the hair with a sharpie. I used the sample 4x6 paper that came with the printer, and the same print is much better. Not perfect as the black is still a touch blotchy, but much much better.

Is there some way of configuring the printer to not print as much black or something to make it keep detail of the dark areas better? Or is this one of the weaknesses of a cheaper printer? Does higher end paper help prevent this type of bleed? Is there a way to differentiate which paper works better for dye based printers? How does one apply a .icc profile to a printer? I don't see anywhere in the printer settings to do it.

I really appreciate the help folks!

There are 8 profiles in Lightroom for my printer:

MP620 GL2/SG2, GL3/SG3, MP2, PR1, PR2, PR3, PT2 and PT3. Can anyone enlighten me as to the differences? and If I select one of those, would I use relative or perceptual for my rendering intent?

TaDa wrote in post #9580318
There are 8 profiles in Lightroom for my printer:

MP620 GL2/SG2, GL3/SG3, MP2, PR1, PR2, PR3, PT2 and PT3. Can anyone enlighten me as to the differences? and If I select one of those, would I use relative or perceptual for my rendering intent?

The numbers following the letters is a quality designation.
I have a file from Canon for icc profiles. It does not contain the letters you have.
GL = Glossy
MP = Matte
PR = Photo Rag?
PT = Photo ?
You need to experiment with the relative and perceptual to see what works best with a particular paper/ profile. Generally, it will be obvious.
Go to this web site
http://www.usa.canon.c​om/home
Select downloads and choose your operating system. Perhaps you can find some useful information there.

I have the Epson R-280 and have great success w/ Kodak papers. I've also used Epson and HP papers in a pinch, but Kodak has been our paper of choice.

I think that much of this has to do more with the profiles in Lightroom than with the paper. Just experimenting, different profiles make the print look completely different. Not subtle, but completely different. Some of it looks like an ink blot test, others just makes the whole head of hair one big area of black, others are coming out much better. (The GL2 profile seems to be working)

I'm just running out of paper to keep testing with, and it's snowing like hell outside and I can't run out for more

One question that I do have is about dpi. I read somewhere through searching through Rene's thread, that 300 dpi is assuming a print size that's rather small. So in Lightroom, I have 300 dpi for a 4x6 print and it's coming out okay. Would decreasing or increasing that number help?

Man, I haven't felt like such a noob in forever.

ppi = pixels per inch.

A 1200x1800 pixel file will print at 4x6 at 300 ppi or 8x12 at 150ppi.
The former will be good, the latter "okay-ish"

If you're working from the Raw files you should have a lot more pixels (unless you cropped the hell out of the image )

LR might be a bit confusing, since it scales the image to what you tell it to in the print module. Photoshop will not enlarge the image unless you tell it to, LR will auto resize to fit the paper.

For instance: Here is what the Library module tells me about an image (cropped severely for illustration purposes)