Paper review: Innova IFA 69 FibaPrint Baryta,
Exhibition Photo Baryta

A heavy silk finish OBA free natural white paper

Keith looks at the paper on our Canon iPF8300 printer.

A heavy Baryta paper that meets many of my print needs

UPDATE: This paper is now marketed as Exhibition Photo Baryta

Innova have announced a new 310 gsm paper with a Baryta (Barium Sulphate) layer for its whiteness and weight. It’s a good white, and not too warm for more general use.

As well as an interesting paper in its own right, this paper is extremely close to the old Ilford Gold Galerie Silk paper. How close? If pushed, I’d be happy using my profiles for the old Ilford paper…

Specifications

It’s a solid 310gsm and I’ve been testing an A3+ box of cut sheets, although it’s available in many other sizes.

I note it’s listed as OBA free, but testing with my 405nm laser pointer shows that it actually does contain some brighteners. I should note though that almost every photo paper I’ve tested will glow somewhat.

When building an ICC profile for our Canon iPF8300 printer, I based the paper settings on the 280gm Premium Semigloss setting.

The test prints were all printed with Canon’s Lucia II pigment ink set. Here are some of the samples, drying on my piano
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A3+ sized test prints

Images were printed using the Canon print plugin and an ICC colour profile made with some 3000 patches and i1Profiler software.

The print at the left is a black and white image, with the ink setting set to slightly warm.

The print texture is visible in this close-up, where I’ve angled the lighting to give a feel for how the surface reflects.
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This version is from a colour print (very muted colours of the stone).
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With careful lighting you can see a slight gloss differential (this is the B&W print). This is not easy to see under normal viewing of prints.
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Conclusions

This paper has a great feel, and with the box of sheet paper I tried, virtually no curl. The weight and finish produces prints that have a great look to them. Colours are vibrant and blacks dense. You’ll need to profile for optimum results, but Innova regularly produce free ICC profiles for their papers.

I’ve used some of the old Ilford Gold Gallerie Silk in the past, and with uncertainty over the status of the company, it’s good to see something I feel I can use in its place. For a very similar 310gsm paper to the IFA-69, see also my review of Pinnacle Warmtone Baryta 310 gsm.

If I wanted a slightly warmer paper with a slightly less smooth surface finish, I’d go for Innova’s IFA-45 at 335 gsm. [IFA-45 review].