Current 17"x25" matte fine art papers
2016-04-22 by rdeloe1@...
I'm trying to source 17"x25" matte fine art paper in sheets (without OBAs). It's a hard size to find, and especially hard to find in Canada. This size is ideal for me because I can make 16" x 24" prints with a one inch border from images in the 3:2 format. Lots of people use this format so I hope this thread might be of wide interest.
In my case, I'm printing on an Epson 3880 with Eboni Variable Tone (but this thread should be of interest to anyone printing black and white using Piezography, Eboni, or ABW.
Others have asked this question years ago, and got suggestions such as cutting sheets from 17" rolls, or cutting 24" x 36" sheets in half to make 17" x 24" sheets. Those are fall-back options... but I'm really hoping to find actual sheets in a box that are 17" x 25"! Previous responses from years ago are also outdated because some suggestions don't seem to be available anymore (e.g., Hawk Mountain Condor Natural doesn't seem to be available in 17" x 25" anymore).
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To get started, here are some I know about, with comments on characteristics in two cases. If you have experience with these papers, or any other, please add comments on things like dMax, texture, colour (is it warm, is it neutral?), etc.
* Red River makes Aurora Fine Art Natural in 17"x25". It's very reasonably priced, and has a nice weight and texture (I'd call it 'semi-smooth'). Unfortunately, I wasn't satisfied with the blacks; dMax was far too low for me. The darkest black looked like a dark gray in comparison to other papers.
* Premier Art offers their Smooth Fine Art 325 gsm paper in 17" x 25", but Atlex and other Premier Art suppliers that I know of don't have it in their inventories. This would be ideal for me as this is my current favourite paper. It's double-sided, very smooth, not very warm in tone, and has what I consider to be very good dMax with Eboni Variable Tone ink.
* Inkpress makes something called Rag Warm Tone 300 gsm. They have Canadian and US web sites.
* ITSupplies sells a paper called Illuminata Photo Cotton 300 Warm. Is this another version of the Inkpress paper? The description of the two papers is identical, so I wonder.
* MOAB offers Entrada Rag Natural 300 in 17" x 25".
In my case, I'm printing on an Epson 3880 with Eboni Variable Tone (but this thread should be of interest to anyone printing black and white using Piezography, Eboni, or ABW.
Others have asked this question years ago, and got suggestions such as cutting sheets from 17" rolls, or cutting 24" x 36" sheets in half to make 17" x 24" sheets. Those are fall-back options... but I'm really hoping to find actual sheets in a box that are 17" x 25"! Previous responses from years ago are also outdated because some suggestions don't seem to be available anymore (e.g., Hawk Mountain Condor Natural doesn't seem to be available in 17" x 25" anymore).
------------------
To get started, here are some I know about, with comments on characteristics in two cases. If you have experience with these papers, or any other, please add comments on things like dMax, texture, colour (is it warm, is it neutral?), etc.
* Red River makes Aurora Fine Art Natural in 17"x25". It's very reasonably priced, and has a nice weight and texture (I'd call it 'semi-smooth'). Unfortunately, I wasn't satisfied with the blacks; dMax was far too low for me. The darkest black looked like a dark gray in comparison to other papers.
* Premier Art offers their Smooth Fine Art 325 gsm paper in 17" x 25", but Atlex and other Premier Art suppliers that I know of don't have it in their inventories. This would be ideal for me as this is my current favourite paper. It's double-sided, very smooth, not very warm in tone, and has what I consider to be very good dMax with Eboni Variable Tone ink.
* Inkpress makes something called Rag Warm Tone 300 gsm. They have Canadian and US web sites.
* ITSupplies sells a paper called Illuminata Photo Cotton 300 Warm. Is this another version of the Inkpress paper? The description of the two papers is identical, so I wonder.
* MOAB offers Entrada Rag Natural 300 in 17" x 25".