Digital BW, The Print

I asked about the Premier Art Matte BW being discontinued because I was interested in it as an alternative to HPR for a couple of projects I may be doing.

I've used HPR (and only HPR) for years — both BW and color prints that I sell through frame shops and historical societies. Nearly all of my work is of a historical nature. I've recently had two local historical societies ask about making less expensive color prints that they would sell for fund raising purposes.

The reason I asked about the Premier Art Matte BW is because of comments here indicating that it's a good paper and fairly scuff resistant. I think the scuff resistance is going to be important for the type of prints these two groups are interested in selling, and HPR probably wouldn't work all that well. Besides, it's too expensive for this type of project.

If I can't find the Premier Art Matte BW, what would you suggest I consider as an alternative? Paul mentioned Red River. I've used Red River cards, but not their sheet or roll papers. I'd prefer to use something that's not loaded with OBAs, but could live with the OBAs if I have to. I'd prefer to use a paper that's got good archival qualities since these are organizations that are interested in their local history and the prints will depict that history.

Thanks....

Tom

"keesindy@..." <restorephoto@...> wrote:
>
> ...interested in ... an alternative to HPR ...
> 
>... Nearly all of my work is of a historical nature. I've recently had two local historical societies ask about making less expensive color prints that they would sell for fund raising purposes.
> 
> The reason I asked about the Premier Art Matte BW is because of comments here indicating that it's a good paper and fairly scuff resistant. ...
> 
> ... I'd prefer to use something that's not loaded with OBAs, ...
> I'd prefer to use a paper that's got good archival qualities ...

Aside from the high dmax, I don't see the Matte BW papers of either Premier Art or Red River as being close to HPR.  They are loaded with OBAs.  I've never tested the relative quality of OBAs, but they are all dyes that fade fast as far as I can tell. 

Aside from the lower dmax, I think Epson Premier Art Scrapbook paper might be a good choice.  It's said to be the most archival, it's relatively scuff resistant, and it's cheap at Atlex.com.  Larger sizes are available as Premier Art Smooth (Hot Press) Fine Art 205.  I've used it and the 325 version for my historical photo printing for the local museum.  I give them a light spray with Premier Art Print Shield for even more scuff resistance.

Paul
www.PaulRoark.com

Hello Tom,

>I think the scuff resistance is going to be important for the 
>type of prints these two groups are interested in selling...

The most scuff resistant paper I've found in my testing is Museo Max.  It's so tough you can't scrape it off with a fingernail.  Pretty amazing stuff.


Regards,
Clayton


Info on black and white digital printing at    
http://www.cjcom.net/digiprnarts.htm
I-Trak 2.1   http://www.cjcom.net/itrak.htm

Thank you Paul and Clayton. I'm going to order some of the Museo Max and the Premier Art Smooth and see which works best. I really appreciate the suggestions.

Since I work at home (and my wife has asthma), I need to avoid the spraying of prints. I'll see which paper works best without any spraying.

Tom

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "ClaytonJ" <cj@...> wrote:

>
> 
> 
> Hello Tom,
> 
> >I think the scuff resistance is going to be important for the 
> >type of prints these two groups are interested in selling...
> 
> The most scuff resistant paper I've found in my testing is Museo Max.  It's so tough you can't scrape it off with a fingernail.  Pretty amazing stuff.
> 
> 
> Regards,
> Clayton
> 
> 
> Info on black and white digital printing at    
> http://www.cjcom.net/digiprnarts.htm
> I-Trak 2.1   http://www.cjcom.net/itrak.htm
>