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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I just got a big box of costco paper....made in switzerlab, and the very first print was great. Awsesome image and like paul says almost no bronzing, although I sprayed them anyway....I just sent 16 real good looking prints of a young musician who is being signed to his first deal, and i did not even waste one sheet of paper! just used the same settings as ilford smooth gloss. Looks like i should maybe get a couple more boxes? Costco had at least a hundred box of 100 sheets. 18 bucks for a hundred sheets. This is definitley the best glossy paper for UT2 inks. Super image and tone. Thanks again paul for the expert practical advise! DOug M


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Doug,

>I just got a big box of costco paper....made in Switzerland, ...
> Awesome image and like paul says almost no bronzing...


I wish I could find some of this Swiss paper.  The new Japanese version
appears to be Epson Premium Glossy paper, complete with buffered paper and
with no logo (very good news).  The Japanese paper has a higher dmax only
with the hybrid blacks or with UC PK.  It also has more bronzing.

By the way, it's easy to pull UC PK from 7600 carts, and the dmax on Epson
Premium papers with UC PK is significantly better than the MIS PK.  (On the
Swiss paper, the MIS PK is better than UC PK.)  Use a bottom-fill adapter
with the point shortened to 7 mm.  The allows it to both open the poppet
valve and seal well enough that the syringe can suck out the ink.  At $56
for 110 ml, the cost of re-filling carts is still a fraction of the OEM cart
prices, even if multiples of MIS bulk ink costs.  I think the per-cart UC PK
ink cost with this method is close to $6. If one opens 10600 carts the ink
cost drops even more.  Those 500 ml carts can be bought for about $150 last
time I checked.  (I recommend re-fill carts only with the newest and
probably out of stock "refill-friendly" C86 and 2200 type carts.  I do not
recommend bottom filling or re-filling.)

>Looks like i should maybe get a couple more boxes? Costco had at 
>least a hundred box of 100 sheets. 18 bucks for a hundred sheets. 
>This [Swiss version] is definitely the best glossy paper for UT2 inks. 
>Super image and tone...

Yes, I would grab a few more of those Swiss boxes.  What part of the country
are you in?  That is, what Costco still has this Swiss paper?

Paul
www.PaulRoark.com

the costco on emerald in vista ca had a huge stack of them...I can 
probably get you some since you the man when it comes to ink and your 
photos are awesome. I'll stop by tomorrow night on my way home.....Doug 
M
On Nov 21, 2004, at 8:32 AM, Paul Roark wrote:

>
>  Yes, I would grab a few more of those Swiss boxes.  What part of the 
> country
>  are you in?  That is, what Costco still has this Swiss paper?
>


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