For this research, I wanted to see which of a number of papers would give the best result for the following low-key image: A woman with very black hair reclining on a dark-blue pillow wearing black garments, all on a black background. Specifically, I wanted to determine which paper would best separate the dark colors from one another but leave the model’s skin properly exposed (not washed out) as in the image on the monitor.
All the papers are from Red River Paper’s “Complete Sample Kit” <www.redriverpaper.com> which markets “Premium Photographic Inkjet Media” and which I learned of from moderator gpecht.
All were printed with an Epson Artisan 50 inkjet printer using Claria inks with the printer controlling the color and the printer settings for each paper as advised by Red River.
All the printed images, and the monitor, were viewed under one and the same ambient light, namely, high-intensity fluorescents of the same color temperature as sunlight (the same lights that I use for my studio portraiture).
I’ve listed them in rank order of their ability to separate the dark colors from one another and, especially, for the ability to maintain the most detail in the black hair, all the while maintaining the same color for the model’s skin as on the monitor.
--60lb. Premium Matte PLUS
--64lb. Aurora Natural
--68lb. Arctic Polar Satin 2.0
--66lb. Arctic Polar Satin
--66lb. Arctic Polar Gloss
--66lb. Polar Pearl Metallic
--75lb. Arctic Polar Luster
--68lb. Ultra Pro Gloss
--53lb. Premium Gloss
--32lb. Premium Gloss
--60lb. River Linen
--60lb. Paper Canvas
--60lb. Cordovan Textured Gloss (textured surface makes the model’s skin appear “muddied”)
With the exception of the last on the list, the differences among the various papers are extremely subtle. All but the last gave a VERY satisfactory result in comparison with the image on the monitor. One could, therefore, make one’s selection according to price and/or the client’s preferred texture of the paper and not go wrong.
With regard to Print Life, Red River states that, if the recommendatons for care of the ink manufacturer are followed, then the Print Life should be as stated by the manufacturer of the ink.
I did not test all the papers in the sample kit. The Complete Sample Kit includes over 30 different papers including gloss, matte, satin, semigloss, artistic and specialty for $14.99 (Item 9998). For easy subsequent identification, each paper comes with its description printed in the lower-right corner (2 samples of each type of paper).
