As its name would imply, Photo Rag Ultra Smooth is a smooth-surfaced, matte, 100% cotton paper. Its weight is 305gsm and it has a bright, neutral white colour achieved with the addition of moderate amounts of OBAs. While not a particularly prepossessing paper, it’s a stunning performer with UltraChrome HDR inks and delivers deep blacks, good contrast and a wide gamut. Indeed it’s a viable alternative to “glossy” papers and will support a wider range of display conditions. (more…)

In recent years various manufacturers have introduced a range of inkjet papers specifically targeting the look and feel of traditional air-dried fibre-based darkroom papers. These come as a welcome alternative to resin-coated offerings. Whilst none of these (in my opinion) are identical to the best fibre-based papers from darkroom days, differences in absolute surface quality are more than compensated for by the range of surfaces on offer and control over tonality from the deepest shadows through to highlights that digital printing allows. (more…)

Canson Infinity Arches Aquarelle Rag is a coated version of the popular traditional watercolour paper and shares its distinctive cold-pressed texture. The noticeable difference in side by side comparisons is its whiter (but still natural white) colour. This mould-made, 100% cotton paper is available in 310gsm and 240gsm weights. As with all papers in the Canson Infinity range, the gamut and density achieved with UltraChrome HDR inks is very satisfying. (more…)

This is another in a continuing series of posts describing just some of the papers offered by Macquarie Editions. Enormous strides are continually being made in the production of new papers from different sources, production techniques and coatings, of which the latest below is a prime example.

Hahnemühle Sugar Cane is a 300gsm paper made from 75% bagasse (a by-product of raw sugar production) and 25% cotton. Along with Hahnemühle Bamboo it represents an attempt to produce papers from environmentally friendly and renewable resources. Even the cotton content of Sugar Cane is sourced from recycling internal waste. (more…)

This is a beautiful paper. Canson claim a 500 year history for Rives BFK as a traditional printmaking and drawing paper. This mould-made, 100% cotton, 310gsm paper has a vellum texture and a warmth that adds class to images that will benefit from its subtle but distinctive character. (Where more neutrality is required Arches Velin Museum Rag is probably preferable.) (more…)

Arches Velin Museum Rag, based on the centuries old Arches Velin, is another new paper from the Canson Infinity range. It shares the same class leading OBA-free whiteness as Rag Photographique and most of what has been said about Rag Photographique applies here. Where Arches Velin Museum Rag differs is with its fine-grained texture and slightly warmer paper colour. (more…)

Hahnemühle William Turner is a mould-made, 100% cotton paper with a true cold-pressed watercolour surface. It is available in 190gsm and 310gsm weights, with the latter more suited for hanging. The paper colour measures CIE L*a*b* values of 96.1, 0.1, 1.5 (a natural white), presumably achieved by the addition of a small amount of OBAs. With Ultrachrome HDR inks, the gamut is very large for a matte paper and it achieves a satisfying Dmax of 1.66. (more…)

Ilford Galerie Gold Fibre Silk is a new paper here at Macquarie Editions. It’s another example of a baryta (barium sulphate) paper modeled on traditional fibre photographic paper (see also Harman FB Gloss Al). What sets Gold Fibre Silk apart is its almost neutral base colour (measured with CIE L*a*b* values of 97.9, -0.1, -0.4). (more…)

Hahnemühle Museum Etching is one paper that elicits an immediate and positive response and is also one of my personal favourites. This 100% cotton, 350gsm, 0.6mm thick paper is almost like cardboard. It’s the natural warmth and distinctive “copperplate” surface texture that sets this apart. It is definitely one where you’ll want the paper itself to feature prominently in its presentation with generous borders and/or float mounting. (more…)

Harman was formed by six former managers of the long established Ilford company who bought out their manufacturing facilities in the UK. It is named after Alfred Hugh Harman who founded the original company in 1879. With Gloss FB Al, Harman has specifically targeted the B&W fibre-based gelatin silver look to the extent that it uses the same baryta (barium sulphate) as its base … and with a smell that will remind many of their darkroom days! The paper has been further tweaked with the addition of alumina for “a high degree of glossiness, optical image density and vibrancy”. (more…)