I've been testing fine art papers for Epson and HP "B" sized printers, and I've come across a real diamond in the rough. Epson's Watercolor Paper Radiant White costs less than half as much as their Velvet Fine Art Paper, but produces comparable results with a higher archival rating.
Both papers have a bright white surface that produce vibrant images, feature texture and weight that feel good in the hands, and dries instantly for easy handling. I've done many side-by-side prints with both stocks, and the watercolor images come very close to the vibrancy of those printed on Velvet Fine Art. The kicker is, you can get 13" x 19" (Super B size) sheets of Epson Watercolor for about a $1 a sheet, and the Velvet Fine Art runs about $3 a print.
Another interesting note is that the archival permanence for the Watercolor is 92 years compared to 61 years for Velvet Fine Art. I can use the regular sheet feeder on an Epson R2400 for the Watercolor, but had to use the manual sheet feeder for the Velvet, which is a heavier paper stock.
No doubt, the Epson Velvet Fine Art paper is fantastic. It is heavier than the Watercolor and has a better D-Max rating. But when I put large B&W images next to each other (printed on both papers), I'm thrilled by how well the Watercolor prints hold up to those on the Velvet Fine Art... for about a third of the price.
Technorati Tags: digital photography, product review, The Digital Story
Thank you for the tip about Epson's 'Watercolor Paper Radiant White'. You said you liked this for B&Ws. Is it equally usable for color work?
Both of these papers are excellent for color work. As with B&W, the Velvet Fine Art paper is slightly richer in the shadow detail and a tad sharper, but that's only noticeable when you place the same prints side by side on the different stocks.
I am trying to get a decent print from the watercolour paper with my Epson 2200, matte ink, with no success.
The print looks very wimpy, the black tones block up starting at about 40 40 40 RGB, the black is gray, very horrible.
I'm using the profile from Epsons site and have tried everything I can think of.
The same files print spectacularly on enhanced matte.
any ideas?
I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don't know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.
Susan
http://sketchingdrawing.com
I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don't know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.
Susan
http://sketchingdrawing.com
I have been using my Quick Cam for 5 days and I realized that the more you use it the more features it seems to have lol.
I came across this paper on ebay. I had just got the Epson R2400 (used) and wanted to print using the Matte...
Found 20 sheets for 15 dollars w/S&H
Loved the very first print I did with this paper. I used color for the first 5 prints...
When I switched to B&W using the Advanced Feature... WOW the image was gorgeous!
Do not know if I read this article when I bought the paper but just wanted to add my success story...
Zuazua
I really enjoyed reading your wisdom, obviously you know what are you talking about! Your site is so easy to navigate too, I’ve bookmarked it in my favourites :-D
Thanks for this very helpful review which has just saved me c£50 as I was about to order the Velvet! About to embark on my first foray into printing some of my nature photos, hope I get the sort of results you describe.
Kiri
www.kiri-online.co.uk