I am interested in knowing what kind of paper everyone uses to print their photo-art. I am in search of the perfect watercolor, canvas, etc. paper. My only problem is that since I am in South Korea I will need to order it online.

I don't think this is a question anyone has asked before. If so there is a thread out there could someone please send me a link?

Well...tough one to answer. I know Epson makes a watercolor paper of some sort and other companies probably make similar papers. I get my digital art printed as Giclee prints on actual Watercolor paper (Arches, hot pressed 140lb) so my experience with printing at home is pretty limited. At one place I worked, we used to print large format inkjet to canvas on occasion....but it required some interesting color adjustments and a fixative sprayed on to prevent smudging. http://www.inkjetart.com/ can probably help you match up a good paper type to your printer.

Thanks, Greg, I will check out that link. I should have mentioned that I have an Epson Stylus Photo 1280 printer. I get excellent prints. I have been using Epson's Glossy and HP's Matte paper for my prints up to 8x10. For my larger prints up to 13x19 I have been using Epson's Matte Super B. Do you think I could use regular watercolor paper with this printer? I am sure I could find it in some of the art supply stores here. My objective is to make my photo-art look less digital by using the correct paper for the art.

Lynda, I have done extensive testing on paper and it doesn't work very well putting plain watercolor paper in the printer. An Epson rep told me the reason is the paper needs to have a coating on it for ink jet printers, there papers work beautifully by the way. I have found a glossy paper at Frys that only sells reg for $3.99, frequently they put it on sale for $1.99, this is 20 sheets It is called photo glossy paper by GQ Great Quality.
I have also found an excellent canvas paper Ink Works creative series Artist canvas 81/2x11 that is $11.99 for 10 sheets also at Frys, it works beautifully and perfect everytime. Then there is a paper place in San Diego, I will have to find the info on, that has everything imaginable for printing and size wise.
If you wanted to try some I could send them to you from Frys, I doubt they would send to you but maybe.

Lynda - got your email but will also post here as well. platscha is correct about needing to coat traditional watercolor papers. I have never actually run watercolor paper through my inkjet (not with real success anyway) but I would imagine it is similar to the Giclee prints I get done. It will need some sort of coating to prevent excessive dot gain. With no coating, the ink droplets will spread too far and bleed when they hit the paper, causing you to loose fine detail (think of newsprint). Even with the coating, you will have a bit more dot gain than normal so be careful in Photoshop of where you set the black point. One advantage to this slight softening....you can get away with smaller file sizes! :D

I have also been looking at different papers to print my art on and have found a few issues that might be of interest to you. I found that not only did I need paper that I felt was appropriate for the image but also I wanted something that was going to last and not discolor over time.

With inkjet printers there are loads of issues and different solutions. The paper you choose should be acid free, then you need to look at which inks to use for the best prints.

One thing you could do is contact a few companies and ask them to send you a set of papers so that you can choose which ones you feel will be best for your type of art.

Here are a few companies that I contacted
Lyson www.lyson.com - make ink and paper
Inveresk www.inveresk.co.uk - somerset velvet - Bockingford.

Most of the companies that deal with these papers work nearly exclusively with web orders so they will more that likely post abroad as well.

I tried water colour paper and was very disappointed in the results. I thought it might add something to the image but the dispersing of the ink was too great and the image lost clarity.

Good luck, I would be interested to hear which paper you finally choose.

This is the place i mentioned in my earlier thread,
Digital Art Supplies
4901 Morena Blvd. #1109
San Diego Ca 92117
order on line or call
3www.digitalartsupplies.com
phone#1-877-534-4278

they will send you a nice packet of samples for free
I am most pleased with a paper called Somerset Velvet it makes unbelievable prints in an ink jet

ultimately you do need to use acid free paper and archival inks for long lasting prints or if you are going to sell them but there is only one printer I think an epson that even offers archival ink

you can spray your print and also used ulv glass which helps when framing

as for watercolor paper, there is a local artist who uses it because he washes his prints after printing with water and it give a total realistic watercolor effect, he also applies some oil paint or acrylics to some that make them appear really hand done, he is very successful getting really big bucks for his prints

platscha,

I have never thought of putting water on a print made on watercolour paper before - I will have to try this out.

Out of the samples of paper that I recieved from various companies I was also most impressed with somerset velvet.

