Frankly irritated by Epson (paper options)

[kat180]

I emailed Epson to ask if they do a sample pack of their fine art papers- I cannot afford to just straight out and buy these without trying them first, Im aware may take a few goes to find the right paper to best show off my work.

Their email back was polite but the answer was no, and they know of no other website/shops that do either.

Im annoyed really. I would like to get the best out of my new printer and was interested to try out Epson's papers. Given that we have just spent near £1,000 on a new printer from them, I don't see why they can't provide (to buy) sample packs for their various paper- there is a lot of choice.

Anyway. Does anyone else know anywhere that does sample packs of Epson fine art paper? I have a small trial pack of innova paper coming from fineartfoto- are these a good brand? And considering a sample pack of Hahnemühle. Any pointers on which brand is good for giclee fine art prints?

[The Crofter]

I agree but there are several enlightened manufacturers out there that do sample packs as you are finding out, add Permajet to the list. My staples from Epson are Premium Semi Gloss, Luster and Watercolour Radiant White. Hahnemuhle paper covers high quality output from watercolour scans and I have not needed to try elsewhere. Expensive but the customer pays.

[Kevgermany]

Kat, Epson used to put a sample paper pack in their printers. Looks as if it died a death.

I get the feeling that people were abusing free sample packs of paper, and the suppliers who were prepared to do a paid version found that the market wasn't really there.

I agree with Pat's suggestions. However I've also found Ilford's papers reasonably priced and give good results. They have profiles for most printers. Check their web site before you buy. They also have good instructions for using the profiles, these instructions can be used for all profiles on that printer.

At the top end, check out the paper reviews on Luminous Landscape. Once you get past his writing style, there's a lot of really good information there. But beware - he's a trend setter and always has the latest and greatest of everything.

My stock papers are Ilford smooth gloss, Epson archival matte and Hahnemuehle photo rag. I haven't experimented with the Baryta papers everyone's raving about. I'm happy with what I've got.

But I think that you'll find paper choice is very personal. And once you find something that works, you'll probably stick with it until it's discontinued.

[bez]

There’s no particular reason to use Epson, and most if not all of their papers are made by other companies anyway.
Many of the manufacturers do A4 trial packs at a reasonable cost (Permajet, Fotospeed, Lyson etc.) along with icc profiles for download. If you're looking for a matt textured paper these three are worth trying.
Hahnemuhle is good but (unnecessarily) expensive

Personally I use a couple of Innova papers almost exclusively; FB Gloss 300 and Smooth Cotton High White 315, along with two cheaper Olmec offerings of Photo Satin 260 and Archival Matte 230. As Kev says once you find a small range of papers & surfaces you like, stick with them.
The only Epson paper I use occasionally is their very good Traditional FB Gloss 320 which is sometimes half price on their website – this paper is made by Innova.

[kat180]

Cool- thanks guys- Ill have a look at those suggestions