That would be very helpful. Also, some of us use commercial printers, especially for large format. I use Costco; they have Epson 7800 series printers and use Fujifilm Photo Satin Paper (270 gsm). ps. Your experience with commercial labs (in general, not specific labs) would be very helpful.
Nigel Danson I’ve only printed one of my ‘final’ images and it was on a glossy format and I can totally see what you’re talking about putting it behind glass. I would love to start experimenting with the Matte to get that subtle and dynamic texture to my landscapes and achieve a more accurate portrayal of color and light and an overall more professional look. Thanks for the super relevant and useful info, Nigel!
I’ve only had a photo printer a month (Canon Pixma Pro 100s). I’m loving it and have gone “all in”. I’m going to to give a shout out to:- Firstcall Baryta Traditional Fibre Fineart This is actually a Firstcall Photographic (UK shop) plain package version of Innova Exhibition Photo Baryta 310gsm. It’s a lustre baryta paper which is good value at 60p an A4 sheet. It had a good printer profile on the Innova website. I’ve also used Firstcall’s even cheaper gloss and satin paper (about 30p an A4 sheet). I’m very happy with the results BUT I needed to make my own printer profile with a Datacolor SpyderPrint as I think the ICC printer profiles for the relevant paper on the Innova site were poor. Neither Innova nor Firstcall seem to offer the profile making service that Fotospeed does as far as I’m can see. Few people are going to go to the expense or bother of doing their own profiles I suspect.
Hi Dave. I have to agree with you on the Epson exhibition fiber ad I also agree with your opinion on the blacks. I have been very happy with the Epson signature series papers. I have just started using the mettalic luster and glossy both. With the right image, the glossy is amazing.
*Loving my **Bestt.Digital** portable Printer. Small enough to carry in my little bag and not at all heavy. Getting a lot of use out of it and having a great time printing on the go. Works for me.*
Loved this.. had been looking at test packs to try various paper. .. I get ok prints from current printer but like the idea of printing more so an upgrade is due. Many thanks for you vlog and inspiration
Another great informative video, I have an HP printer but I print on a gloss paper, would love to try the colour etching paper, as it looks amazing on the woodland image with the blue bells.
Great video on the many facets of printing, really like the part about the papers. I am a huge fan of playing with different types of papers, some of my favorites are Epson Hot Press Bright and Hot press Natural, Canson Baryta Photographique was a great one also.
What do you think about photo books? Do you create any annual photo books in a journal style where you include entries? Any insights about photo books will be interesting to hear.
Nigel, I worked in the photo industry for 27 years and have been a photographer for nearly 50 years. FYI, Baryta is not a texture of the paper but a clay like coating laid down before the light sensitive emulsion is laid down and is available on different textures of paper. It has more to do with D-Max or enabling darker/richer colors or greys/blacks. Longer lasting prints than ones printed on resin coated papers.
I really love the Fine Art Museum Etching from Canon! But I only have their pro platinum paper to compare with. I love both of them and really think they have different and superb qualities. I really need to start print more! :)
😳 yikes! Dont go setting the monitor brighter or darker, dont play along with it! The only right way to go is to realy calibrate your monitor according to the room lighting. Then as long as the lighting is not changing, just ajust the print settings, not the monitor
When browsing some of my favorite websites, such as Magnum Photos, I noticed that the photos are often advertised as being printed on Fujifilm Crystal Archive. I think that's the paper I would use. I'd like to start printing soon and am going to use the tips you gave here in this video.
I had really struggled with printing but your previous vlog on printing set me on the right path and this one only adds to my knowledge. I used to use canon paper (the pro platinum) but could never get a print I enjoyed, I've changed to Photospeed and with them providing a colour profile it has made such a difference, the one I am using most of at the moment is the Platinum Baryta 300, for the price it just seems excellent quality. What would be interesting is how you frame your prints without cropping as off the shelf frames all seem to have limited sizes and if you look at the bespoke frame making services it can get very expensive very quickly. Thank you for taking the time to explain the whole printing process in an understandable way.
