Keith Cooper’s paper reviews
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Collected data from all our paper reviews
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Over the years, Keith has tried out many papers from a range of suppliers.
This article brings together some of the basic specs from all the reviews. Not all papers have the same amount of specifications available, so there are gaps.
The data is divided up into two sections, the Matt and the Glossy.
Glossy includes any paper where you would use the Photo Black print option and Matt those that would use Matt Black
Choosing papers
There are a lot of brands of paper, but not nearly so many companies actually make or coat it. This means that a paper may well appear under several names but essentially be the same.
For several reasons I can’t say that paper X is the same as paper Y, since there may be minor differences in specification, but also some of my knowledge of paper equivalences would breach commercial confidences. I’ve tried to include as much data as I can that will help readers in countries outside of the UK to look at a locally available paper and make a good guess if something I’ve looked at is similar.
There are many manufacturer ‘Own brand’ (OEM) papers covered in the many printer reviews here, since I usually tend to test printers with OEM papers.
For many of the papers, there are also ICC profiles I’ve created for the printers I was testing at the time – available on request, free for non-commercial personal use.
See also my article:
The Matte papers
Art papers – different suppliers use differing terms for surface textures and measurements. Check the reviews for more info, since I often take photos specifically to try and show the surface texture. Suppliers are listed at the end of the article.
| Weight GSM | Thickness | Name | Date | Type | Whiteness | Notes | Supplier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 315 | 520um | Cold Press Rough textured Natural White – IFA 13 | 01/11 | Cotton | 69 CIE 99 D65 | Watercolour | I |
| 315 | 460um | Soft Textured bright white IFA 26 | 03/16 | Cotton | 136 CIE 110 TAPPI | Etching | I |
| 315 | 390um | Smooth Cotton High White IFA 14 | 11/09 | Cotton | 109 CIE 100TAPPI | Smooth | I |
| 315 | 380um | Soft Textured Natural White IFA 12 | 07/07 | Cotton | 109 CIE 99 TAPPI | Etching | I |
| 315 | 310um | Smooth Cotton Natural White IFA 11 now Photo Cotton Rag | 11/09 | Cotton | 109 CIE 99 TAPPI | Smooth | I |
| 315 | – | Pro Photo fine art smooth | 01/17 | Cotton | ‘Natural’ | Smooth | Imp |
| 310 | 565um | Printmaking Rag IFA107 | 10/16 | Cotton | 86 CIE 97.3 TAPPI | Etching | I |
| 310 | 565um | Watercolour Rag IFA108 | 10/16 | Cotton | 86 CIE 97.3 TAPPI | Watercolour | I |
| 310 | 500um | Photo Rag bright white | 07/13 | Cotton | 99.5% bright white | Smooth | H |
| 310 | 420um | Prem Fine Art Smooth | 10/16 | Cotton | 85 ISO | Smooth | C |
| 310 | – | Pinnacle Cotton Rag | 12/09 | Cotton | ‘White’ | Smooth | PS |
| 310 | – | Pinnacle Smooth Fine Art | 12/09 | Cotton | ‘Natural’ | Smooth | PS |
| 305 | – | Cotton Etching 305 | 04/18 | Cotton | ‘White’ | Textured | F |
| 305 | – | Platinum Cotton 305 | 04/19 | Cotton | ‘Natural’ | Smooth | F |
| 300 | 515um | Fine Art Cotton Textured Bright | 10/18 | Cotton | L* = 97.5 a* = 1.8 b* = -3.5 M1 (D50) | Textured | E |
| 300 | 515um | Fine Art Cotton Textured Natural | 10/18 | Cotton | L* = 97 a* = 0.3 b* = 3.3 M1 (D50) | Textured | E |
| 300 | 490um | Fine Art Cotton Smooth Bright | 10/18 | Cotton | L* = 97.5 a* = 1.8 b* = -3.5 M1 (D50) | Smooth | E |
| 300 | 490um | Fine Art Cotton Smooth Natural | 10/18 | Cotton | L* = 97 a* = 0.3 b* = 3.3 M1 (D50) | Smooth | E |
| 300 | 480um | Smooth Cotton 300 | 04/19 | Cotton | 94 CIE 84 TAPPI | Smooth | F |
| 300 | 435um | Cold Press rough bright white IFA 27 | 03/16 | Cotton | 136 CIE 110 TAPPI | Watercolour | I |
| 285 | 300um | FibaPrint Matte IFA 39 | 07/13 | Coated | 138 CIE 108(D65) | Smooth | I |
| 260 | – | Photo Matte HD | 01/17 | Coated | ‘white’ | Smooth | Imp |
| 250 | 380um | Museo Max | 08/14 | Cotton | 91 | Smooth | C |
| 245 | – | Innova Decor Watercolour IFA 23 | 07/13 | Coated | ‘Bright white’ | Watercolour | H |
| 220 | 325um | Decor smooth Art DS IFA25 Double sided | 12/10 | Coated | 115 CIE 99 D65 | Smooth | I |
| 210 | 225um | Decor Smooth Art IFA 24 | 12/10 | Coated | 115 CIE 99 D65 | Smooth | I |
| 210 | 350um | Albrecht Durer | 07/13 | Coated | 88.5% ‘Natural’ | Watercolour | H |
The Glossy papers
Gloss/lustre/pearl/silk/semi-gloss all seem to mean slightly different things. Check the reviews for photos and examples.
