Media and Matte Black

So far in this review I have just been using Premium Glossy Photo Paper and the results are nothing short of superb. I wanted to try out some Matte media with the Photo Black cartridge but the printer properties palette didn't have any of the matte media listed. Had I found a bug in the driver? No, just some clever thinking from Epson. When you fit a Matte Black then the Matte media options become available - such a simple idea I wish I had thought of it.

Media options with Photo Black cartridge	Media options with Matte Black cartridge

When replacing any of the inks you have to press the button, don't hold it in for more than three seconds otherwise the printer will perform a head clean routine (I was caught out with this). When you have inserted the new cartridge (Matte Black in my case) then press the button again and your in business. The head primes itself again, I assume that only the matte black is charged as this was quite a quick process.

Media

I have the Archival Matte, Velvet Fine Art and Matte Paper Heavyweight. and Watercolour - Radiant White. so lets get on with the review and try them out. The first media in the printer is the Archival Matte, a 192 gsm media.

Original file Canon 350D shot
Epson Archival Matte Media 192 gsm	Epson Matte Paper Heavyweight 167 gsm
Epson Watercolour Paper - Radiant White 190 gsm	Epson Velvet Fine Art media 260 gsm
Watercolour Paper printed on the textured side	Only use thick card with the Front manual feed

Looking at each print in turn, Archival Matte; has produced stunning colours, bright reds, a blue sky that is faithful to the original, but perhaps lacking in a good solid black. Matte Paper Heavyweight; although a slightly lighter weight media this has turned in an excellent print with better blacks than the Archival media. Watercolour Paper - Radiant White; a superb media which has a rough watercolour paper texture on one side and a smooth surface on the other. It's Watercolour media, so you could safely assume that you need to use the textured side - WRONG! You must use the smooth surface to get the best results. The colours on this media were slightly muted when compared to the others and the greens were edging towards yellow.

AMENDED section

Velvet Fine Art media; when I first saw the Epson Stylus Photo R2400 in Paris I picked up some sample prints made with the Velvet Fine Art media and they looked superb. I was very keen to try this media out as it may be the ideal choice for those photographers who want to sell their work. The quality achieved by this media is outstanding. Colours are well saturated and the blacks are solid. On my original page 9, I had some trouble with blurred images and smudging (see image above). This was due to using the front manual feed slot with paper as opposed to card. The print head is raised for printing card, this allows for the 1.3mm media thickness. If you load normal media then you will get too much ink spread (the head is spraying for a higher level) - hence the blurred/smudged edges. This was my mistake (I blame the hot weather), although page 38 of the manual does say "Printing on Thick Paper" ....."Select Manual - Front as the source setting". The problem has been resolved.

Conclusion on the Matte media

All the media produced outstanding prints with superb colours. After a few teething problems, the Velvet media actually produced the best looking print and at 260 gsm the prints have a distinct feeling of quality. I would be more than happy to use this media for my exhibition work.