Search For Best Non-OBA Matte Paper
2008-01-11 by Clayton Jones
Hello All, I've been using mostly VFA for a long time because it has great dmax, depth, richness, etc., really gorgeous paper. But it's so white it's hard to find mat board for it. I have an on-going project selling matted prints at a gift shop, and the recent non-OBA paper threads got my curiosity up so I've been searching for the best non-OBA matte paper for K3 inks (my earlier paper tests were with Eboni - there's quite a difference - see my other post on Eboni/K3 differences). The main ingredient of "best" for me is dmax, followed by other things. I would like a paper on which my prints can hold their own with the VFA prints. Paul suggested I try Premier Fine Art Hot Press 270 (PFA) so I got some and gave it a test run. An important part of this test was the availability of an accurate dmax reading with a densitometer a friend now has and has graciously offered to read my test prints. I ended up not liking PFA very much, but found one I like better in Innova's Soft Texture Art (STA). First thing was dmax. With K3 ink, VFA dmax is 1.75 (I think the best matte paper dmax I've heard of), so that's my baseline for comparison. PFA is 1.61 and STA is 1.66. I also tried Merlin Natural (1.55) and Museo max (no number yet but looks slightly less than PFA and has the sheen problem mentioned below). Here some other observations about PFA: - hard to feed into printer, STA feeds much easier (maybe the rollers can't grab the smooth surface...) - burnishes and scuffs easily, even after extended drying. Large black area had a nice shiny roller mark. STA had no such problems. - black areas have a reflective sheen at certain angles which has the effect of looking like very weak dmax. STA print does not do this. - bad low end shadow compression; difficult to correct, with most efforts weakening the dark areas even more. STA has very nice shadow separation, plus better dmax to start with, so is much easier and more satisfying to work with.) - requires long drying time before evaluation can take place, with dmax looking best after 4 to 5 hours. - doesn't take K3 inks as easily. Spent more time correcting for color casts to get a convincing photographic look, was never fully satisfied. STA handled this much more easily. - is a nice bright paper, hard smooth surface. STA is medium textured, similar to VFA (Innova also has Cold Press Art, all else the same but with heavy texture) - Print looked a bit flat and lifeless compared to STA version (same for Museo Max, BTW). STA version has a 3-dimentionality and richness that resembles VFA. This is a very subtle thing, maybe not an issue for some but I'm sensitive to it. PFA made a nice looking print, but the STA and VFA versions look better to me. - Much cheaper than VFA, STA in between VFA at Atlex = $24.88/20 -> 1.25/sheet PFA at Atlex = $16.65/25 -> 0.67/sheet STA at Shades = $20.49/25 -> 0.82/sheet STA is a tiny bit warmer in color than PFA, but both look good with BW Westminster rag board. >--------------------------------------------------------- Bottom line for me was STA was much easier to work with (printer feed, open shadows, great K3 response, faster dryup time), made better looking prints (dmax, depth, richness), and was more durable (no roller marks, scuffing, burnishing). With PFA I always felt the paper was fighting me. STA felt like a long-time good friend helping me to do the work. The STA prints don't have quite the dmax punch of VFA, but the prints still look great. The warmer paper tone adds a richness that VFA lacks. I think it will be good for this project. I've ordered some and will report back after some time with it. So far, having tried PFA, Museo Max and Merlin Smooth (and with Richard Smallfield reporting that Condor Natural has poor dmax), Innova's STA is the only one that even comes close to competing with VFA. If anyone has any other non-OBA matte paper they think I should try please contact me. Regards, Clayton Info on black and white digital printing at http://www.cjcom.net/digiprnarts.htm