Which A3 Photo Paper to go for?

Paulmack

Paulmack

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I have just bought myself a Canon Pixma Pro 9000 A3 Printer which should land in a few days time so now I need to look for some paper.

I was in Calumet a few days ago looking at one and its prints compared the HP range and the guy there seemed to know what he was talking about and he said the one thing he would recommend when printing is to use Canon paper as it will match the printers profile with no messing and give excellent results and I can see where he is coming from when he showed me the comparisons.... But is this really true, should I stick to Canon paper when printing?
And also just how difficult is it to set up a printer profile using other branded paper?

Not really looked into printing much so its a bit of a brand new topic for me and one I can honestly say I know sod all about so any help would be appreciated.

One last thing... Where to buy the paper from, any suggestions?

Cheers
 
I use a HP 9180 and work with quite a few different papers. Non of which are HP but all give excellent results:

Permajet Oyster 271 great quality for most prints.
Hahnemuhle Photo Rag 308 for fine art prints.
Permajet Artist Classic 210 for fine art prints.
Calumet have their own papers and the Silvercross White 300 exhibition grade is the dogs danglies for black & white (gives an almost metalic look).

I mainly print A3 and all the above are available in that size as well as A3+. The Canon Pro 9000 is meant to be excellent Paul. I nearly went for that or the 9500 but was swayed by a very good price on the 9180 at Focus last year. I have to say that I have not been disappointed (touch wood).

I don't know whether I have been lucky but my prints do match what I see on screen. My monitor has been calibrated (thanks to Welly & his travelling Spider). I have never used differing profiles. I choose whatever option in the menu suits the paper and go with that.

Hope that helps Paul

Chris :)
 
Cheers Chris, just what I wanted to hear.

The guy at Calumet recommended the 9180 but that was nearly £400 yet I only paid £260 for the 9000 if you include the cashback Canon are offering so there wasnt much of a choice really.

I have a calibration unit on its way so once that is done I hope to see some good results from the printing.

Cheers
 
I think the reason he would have recommended the B9180 vs the 9000 is that it is a pigment printer, and so prints are much more resistant to fading and water damage.

Personally I would not sell prints from a dye based printer.

As for papers, if you don't want to spend the time with creating custom profiles, then use Canon's own papers. When downloading ICC profiles, I generally don't see many for Canon printers (mostly Epson and HP).
 
At the moment selling prints is not an issue because I dont plan on doing it. For now I just want to be able to take some good photographs then print off and appreciate my efforts.
The ability to print on canvas will also be good for the family as they always wants pics of my little girl.

I must admit I am little daunted by the whole prospect of printing when people start talking about profiling calibrating etc. My experience is put the paper in and print but I suppose if I want to see the best of my work then I really need to start learning......

Anyone recommend any retailers for paper, not looking for the cheapest but at the same time I don't want to spend mega buck only to find I am binning prints until I get it right.
 
I get my A3 paper from 7dayshop or play I usually find them cheapest iirc 7dayshop also do ilford paper which is suppose to work well with the canon printers.
 
Does anyone use a roll of paper?
 
Maybe I did not make myself clear. If you want to learn the least about the processes of calibration and ICC profiles and making custom profiles for each paper, then it is best to stick to Canon branded papers as the will generally have built in profiles in the print driver, and you will get more acurate results.
 
I have a Canon A3 printer (iX4000) and use either Canon papers or Ilford's Galerie. I get the paper from 7day (as well as genuine Canon inks). Not done a longevity test between the papers but both seem to last well when mounted behind glass and out of direct sunlight.
 
FranchiseJuan said:
Maybe I did not make myself clear. If you want to learn the least about the processes of calibration and ICC profiles and making custom profiles for each paper, then it is best to stick to Canon branded papers as the will generally have built in profiles in the print driver, and you will get more acurate results.
Click to expand...

Yeah mate I did understand what you were saying, but after looking at the all the different brands of papers available it may be worthwhile putting some effort into understanding printing a whole let better and not being tied to just using Canon paper to save me the effort...if that makes sense?

Now then, anyone in my area fancy coming to show me how?? hahaha
 
Nod said:
I have a Canon A3 printer (iX4000) and use either Canon papers or Ilford's Galerie. I get the paper from 7day (as well as genuine Canon inks). Not done a longevity test between the papers but both seem to last well when mounted behind glass and out of direct sunlight.
Click to expand...

Which Canon paper do you go for then, the fine art, glossy, pro etc etc.
Theres quite a few different types and without buying them all to see whats what it would be good to see what is the best all rounder
 
gloss type paper, go for say permajet gloss or harman crystal jet gloss (luster varients as well)

there are also nice fibre based papers around too.

personally I don't see the point in fine art papers they don't offer anything to the inkjet printer anymore


Paulmack said:
I have just bought myself a Canon Pixma Pro 9000 A3 Printer which should land in a few days time so now I need to look for some paper.

I was in Calumet a few days ago looking at one and its prints compared the HP range and the guy there seemed to know what he was talking about and he said the one thing he would recommend when printing is to use Canon paper as it will match the printers profile with no messing and give excellent results and I can see where he is coming from when he showed me the comparisons.... But is this really true, should I stick to Canon paper when printing?
And also just how difficult is it to set up a printer profile using other branded paper?

Not really looked into printing much so its a bit of a brand new topic for me and one I can honestly say I know sod all about so any help would be appreciated.

One last thing... Where to buy the paper from, any suggestions?

Cheers
Click to expand...
 
I have the B9180 and use a variety of paper (not, I might add HP paper). I would agree that both Permajet and Hahnemuhle produce excellent results. Both (and, I believe, most) of the paper manufacturers provide ICC profiles for the majority of printers that are downloadable via their websites. These are easy to install and use (well, on the B9180 anyway...;)). Permajet have a variety box containing a wide range of their papers... good way to try before you buy in bulk.

admirable said:
Does anyone use a roll of paper?
Click to expand...
I have just purchased a roll of Hahnemuhle Fine Art Daguerre Canvas but haven't used it yet... will report back when I do.

I buy most of my paper from www.online-paper.co.uk. Reasonable prices, good selection and delivery has always been next day.. :clap:
 
permajet
ilford
harman

all do basic gloss and luster style papers with ICC profiles for the canon 9000, they also do matt and FB papers too. permajet and ilford also make cotton rag papers if you are intrested in those types.

basically you'll not see a whole load of difference bettween the various gloss papers with the main difference being weight and the levels of OB in them. buy the cheapest main brand paper you can get is my advice
 
Ilford Gallerie Smooth and Classic Pearl. Outstanding stuff. I haven't tried any gloss. Get printer settings of the Ilford web site. I can't be bothered with trying to find anything better.
 
Paul, I notice you are from Liverpool and have visited the Calumet store at Brunswick Dock, regarding paper choice speak to Duncan the manager (you can tell him Chris Gill sent you if you like!) he is a font of knowledge and will not ******** you :-)

He will explain how simple it is to download a paper profile to your PC/Mac and the use that profile to print, the difference is noticeable I promise you and when you calibrate your screen, well dogs dangly bits :-)

Duncan will match most internet prices on paper (and other items as well), just ask him!!

Chris Gill
 
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