Digital BW, The Print

I found that my local Costco stores were out of the paper I tried and liked
previously, so I ordered some on-line.  What I received is a totally
different paper, even thought the product numbers are the same.

 

The old Costco-Kirkland Photo Paper appeared to be an upgraded Epson Glossy
Photo paper (complete with Epson logo on the back), but with a better dmax
with MIS PK (about 2.0, Epson UC PK did not do as well), and just a slight
amount of bronzing.  Overall, I thought it made an excellent glossy paper
that needed no spraying to deal with the bronzing and smudging that the
micro-porous papers are subject to.  It had an acidic paper backing, so it
would no be archival.  The old paper indicated it was made in Switzerland.

 

The new Costco-Kirkland paper appears to be a very slightly modified Epson
Premium Glossy paper.  Perhaps the most important difference from the Epson
Premium Glossy paper is that the Costco version has no logo on the back.
For MIS PK the new paper is a step backward, because the MIS PK is weak on
Epson Premium papers unless it is sprayed.  However, with UC PK, the new
paper has a dmax of 2.4 fresh, and about 2.3 the next day. (For the C86, the
DuraBrite K or the MIS Universal K (both hybrids) will also probably do very
well, but I have not tested them.)  The paper has the usual Epson Glossy
characteristics, one important one being that the interior paper is
buffered, so it is likely to have a very long life.  (Wilhelm rates the
Epson Premium papers at >200 years.)  Bottom line, we have an acid-free,
logo-free glossy paper for $0.15 per letter-size sheet.  The new paper can
be identified by the "Made in Japan" sticker on the back of the box.

 

Paul

www.PaulRoark.com <http://www.paulroark.com/>  



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