Today I took delivery of some new inkjet paper that I wanted to try out. It’s a traditional Baryta paper from First Call Photographic and I have to tell you that it’s excellent. And not only is it excellent, its exceptional value as well.
In terms of papers you might know, it’s quite similar to the well regarded Ilford Gold Fibre Silk and it responds similarly to colour. The level of detail you can reproduce is superb as is the dynamic range and colour handling. Having now printed a few images using both papers, there is virtually no difference when viewing this side by side with the gold fibre (except that I feel much happier about the price). The prints have a lovely rich colour and a three dimensional feel that makes you think you could reach into them.
The only downside to the paper at the moment is that there are no profiles available. If you are using an Epson 3880 printer, you can download a profile I created from my Lenscraft website. You should also set the paper handling in your print driver to a Lustre or Silk surface with a paper thickness of 0.4mm – it’s quite a thick, heavy paper.
If you are using printer other than the Epson 3880 and don’t have the ability to create your own profile, I suggest setting your printer to manage the print. The paper appears to respond very closely to what you see on screen so it’s quite possible the printer colour management will be fine. Of course if you do prefer to use a printer colour profile, you could always invest the money you saved by buying this paper into a bespoke profile from a profiling service.
This paper is definitely worth trying if you like to make your own prints. Unfortunately, if you are outside the UK the postal costs may make it uneconomical.
The Lightweight Photographer 