I gave up printing years ago and quite honestly nearly lost interest in photography altogether, then I found a video on you tube by mistake but it was about printing on Fotospeed paper, after watching your video as well I have decided to try Fotospeed Patinum Etching I loved the way it made your prints look. Its been a while but I carn't wait to get out with my camera again, got my inspiration back.
Another valuable video Nigel! I also love printing - it makes such a big difference! I typically use a "Red River Paper, Ultra Pro Satin, 68lb". After watching your video, I think I will use some different paper types that match the mood of my images! Thanks so much for sharing this with us!!
Another fantastic video, Nigel! Bring on all the printing vids. Personally, I like a bit of a satin finish for most of my landscapes, but I’m starting to experiment with the mattes a bit more lately. We don’t get Fotospeed in Canada, so I currently use: Canson Platine Fibre Rag 310 Canson Baryta Photographique 310 Canson Rag Photographique 310
I loved this, I'm so poor at printing for 3 reasons (a) I'm colourblind and folk make all sorts of comments about weird greens & oversaturated reds (b) I've been almost embarassed to print... you know the lies "I'm not good enough" or "how arrogant" rather than "what joy" (c) without printing, digital photography is almost free, so I've never convinced myself to invest & budget for it. Nigel - you have changed the above! I retire in a year from now - I'm going to research printers & paper and build up to a NEW aspect to my retirement project (photographing, using macro, all the flowers that define ancient woodland)... now I will PRINT each one, mount it properly (another retirement project) and display original signed copies around my teaching room. Thank you for your inspiration in today's video, sometimes the biggest impacts come from the simplest of encouragements.
If you use a colour chart like the Colorchecker passport when you take the image, it is really easy to get the correct colour when you post process. I use on and I bought it after another guy with colour blindness said he used it and it saved his photography as he was only doing B&W because he couldn't trust his colour judgement
Thanks for the confirmation, I'd considered that - I'm hoping that Lr sliders for Vib & Sat adjust each colour evenly - I suppose I should also use the proofing capabilities of Lr to check when individual colours are close to being blown out, too. I prefer matt-cotton or even strongly textured papers - I think it would be a matter of calibrate, calibrate, calibrate, then checking with a friend who is an artist, thus gradually gaining confidence. As papers also influence colour it could take a while..... but hey, that's what retirement should bring :-)
Great Video! Very usefull information and tips! I have a Canon Pixma Pro 10 and have been using Ultra Pearl 295 and Canson Infinity Fibre Rag 310. I love this last one for the texture and details! I am still in the learning process. It would be very usefull if you can talk about the final preparation for sending the printings and how do you frame them. Do you sign them in the front? Do you add white border with another type of paper when you print borderless? Cheers from Chile 🇨🇱!
I think I make all these mistakes quite often! I always use super gloss, but now I'm going to try some alternatives. I just bought some Canon Pro Luster which might look good for some Hawaiian seascapes. Thanks for the inspiration.
Thanks Nigel. Great seeing some informative video's on printing. I use a Canon Pro-100, but like you did, I was just using the standard settings for quite a while, only last week, I've taken up Fotospeed's offer and just sent off my papers for calibration. My current favourite is NST Bright White, but my experience of all these papers is limited, hence this video being useful in getting some idea of what is available, and the subjects they're best at representing.
Great video Nigel, I think printing is really important in the digital age. Similar to you I mostly prefer a matt paper and currently use Fujifilm Photo Rag, haven't tried the Fotospeed but it looks nice with the subtle texture. Nice shot of Pebbles :)
I love Epson Cold Press Bright as a matt paper for black and white portraits and Hahnemuhle Photo Rag for colour. We can't get Fotospeed paper here in Canada. I shoot with Fuji XT2 so it would be interesting to try Fuji's papers. My printer is the Epson P800. I have a bunch of client work to print today. For that I use Epson Premium Luster. Happy printing!
