Photography News 76 WEB

First test

PRICE: £31.95 25 SHEETS A4

PERMAJET.COM

Permajet Titanium Gloss 300 Permajet’s latest addition to its vast inkjet media range is a silver metallic paper that promises to make your pictures leap off the page with incredible detail, lively contrast and rich colour saturation

Permajet recently introduced two new products to its already extensive portfolio, an updated version of FB Gold Silk 300 which we’ll be testing for the next issue, and Titanium Gloss 300gsm which Permajet declares as ‘the ultimate metallic gloss inkjet paper’ on its website. We have seen the term ‘metallic’ used to describe inkjet papers before, sometimes more accurately and appropriately than others. In this case, the paper, thanks to its high silver pigment content, does have a shiny metallic finish and the heavyweight 300gsm base has a silvery, faint grey, very slightly cool look. The 300gsm weight does give the material a lovely feel and it lies perfectly flat before and after printing. Of course, because of its shiny finish, handling the paper carefully by its edges or with cotton gloves is a good idea, but I deliberately rubbed my fingers over the surface as part of the test and it proved respectably resilient to handling. I tested this paper through an Epson SC-P800 with Epson inks, having first made a custom ICC profile using an X-Rite i1 Studio and checked prints under daylight quality lamps. A variety of images were printed including a few I use for every paper review, plus I added a few that I thought might suit – and not suit - this material. Prints emerged touch dry but I left them overnight anyway before evaluation. Overall, the results were impressive, in particular the lively delivery of boldly coloured subjects; but this came without losing subtle nuances within scenes. Also I wasn't sure how portraits would come out but they looked great. I also printed a range of my mono images, from dark gritty shots to smoothly toned scenes, and these came out very nicely too with solid blacks, clean highlights and detailed mid-tones. WC

SETTING SUN Give Titanium Gloss 300 a richly coloured scene and it delivers an impressive vibrant, slightly larger than life result without losing the more subtle hues within the scene

Verdict The Permajet Titanium Gloss 300 is a high quality product that does a fabulous job with the right subject matter. For example, I’mnot sure how it would fare with the muted hues of a misty landscape or a high key portrait but for shots with bold colours or sparkly objects like jewellery, I think it works very well indeed.

SPECS ›  Prices and availability 6x4in 100 sheets £34.95; 7x5in 100 sheets £44.95; A4 25 sheets £31.95; A3 25 sheets £57.95; A3+ 25 sheets £84.95; A2 25 sheets £116.95; 17inx30m£139.95; 24inx30m£229.95; 44inx30m £414.95; 60inx30m£564.95 ›  Price £1.28A4 sheet ›  Weight 300gsm ›  Thickness 0.29mm ›  Whiteness 97 ›  Coatings Single-sided,metallic resin-coated glossy base ›  Optical brightening agents Yes › Contact permajet.com

TEST CHART Our test print came out nicely on Titanium Gloss 300, with good colours, nice blacks and smooth tonal gradation. The deepest black square in the bottom right corner of the test chart showed separation from the black border too

PROS Lovely glossy finish, resistant to handling, great print depth, extensive range of cut sheet sizes CONS Nothing

PORTRAIT Titanium Gloss 300 does not claim to be a portrait paper but I tried it with this high-key shot to see how it would handle it. Actually, I was pleased with the final print, and the paper's punchy approach suited the shot nicely

Issue 76 | Photography News 29

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