New Test Results, August 4, 2001

OK, the papers below have been in the ozone chamber for two weeks. How are they doing? Check it out below. I'm providing my initial quality judgements, followed by the orange shift test results. Click on the test chart icons to see scans of each.

Epson Watercolor: I've generally preffered smooth finish papers for my photographs. Either glossy, or a smooth semi-gloss (like Ilford semi-matte). But after trying this paper, and a few others, I'm beginning to re-think things. The paper has a nice wieght, and fairly strong "tooth". I printed using the HWM setting on my 1270. Colors are bright and rich. Compared to PGPP, colors are not quite as saturated, but they're really not that far behind. It's a bit warm compared to PGPP, which makes it warmer than I like, but not unpleasently so. Reds are a bit more orangely than with PGPP, though, which isn't good. Different paper settings, of course, may change this. On the positive side, the texture does not interfere with apparent sharpness, at least viewed with the naked eye. I'm very curious to see how this does in the ozone test.

Unfortunately, only fair. It's doing better than the Ilford Fine Art, below, but after two weeks it's already showing some shift. To put this in perspective, it's quite a bit better than Epson PGPP, which showed dramatic shift in the same time period (even the 3rd generation). But it's not nearly as good as HWM, or some other papers I've tested. In low shift environments, or perhaps with better inks, this paper could be very nice.

Ilford Fine Art: A truly remarkable paper! Printed with the PQGF setting, colors are noticeably brighter and more saturated than with the Epson watercolor. Still not quite as bright as PGPP, but closer. And color balance is more neutral, much closer to the balance of PGPP. It's got a little bit more "tooth" that the Epson Watercolor, but that still doesn't seem to interfere wtih apparent sharpenss. I like it a great deal, and can't wait to see how it does with fade and shift.

Disapointing. I was really hoping for better, but it shifts a bit more rapidly than the Epson Watercolor. After only 10 days it has shifted more than the Epson paper did after 2 weeks.

Red River Premium Matte: I'm truly surprised. I guess I just wasn't aware at how much better matte papers (and Epson inks and drivers) have gotten. The output on this paper is very impressive. Using the PQIP setting, the print is a fair bit warmer than PGPP, which makes it too warm for me. Grays take on a definite warm tone. But that should be easily fixable. Colors are bright and saturated, and very close to the colors of PGPP. A very impressive acheivement for a matte paper. If it resists orange shift, I may be using more of this than I ever expected.

Yet another example

Red River Denali Matte: This is what I expected from matte papers, and the reason I don't normally use them. Compared to the Premium Matte, colors are a bit dull and muted, contrast is low, and the grayscale is even warmer. It's not terrible, but I can't image using it when Premium Matte is so much better.

And it's just as well because it shifts quite badly. Not the right paper for these printers.

Kodak Ultima Glossy Paper: Like the other Kodak papers I've tried, this one doesn't absorb the ink very rapidly. The paper isn't quite as smooth as PGPP. It has a subtle texture, but it's the texture of the paper, not of the coating. It's a bit whiter than PGPP, and actually looks quite nice. I used the HWM setting, since it deposits less ink than other settings. Even so, the paper came out of the printer looking very wet. The blacks showed bronzing, and it generally looked horrible. But since I'd received a report that it did take a long time to dry, and was very resistant to orange shift, I set it aside to let it dry. (I must admit, I didn't expect much.)

24 hours later, and what a surprise! Color balance is very close to PGPP, but not as warm. More natural, in my opinion. Red's are still orangey (just like PGPP), but purples look a little better (though not nearly as good as the 2000P). There's a little bit of reticulation in some of the squares of the Bair test target, most notably in the darkest browns and blues. But on the PDI target, and the Adobe version of the Chiquita Banana girl, this isn't visible at all. There's no bronzing, it's sharp, contrast is good, but not too high. Very impressive. If this resists orange shift as well as I've been told, (and if you're willing to wait for it to dry), it could turn out to be an excellent choice.

So far, so good! After two weeks, there's absolutely no orange shift visible at all. Not a perfect paper for these printers, but with a little tweaking, and a little patience, this might be a useful option. I'll keep it in the ozone chamber for a while longer, and we'll see what happens.