Photography News | Issue 56 | photographynews.co.uk
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First tests
Canson InfinityBaryta Prestige Gloss 340gsm From£40.18
Canson’s pedigree as a paper maker stretches back nearly 500 years and nearly 150 years in photographic papers. Its Infinity range, aimed at digital fine art workers, appeared in 2008 and this is where Baryta Prestige Gloss 340gsm sits alongside an extensive collection of finishes to suit all tastes and is one of two baryta papers; the other is Photographique 310gsm Satin. A lot of hype surrounds baryta in inkjet papers and how they have the look and smooth tonality of fibre-based wet darkroom papers. But the fact is that a great many photographers, regardless of age, have never set foot inside a darkroom let alone used fibre papers so the comparison means little. Are baryta papers better at delivering first class prints than non-baryta papers? No, they are just different but not in a day/ night way. However, baryta does help give a smooth tonal transition and suits monochrome output really well, so worth trying if you haven’t tried a baryta paper. With the baryta element out of the way, let’s concentrate on the other specifics of this Canson material. At 340gsm it is a heavyweight inkjet paper and it does have a lovely heft and lies very flat out of the box, so there should be no issues with headstrike. The material does feature optical brightening agents (OBAs) but the specifications claims these are at a very low level, which means that if archival quality is a consideration then this material should not give any major concerns on that front. That of course assumes the rest of your workflow (ink, storage, mounting etc) is up to scratch. The low OBA content does mean the white base is very subtly warm or creamy white. The surface finish is very smooth and a sheen rather than an outright gloss and for you darkroompeople out there, it is like an air-dried fibre glossy paper but perhaps with marginally less sheen. It is a lovely, luxurious finish. When printed, the inked areas are marginally more glossy than the unprinted areas but there are no reflection issues when viewing unframed prints from front on.
Specs
Price 25 sheets A4 £40.18 Availability Packs of 25 sheets A4, A3, A3+, A2. Roll sizes 17inx50ft, 24inx50ft, 36inx50ft, 44inx50ft, 50inx50ft Weight 340gsm Thickness 370um Compatibility Optimised for pigment inks, compatible with dye inks Generic ICC profiles Yes, from website Surface Extra smooth gloss Composition Alpha-cellulose and cotton Acid free Yes OBA content Very low Drying time Immediate Water resistance High Contact Canson-infinity.com
The surface finish is very smooth and a
sheen rather than an outright gloss
Images Prestige Baryta 340 does a great job of scenes rich inmid-tones where good tonal separation is important. Left This Canson’s paper has a lovely, lustrous sheen.
Free ICC generic profiles are available for a wide range of Canon, Epson and HP printers. I used an Epson Sure Color SC-P800 with Epson inks for my test and I tried the generic profile but also made my own using an X-Rite i1 Studio. The prints shown here were made with my profile and the recommended media setting of Premium Luster. I printed a bunch of my usual test files and viewed them under daylight LED lamps. I was really happy with the results. Colour reproduction is accurate but vibrancy is turned down a couple of notches so the approach is less in your face than some papers. That is not a negative thing because a strident approach does not suit everyone – or every picture. As I said, though, comparing the print with the X-Rite test chart (image left) showed good accuracy so no issues here. I was pleased enough with the colour shots but the monochrome results were even better. This Canson material gives impressive tonality and smooth mid-tones (that
Below Nothingwrong at all with the paper’s colour reproduction skills. It has a relatively subtle approach but accuracy is spot on.
baryta thing again) and the creamy base helps tame strong highlights so that they do not glare at you. At the other end of the tonal range, blacks had an impressive D-Max and while I have seen more intense blacks, those delivered by this paper are plenty solid enough and as with the highlights, the deep shadows also did not dominate. The result was a very pleasing tonal balance where blacks, whites and greys looked in harmony with each other with no particular tonal area being more prominent than others. It is not an easy characteristic to explain but perhaps another way of putting it is that the paper lets the picture come across without imposing its own character on the result. Whatever, the end result is very nice indeed. WC
Verdict
For proofing or snapshots you’re not going to reach out for a sheet of Canson Infinity Baryta Prestige Gloss 340gsm because at (roughly) £1.60 a sheet of A4, the price is higher than its closest rivals. But for your portfolio, exhibition and any situations where prime quality is needed, this is a lovely paper and ideal when you need the best possible prints, in either colour or black & white. Pros Overall performance especially with black & white images, feel Cons Price is towards the top end of the scale
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