Clare

Thanks, everyone. I am going to get some samples. I can't wait to try the water trick. Clare, let us know if it works for you.

platscha and clare -- I noticed on the Digital Art Supplies website that the Somerset Velvet was an UNcoated paper, but the Somerset Velvet PE was coated for use in inkjets. Do you know which one you used? Folks usually recommend using the coated papers, so I was wondering...
Thanks. :)

both seem to work well in this case
producing deep lovely colors

You may want to check this (http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=3141) thread.

A problem I found with non-Epson papers which print decent colors is that the inks take quite long to dry. What then happens is the pizza wheels (which feed the paper after the ink has been put down) leave tracks from dark areas into light ones. I'm not sure if the newer printers still have pizza wheels. InkJetArt has a note on how to remove the pizza wheels.

CJ,

I have just looked at the brocher that came with my paper, there are 2 different types of somerset enhanced.

The original was 'somerset velvet radient' for use in the Giclee printing, this is the uncoated paper.

Then they made 'somerset enhanced' for use in inkjets, this is the coated paper and comes in either satin, velvet or textured.

I have not decided as to which is my favorite. I only have the coated type.

BigAl,

Thanks for the link I'll check that out, and I am very interested in removing those pizza wheels!

lglogan,

I haven't tried the water trick yet, I might give it a go later - I'll post my finding as soon as I can.

Clare & Platscha, check this (http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2612) thread on the "waterproofness of inkjet inks". You'll have to be careful of your ink/paper combination for Platscha's trick to work.

These are seriously interesting links thinks bigAl.

I am currently using an epson and an HP printer at the moment. Thank for the link about the epson ink, this has saved me alot of experimental time and wasted ink. I'll use my HP, until I replace my epson inks with pigment inks.

Thanks again .... its play time!

Clare

platscha and clare - thanks for the info about your sample papers.

BigAl -- thanks for the reminder links.

It's time to try some new papers! :)

Greg - where do you get your Giclee prints made?

Here you go chiquitita -

http://www.gicleeprint.net/index.shtm


I was pretty happy with the quality but I think I might try a different printer for my next batch of prints. (once I can save up the money!) The quality was very good...but I have seen better. (but more expensive) My ultimate goal is to have my own studio one day, that will combine traditional printmaking (etching, woodcut, etc...) with the new digital stuff. It's only a far away dream at the moment...

That is so funny. Last week I had a request for something where I would need a Giclee print made and I called those people. The guy was really nice. I am not sure I am still going to do the Giclee but keep me updated as to your results if you go with anyone else.

This may be a dumb blonde question, but what is a Giclee print?

From the website:
http://www.gicleeprint.net/abtGclee.shtm

"About Giclee Printing
Giclee (jhee-clay) - Derived from the french verb gicler meaning to squirt. The term giclee print typically connotes a certain elevation in printmaking technology. Images are high resolution digital scans printed with archival quality inks onto various substrates. The giclee process provides better color accuracy than other means of reproduction.
Giclee prints (also known as Iris prints) are advantageous to artists who find it not feasible to mass produce their work, but want to reproduce their art as needed.

Once an image is archived, additional reproductions can be made with minimal effort and cost. Thus the up-front cost of mass production is eliminated and printing is done on demand.

Another tremendous advantage to Giclee printing is that artwork can be reproduced to almost any size and on various media, giving the artist the ability to customize prints for a specific client."

I use EPSON paper and inks
Textured Fine Art Paper 36in x 44in sheets
Smooth Fine Art Paper 36in x 44in sheets
Double Weight Matte Paper 44in x 82ft roll
Glossy Photo Weight Paper 44in x 65ft roll
Canvas Roll 44in x 40ft roll

Sometimes Arches Watercolor or
Waterford

steve,

do you think it would be possible, or maybe a better word is advisable, to cut roll canvas to 8 1/2 x 11 to feed to an epson 740 ? don't think there's epson brand precut @ that size; and tho it pains my wallet to admit, their brands seem to look best.

thoughts?

kathleen

I don’t know Kathleen, I have a EPSON 9600.
EPSON says no on there web page. Sorry

Hey steve i've got an epson 9600 to, its an awesome printer. I use canvas, medium weight textured fine art paper, glossy photo and epson premium luster. I usually spray my prints with a krylon liquid laminate or bulldog ultra, These work very well, I have actually run prints under water just to test the protection and it is absolutely waterproof, very nice indeed. One thing I will note is epson now has some profiles for the 9600 on there site for a few different papers that epson makes, These profiles work great for color matching prints. Anyways www.atlex.com is very cheap for paper as well as www.buy.com

Stoney