Which is the best paper for monochrome?

"we are blessed with an array of top-class papers…"

This is an agonisingly difficult choice to make. The reason for the pain is simple; we are blessed with an array of top-class papers and every photographer will have their favourite, although very few will have the time, opportunity, or inclination to test more than a handful. At Professional Imagemaker we have now tested something like 1,000 printer/paper combinations – that’s our job! When trying to decide upon a paper you have to work your way through a number of options and find your way down through a family tree of the characteristics. Here is our attempt at describing the questions you need to answer.

First you have to decide on your printer, (should you have more than one?) which will also govern the maximum print size.
Then decide between matt or not matt surfaces – hence
MK or PK inkset.
Decide if you are prepared to tolerate OBAs in your media.
Decide upon textured, smooth, lustre, or canvas as your surface finish.
Decide if you want 100% cotton rag or an alpha cellulose base.
Decide upon the paper caliper
Decide upon the paper weight. Fine Art Trade Guild demand 250gsm minimum for example. Some printers have a limit on paper thickness.
Decide upon sheet or roll stock (or even board).
Decide upon ABW printing (Epson only) or 'colour' or CIS
Blacks – based on Dmax, metamerism, etc.

The one thing you should not do is be seduced by the print before you, and allow the ‘content’ of the image to determine your choice. Just because you are looking at a magnificent Paul Gallagher print does not mean that his paper/ printer/workflow choice is right for you. Your work might be fundamentally different and fundamentally unsuited to his approach. On the other hand the quality of his prints may show you just how much depth you can invoke in an inkjet print!

The other thing you should avoid is making side-byside comparisons of matt and gloss/lustre prints. The two types are so fundamentally different that matt will always look a little ‘flat’ alongside its flashy, high-Dmax cousin. However, if you allow the matt image to stand alone (and never show a client both) it can import wonderful subtlety to the viewer. It is highly unlikely that an image file prepared for a gloss paper will print perfectly to a matt paper especially in the deeper tones. The slightest tendency to over-saturate the matt paper with too much ink can bring unexpected and unpleasant surprises; a light touch may be needed. If you imagine that such finesse can be achieved with profiling and instruments you may be in for a shock. It is far more likely that you will have to make proof copies and experiment. One advantage of inkjet over silver halide is that you can anticipate much greater print-to-print consistency. Providing you archive the correct file and keep notes about the settings, it is most likely that you will be able to produce identical prints for some time after the first-offs.

Your biggest danger is that your printer will be superseded and the inkjet changed. Although it will most likely be an improvement it will not necessarily be the same!

So far we have avoided answering the question about which is the best paper! Any of the baryta-type papers will create an excellent mimic of an air-dried silver halide fibre-based paper. Our favourites amongst these are Epson Traditional Photo Paper, Permajet Royal, Fotospeed Platinum, Innova Ultra Smooth and almost any of the Hahnemühle baryta papers. Epson TPP and Permajet Royal are particularly flat and well behaved in the printer, Innova Ultra Smooth holds the record for colour fidelity. Some of the Hahnemühle products also carry the well-respected Photo Rag tag. Their Fine Art Pearl 285 is one paper that stands out in our minds. Ilford Galerie has a strong following and performed well in our tests as well as being the most competitive on price.

Outside of the baryta papers our favourite is Epson Premium Luster for it achieves high brightness without the use of OBAs, is quite resistant to marking and has a delightful silk sheen.

The matt papers present even greater problems and even wider choices. Hahnemühle Photo Rag is a recognised standard, against which others are judged and is available as a re-boxed variant from a number of suppliers. It has few vices in use, although there are some brighteners in the mix and we have noted some yellowing with age. It is also available in Ultra Smooth and bright white guises. The Ultra Smooth we are fond of, along with the weighty 350gsm Museum Etching. Museum has a little texture but held detail well and is impressive to hold as an un-mounted print. Their Bamboo also performed very well for the ecologically conscious. The Museo papers have a following in the USA although we found them slightly more challenging to use.

If you are looking for something to mark you out from the crowd Hahnemühle make Photo Rag in a 460gsm weight. St Cuthbert's Mill also used to produce a similar weight in Somerset Velvet (it is textured and we are not sure it is still around). Both, though, are mighty papers, which are impressive when you hold an un-mounted print. Innova also produces the Smooth Cotton High White in a 450gsm (IFA18).

For a plain and simple approach Epson's Archival Matt and Enhanced Matt are well regarded in the specialist monochrome forums. They have a very smooth surface which holds detail well in a mono image.

Looking back over the last few paragraphs we are conscious that we have mentioned quite a number of papers. Despite this they represent but a small fraction of what is available and many of those we have not mentioned have considerable merits. This is the problem you are confronted with, the choice is wide and good; we are blessed with abundance! On the following pages we discuss the pros and cons of matt versus glossy or lustre papers.

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