| Weight GSM | Thickness | Name | Date | Type | Whiteness | Notes | Supplier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 360 | 390um | FB Distinction 360 | 05/11 | Fibre | Some OBA | Semi-gloss | Pj |
| 335 | 390um | Warm cotton gloss IFA45 aka Exhibition Cotton Gloss | 06/11 | Fibre | 75 CIE 85 TAPPI | unglazed gloss | I |
| 325 | 330um | Exhibition Fiber aks Traditional Photo Paper | 05/08 | Fibre | Some OBA | Lustre | E |
| 325 | – | Legacy Baryta 325 | 03/19 | Baryta | 75 CIE 85 TAPPI | unglazed gloss | F |
| 315 | 310um | FB Gold Silk 315 | 06/20 | Baryta | 101 | Silk | Pj |
| 310 | 315um | Exhibition Photo Baryta IFA69 aka FibaPrint Baryta | 02/14 | Baryta | 100/96 ‘natural’ | semi-gloss | I |
| 310 | 315um | Silk Baryta (prev. Warmtone) | 05/11 | Baryta | 100 CIE 96(D65) | semi-gloss | PS |
| 310 | 300um | Photo Pearl | 05/16 | Photo | 105% ‘bright’ | Pearl | H |
| 310 | 299um | Photo Pearl premium OLM70 | 02/15 | Photo | 145 CIE | Pearl | I |
| 300 | 380um | Museo Silver Rag | 08/14 | Cotton | 90 | semi-gloss | C |
| 300 | 370um | Baryta Satin | 05/16 | Baryta | White OBA Free | Satin | H |
| 300 | 340um | PermaJet FB Pearl 300 | 04/20 | Photo | 94 CIE | Lustre | Pj |
| 300 | 290um | PermaJet Titanium Gloss 300 | 04/20 | Metallic | 97 CIE | Glossy | Pj |
| 300 | 287±5um | Pinnacle Premium Photo Lustre | 12/16 | Photo | 110 CIE | Lustre | PS |
| 300 | – | Platinum Baryta 300 | 02/19 | Baryta | 100 CIE | semi-gloss | F |
| 300 | – | Gloss Art Fibre 300 | 01/17 | Fibre | – | semi-gloss | F |
| 295 | 280um | Ultra Pearl | 03/11 | Photo | 103 CIE | Pearl | Pj |
| 285 | 285um | FibaPrint Ultrasmooth Gloss IFA49 | 07/07 | Baryta | 152 CIE 111 TAPPI | Lustre | I |
| 280 | 280um | Titanium Lustre | 04/13 | Photo | 96 CIE | Lustre | Pj |
| 275 | – | Metallic Lustre | 06/18 | Metallic | – | OBA free | F |
| 260 | – | Pro Gloss Photo Paper | 01/17 | Photo | High White photo paper | Glossy | Imp |
| 260 | – | Pro Lustre Photo Paper | 01/17 | Photo | High White photo paper | Lustre | Imp |
| 260 | 267um | Photo Metallic Gloss OLM71 | 02/15 | Metallic | 80 CIE | OBA free | I |
| 260 | 267um | Photo Metallic Lustre OLM72 | 02/15 | Metallic | 80 CIE | OBA free | I |
| 260 | – | Metallic Lustre Photo | 01/17 | Metallic | – | OBA free | Imp |
Other media
I don’t use canvas much – the IFA36 was what I used for my big 14 metre print.
