How do you pick the right matte paper?

[Alexey]

Other than OBA/yellowing issue, what qualities are important to you in a matte paper? How are you deciding which matte paper to use in which circumstances? When would you choose cotton over alpha cellulose? When would you pick smooth over textured? Would subject matter effect your choice of matte paper? What’s your favorite matte paper? Thanks!

 

[mike earussi]

Other than OBA/yellowing issue, what qualities are important to you in a matte paper? How are you deciding which matte paper to use in which circumstances? When would you choose cotton over alpha cellulose? When would you pick smooth over textured? Would subject matter effect your choice of matte paper? What’s your favorite matte paper? Thanks!

Depends on the subject. I usually prefer either very smooth or heavily textured. Canson is my preferred brand with Rag Photographique for smooth and Aquarelle for heavily textured watercolor paper. Neither of these are cheap.

BTW, I hate alpha-cellulose as I feel like I'm printing on cardboard.

 

[NAwlins Contrarian]

Other than OBA/yellowing issue, what qualities are important to you in a matte paper?

Surface appearance texture, maximum achievable optical density (blackness) on the particular printer, color gamut on the particular printer, and how well it feeds in the particular printer.

Some people are really interested in thickness / stiffness / tactile qualities. Some people really care about cotton versus alpha cellulose base.

How are you deciding which matte paper to use in which circumstances?

I have pretty much decided that Canson Rag Photographique is my favorite matte paper (usually in the 210 gsm version, which is both cheaper and feeds easier, but there's the 310 gsm version too), but Canon PM-101 Pro Premium Matte is pretty good and much cheaper. So between these two it's cost versus quality for the particular print.

When would you choose cotton over alpha cellulose?

Alpha cellulose tends to be a bit stiffer, which sometimes makes it not feed as well. Also, do you want stiffer as a tactile quality?

When would you pick smooth over textured?

Pretty much always. I'm generally not a fan of textured photo prints--but that's a personal aesthetic choice.

 

[pjog]

For cotton paper without OBAs, I like Canson Printmaking Rag, but it's expensive. A very nice alternative is Innova Fabriano IFA107, which is a lot cheaper (in the UK, at any rate). These are not heavily textured.

 

[Alexey]

In picking between the Canson Rag and Canon PM-101, you said that it’s price versus quality choice. Is Canon’s paper of much lower quality? Are the prints not as detailed? Do the colors not pop? Are the blacks not as black? Or is it purely the tactile difference between the two?

 

[palombian]

In picking between the Canson Rag and Canon PM-101, you said that it’s price versus quality choice. Is Canon’s paper of much lower quality? Are the prints not as detailed? Do the colors not pop? Are the blacks not as black? Or is it purely the tactile difference between the two?

I am not a big fan of matte or Fine Art printing in general, but some subjects are not suited for glossy or satin papers.

I did some measurements with the Colormunki Colorpicker app with various papers and (MBK) inks for my own use without any scientific aspiration.

On matte papers black levels are much less than on glossy. While on the latter L values lower than 3.0 and even under 2.0 are common, on matte even on the best papers I never measured less than L=17.

I don't see much difference either in the color profiles between Hahnemühle William Turner and Photo Rag and "cheap" papers (I use PRO-line Vibrant Mat sold in the Netherlands ) I profiled myself.

At least on the PRO-10, I experienced you need to print with Fine Art settings on all papers, the standard Matte applies less ink.

The "numbers" may not show much difference, but the look and feel of Fine Art papers is undeniably better, not to speak about the longevity.

PS: I also experimented with cardboard for professional digital printing, but the gamut is far lower than "cheap" matte photo papers.

 

[ChicagoRob]

In picking between the Canson Rag and Canon PM-101, you said that it’s price versus quality choice. Is Canon’s paper of much lower quality? Are the prints not as detailed? Do the colors not pop? Are the blacks not as black? Or is it purely the tactile difference between the two?

Canson RP is 100% rag, acid-free, and has no OBAs, unlike PM-101. RP also has better color depth and deeper black tones. I like the smooth surface and clean whites. It’s my preferred matte paper. Do you get what you pay for? In my opinion, yes.

 

[NAwlins Contrarian]

In picking between the Canson Rag and Canon PM-101, you said that it’s price versus quality choice. Is Canon’s paper of much lower quality? Are the prints not as detailed? Do the colors not pop? Are the blacks not as black? Or is it purely the tactile difference between the two?

There are a couple of differences: Canson Rag Photographique has a cotton base, but Canon Pro Premium Matte does not; and the Canson is OBA-free but the Canon IIRC contains significant OBAs.

 

[mike earussi]

Other than OBA/yellowing issue, what qualities are important to you in a matte paper?

Surface appearance texture, maximum achievable optical density (blackness) on the particular printer, color gamut on the particular printer, and how well it feeds in the particular printer.

Some people are really interested in thickness / stiffness / tactile qualities. Some people really care about cotton versus alpha cellulose base.

How are you deciding which matte paper to use in which circumstances?

I have pretty much decided that Canson Rag Photographique is my favorite matte paper (usually in the 210 gsm version, which is both cheaper and feeds easier, but there's the 310 gsm version too), but Canon PM-101 Pro Premium Matte is pretty good and much cheaper. So between these two it's cost versus quality for the particular print.

Good point about the 210gsm being easier to feed in smaller printers, but it also kinks easier than the 310gsm so be extra careful when using it.

When would you choose cotton over alpha cellulose?

Alpha cellulose tends to be a bit stiffer, which sometimes makes it not feed as well. Also, do you want stiffer as a tactile quality?

When would you pick smooth over textured?

Pretty much always. I'm generally not a fan of textured photo prints--but that's a personal aesthetic choice.

 

[Mystique of Tea]

Canon PM-101 Pro Premium Matte is really nice paper. Similiar is Fomei Matt Warmtone, just more smooth and more warm (so probably less OBA). I stopped use Pro Premium after finding this paper actually. https://www.fomei.com/en/products-a...ijet-portrait-matt-warmtone-230-detail-257735

It's nice especially for B&W photography. They make also bright white matt paper (so probably lott of OBA). Nice for color prints but not for B&W very much. I like it less than Matt Warmtone https://www.fomei.com/en/products-a2-42-x-59-4cm-20-fomeijet-portrait-matt-230-detail-250462

Especially Matt Warmtone is worth of attention, it's great quality/price ratio in A2 format (or roll).