Exhibition Fiber Printing Paper

[Roy]

Has anybody else tried the new Exhibition Fiber Paper from Epson? I just received a small sample and printed an 8x10 today. I was very impressed and this was printed on a Canon printer. It's not low end paper but I really like the results.

[venchka]

OK, it's just paper for crying out loud. Why do I have a buy a new printer to be able to use it? Hey? Enquiring minds want to know.

The above rant was generated by the fact that my 1280 printer isn't on the approved list for the new paper.

[Roy]

That's what I think Wayne thus the Canon printer using Epson paper. The sampler pack was sent just to get me excited about this new paper...LOL. I know it, because the price of $59 for 25 sheets doesn't leave a lot of room for waste and that's only the letter size.

There's no telling how good of a job this paper does on the approved list of printers. So far I'm happy with the performance on the Canon i9900 printer.

I need to investigate more papers and see what's out there besides the glossy papers.

[venchka]

OK, so Agfa Brovira #2 and Kodak Medalist papers aren't around anymore and that's a damn shame. Otherwise, any photo paper will work in any photo paper developer with any negative in any enlarger and any enlarging lens. And they call digital progress? Some folks call silver based printing obsolete. By definition, digital imaging means built in obsolesence.

Back on topic: Some folks rave about the Harmon FB papers. I'll never know. My printer is too old.

[KJ Smith]

Originally Posted by venchka

OK, so Agfa Brovira #2 and Kodak Medalist papers

Potriga Rapid and Elite.

Kevin

[venchka]

Hey, Kevin, is that a cruelty joke?

[TxManx]

My understanding of this paper is that it somewhat eliminates the need to use a matt or glossy black ink, because the coating and structure of the paper provides the saturation and depth of black that was previously available in traditional labs, but not in inkjet...

Is this right?

[venchka]

I found this today at the Large Format Forum.

Originally Posted by ljsegil

I just finished running a trial on the papers in the Atlex sampler pack (Epson Exhibition, Harman Baryta Gloss, Hahnemuhle Baryta Fine Art Paper, and Ilford Gold Fiber Silk) on four different images, two each color and B&W. All the papers are excellent and produced very worthy prints, but I was surprised by the one that I most frequently picked as superior in my "blinded" trial. The Ilford Galerie Gold Fiber Silk paper seemed to consistently show the best fine detail, and rendition of subtle color hues of all the papers on the color prints, and had a slightly cool but usually cleanest reproduction with the most subtle of shading levels on my B&W images. The Harman paper on color and Hahnemuhle on B&W probably had pride of place. The differences between the papers were very subtle, and perhaps even visible only in my own imagination, and all produced fine images; personal preferences could easily be more influenced by factors I did not consider as important such as surface texture. Surprisingly (to me at least), I never chose the Epson as the best paper; it tended toward a "garish" color rendition and loss of finest detail on my prints; perhaps other printer settings (I did not have enough paper to really experiment) might have produced better results.
Suffice to say, I have ordered a package of the Ilford 17x22" paper for my next run of prints. Again, I am surprised, as this is the first Ilford paper that has impressed me enough to purchase in more than trial quantities; I certainly hope it will continue to please. It looks as though it may well replace as my first choice the Harman Baryta Glossy that I had been using for most of my images since it became available (Harman does have the major advantage of a 17x25" size, however).
I recommend trying these papers for yourself, the investment in the trial pack is trivial compared to a commitment to purchase working quantities of any of theses quite pricey papers, and your mileage may vary; I am hardly a master printer such as ought to be guiding users of these forums.
Best,
LJS

Interesting conclusion.

[canoflan]

Originally Posted by Roy

Has anybody else tried the new Exhibition Fiber Paper from Epson? I just received a small sample and printed an 8x10 today. I was very impressed and this was printed on a Canon printer. It's not low end paper but I really like the results.

Did you get an ICC profile for your Canon printer with the paper, or a website?
Pat

[KJ Smith]

Originally Posted by venchka

Hey, Kevin, is that a cruelty joke?

Nope, just miss the old days sometimes...... and I am not that old.

Kevin

[venchka]

I hear you. The easier technology makes things, the more difficult it gets to get back to where we were.

[billbunton]

Originally Posted by venchka

I found this today at the Large Format Forum.
...
Interesting conclusion.

I bought a roll of the Gold Fiber Silk and I've been switching back and forth between it and my favorite Museo Silver Rag. I haven't formed any conclusive preferences yet, which in itself is pretty telling considering how much I like the Silver Rag. One of these days I'm going to take a couple sets of 24x30something prints into work and get some opinions.

[Roy]

Originally Posted by canoflan

Did you get an ICC profile for your Canon printer with the paper, or a website?
Pat

No Pat, I just used one of the Canon profiles.

I'm interested in finding out more about these other papers mentioned though.