| Weight GSM | Thickness | Name | Date | Type | Whiteness | Notes | Supplier |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 390 | 520um | Gloss polycotton canvas IFA56 | 03/16 | Lustre | >75 CIE | Pk ink | I |
| 380 | 450um | Photo Ultra Gloss canvas IFA36 | 05/08 | Gloss | 85 CIE 86 TAPPI | Pk Ink | I |
| 380 | – | Pro Photo Canvas polycotton | 01/17 | Matte | bright | Mk Ink | Imp |
| 350 | 405 | Matte polycotton Canvas IFA35 | 05/08 | Matte | 152 CIE 88 TAPPI | Mk Ink | I |
| – | 500um | iPrint Pure 3D Film | 05/13 | Holo | Translucent | Mk Ink | Ant |
| 115 | 160um | Water Resistant Matte | 11/16 | Matte | 90 CIE | Polypropylene | C |
The 3D film is a bizarre idea – I still have a 36″ roll of the stuff (here in Leicester) if anyone is curious
Manufacturer/Supplier codes
- A – Antalis (UK)
- C – Canon
- E – Epson
- F – Fotospeed
- H – Hahnemuhle
- I – Innova
- Imp – FineartFoto
- Pj – PermaJet
- PS – Paper Spectrum
My (very) local supplier and the goto person if I’ve any paper questions is Chris at Paper Spectrum, here in Leicester.
Please do mention us if you give them a call ;-)
This list will be updated as I test new papers…
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Keith | Dec 17, 2020 at 11:07 am
Yes, ‘printer colour’ can work for some strong colours – however this is usually at the expense of quality in other areas.
I’ve very few ‘real world’ photos where this is a problem – for graphics and strong primary colours it can be of help though.
erik hendrup | Dec 17, 2020 at 8:12 am
Sorry. I have just printed my RGB test file containing Red/Green/blue + CMYK colours: Cyan/Magenta/Yellow.
The best print I have ever seen using Epson Print Layout letting the printer controlling the colours! Using ICC profile mode the print was equal to the result I get by using Photoshop/Elements or Qimage, all having problems with the blue colour.
Epsons Print Layout could be my favorite in the future!
It was not the printer. It was my previous printing programmes!
Keith | Jul 30, 2020 at 4:08 pm
Whilst I don’t know that paper, I’m afraid that subtle changes are often made to papers, but never publicised. I last tested the z2300 over 10 years ago and found bronzing a serious issue on some papers – much helped by attention to the gloss coat.
http://www.northlight-images.co.uk/hp-designjet-z3200-review/
I’m afraid this is the classic hint that it’s time to consider other papers… The good news is that someone likely made the paper for HP and it will be out there somewhere. I can’t suggest anything, since I’m in the UK and products vary widely around the world -Keith
Peter Fraser | Jul 30, 2020 at 3:37 pm
Hello Keith,
I wonder if you can help?
I’ve been printing exhibition prints for about 10 years with a HP Z3200 printer on HP Professional Satin 300gsm paper and been very happy with the results, but have recently noticed that the same surface has changed and looks more reflective. Now when I compare prints made in 2010 and now, from the exact same printing file, I’m getting more reflection and an almost lustre like surface, but worse of all I’m getting serious bronzing which is a big problem.
I’ve tried HP’s advice about changing Gloss enhancer settings etc, to combat this, but to no avail…
Do you have any observations about the above?
Many thanks,
Peter
Keith | Jun 24, 2020 at 1:07 pm
Thanks – fixed in the update ;-)
Mike Earussi | Aug 2, 2019 at 12:31 pm
Thanks for the overview. BTW, you forgot to add “I” for Innova Art in your manufacturer codes.