Paper
INNOVA
innovaart.com
Exhibition Cotton Gloss 335gsm › Prices A4 25 sheets £27.84, A3 25 sheets £55.68, A3+ 25 sheets £71.04, A2 25 sheets £111.36 › Availability A4, A3, A3+, A2. Rolls 17in, 24in, 36in, 44in, 60in › OBAs None › Acid free Yes › Weight 335gsm › Thickness 390 microns
Soft Textured Bright White Cotton 315gsm › Prices A4 25 sheets £23.04, A3 25 sheets £46.08, A3+ 25 sheets £65.98, A2 25 sheets £92.16 › Availability A4, A3, A3+, A2. Rolls 17in, 24in, 36in, 44in, 60in › OBAs Yes › Acid free Yes › Weight 315gsm › Thickness 460 microns
Innova’s heaviest photo inkjet paper is this 335gsm, 100% cotton variety, with a smooth, flat, gloss surface finish. Rather than a reflective gloss, the finish has a lovely sheen, so works well framed under glass. It’s acid- and OBA-free, suiting archival use, and the paper base is an attractive off-white. There’s no doubting this paper’s obvious quality when it comes to output. The colour images looked exciting, with good vibrancy, and this was achieved without compromising accuracy. There was plenty of depth, too, and shadows were deep with clean, natural blacks. The paper also did well with less punchy shots, suiting portraits and natural history pictures. Its performance with monochrome images was just as accomplished, and I really rated the depth, tonality and contrast the paper produced on some of my favourite images. This paper proved itself to be a very capable all-rounder.
With its bright white base and softly textured finish, this matte Innova paper suits fine art use, but will also satisfy more general printing needs, such as greeting cards and portfolio images. Its base does contain OBAs, so the paper is white, but not aggressively so – it’s more of an off-white than a brilliant white. Whatever its tone, this material delivered a skilled performance across a broad selection of photographic genres. I had no complaints with its handling of colour images, which I felt was very competent across my test shots. The matte finish might compromise the more vibrant images, but that wasn’t an issue at all, making this paper suitable for most subject genres. This Innova paper was no less capable with black & white pictures, which it reproduced with excellent contrast – solid blacks for a matte finish and pure whites, and all the mid-tones in between producing well and looking impressively smooth.
PERMAJET
permajet.com
FB Royal Gloss 310
FB Distinction 320
› Prices A4 25 sheets £32.95, A3 25 sheets £64.95, A3+ 25 sheets £81.95, A2 25 sheets £129.95 › Availability A4, A3, A3+, A2. Rolls 17in, 24in, 44in, 60in › OBAs Yes › Acid free Yes › Weight 310gsm › Thickness 340 microns
› Prices A4 25 sheets £35.95, A3 25 sheets £70.95, A3+ 25 sheets £88.95, A2 25 sheets £135.95 › Availability A4, A3, A3+, A2. Rolls 17in, 24in, 44in › OBAs Yes › Acid free Yes › Weight 320gsm › Thickness 350 microns
FB Distinction 320 belongs to the same family of FB papers as Royal Gloss 310 – and they share some common qualities. For instance, both papers lie flat to avoid any printer-loading issues. Distinction 320, however, has the whiter base and its gloss finish is smoother and slightly more strident. View the papers independently and that is not obvious, but place them side by side and the cooler, brighter base and much more gloss finish of Distinction 320 becomes immediately apparent. But there are no qualms with the paper’s performance. It handled the wide variety of subjects very well – and the white base did give a greater impact. However, this look might not appeal to every photographer, nor will it suit every picture. Vibrantly colourful scenes were given an extra lift by Distinction 320 – and that effect was also evident on contrasty black & white images, although it was never over the top.
Permajet developed FB Royal Gloss 310 from its FB Royal and FB Gloss, producing a baryta paper with excellent lie-flat qualities, for hassle-free printer loading. This also helps avoid potential problems, such as printer head strike. The 310gsm base is acid-free, while OBAs are used to ensure a bright off-white look. Multi- layer technology lends a hand to produce a high colour gamut with pigment inks, and a high Dmax rating for prints with impressive blacks and rich shadows. My test prints looked lovely on this paper, which has a surface reminiscent of unglazed glossy prints from the wet darkroom. I thought it did well with richly coloured shots, giving results with bags of punch. Primaries and secondaries came out really well, but subtle scenes looked just as good, with shadows and highlights handled skilfully. Black & white images were great, too, with plenty of contrast and a lovely tonal range.
Issue 89 | Photography News 29
photographynews.co.uk
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