Hi, I have a question about the Canon prograph printers. The pro 300 has a better, higher resolution and the 1000 has a broader color palette. Which printer should I use for premium photo's from a Hasselblad 100 MP camera? Regards. Henry
🇨🇦/🇺🇸... GREETINGS FROM THE FUTURE, NIGEL! I'm a large-format printing technician here. Lovely images! Great choice of papers! THE WHOLE TIME I was waiting for you to either draw an oval onto your print with your pointing pencil or maybe spill that "beaker" of coffee across your beautiful pastel scene. LOL Good job!!! 🤣 Cheers, bro!
(Late to the game, but). I have an Epson SC-P800, and previously had a Canon Pro-100 (dye ink as opposed to pigment). I have had very nice results with HahneMuehle Fine Art Baryta Satin. The Satin makes it a close-to-matte finish that has convinced a few matte folks to try it out. Also had very good luck with HahneMuehle Museum Etching & Bamboo. I'm in the process of evaluating a new paper, Canson-Infinity Baryta Photographique II Matte of which I've heard good things. Time will tell.
I have my Canon printer from the beginning of this year. I’m also convinced by you, Thomas Heaton and Peter McKinnon to print my images. By owning a printer the threshold to print my images is mutch lower than when I have to use a print service. Beside the learning curve of printing (settings, color management, papers,..), it’s a lot of fun! I’m now using PermaJet papers and I’m very happy with the results. They also offer the free service for profiling your printer.
I've only used a few different papers but my favorite so far is Canon Pro Platinum. I just ordered a sample pack from Moab Paper and I'm excited to see what they have to offer.
march 2023. Im new but have been exploring Red River papers and love them. Easy to get- great customer service and quick delivery. But Im still learning on a Canon pro 200 with eyes on the 1000 when I get better
I'm just into printing lately, do you think investing into a printer at home is a good consideration? My local printing shop charges like $40 for a 40cmx60cm print..
Very helpful and fully agree with the tips. For many months I had my monitor too bright and couldn’t understand why everything printed dark. I’ve tried many of the papers you mention and certainly like the matte best. A paper I do like is the Canon Pro Premium matte. Would be interested in others views on this but I don’t think it’s far off the brands you have mentioned and prints well without ICC profiling. Cheers, Simon
I am currently using a smooth cotton High White 100% Cotton 450gsm by Innova. Really good. I am also just trying out the Soft Textured Natural White 190gsm. I do want to move next to an A3 printer when I can afford it. Point made about monitor brightness as well.
Also -- 9th (nth?) printing mistake -- not letting the prints dry before evaluating. Many times, prints directly out of the printer are darker than expected. Let them dry/settle overnight (at least) before deciding for sure. Sometimes you can still see differences after a week or more. Also also, if you hang them to dry in your studio, you'll find the dust spots, etc., that you missed :-( And let them dry a while before framing, especially if they're to be under glass. The "fog" you sometimes see is the off-gassing of the solvents, etc., in the inks.
It's best to leave your xRite i1Display plugged in and let the dongle adjust the brightness. No it doesn't adjust the “brightness” of the monitor, but if you have ambient light monitoring enabled and the dongle plugged in, you'd be shocked how much brightness it's able to control from the Color Profile itself. The Color Profile isn't only capable of controlling color. If you don't have Auto Ambient Light Monitoring enabled when you calibrate, it will not adjust the brightness through the profile. If you have that turned on, it WILL do so. That way you don't have to guess with monitor brightness or set your white point as low as it will go.
Hi Nigel, excellent video mate👍, q: does photo rag 308gsm good for family portraits ? I love the subtle texture, colours and matte finish. I am considering the portrait to be displayed without any glass or laminate finish but on a dinond backing. But is photo rag good for portraits ?
Wow your photos are breathtaking! I print family and trips photos on Canon's gloss and semi-gloss for albums. Glossy is amazing for those vibrant bright colors! but the darker colors are great on semi! Thank you for the tips!
New hobbyist photographer here... daydreaming about printing and selling my pictures so that I can retire on some deserted island in the Pacific from the sale of the pictures I've taken in the last 2-3 weeks with my Canon 3Ti and a kit lens 😅.
Ok I don’t usually make comments.. lol this might be my first .. I am looking forward to the textured type paper. The matte. I took pics of the sequoia trees and the Grand Canyon. Can’t wait to see how they come out..
Nigel, I feel a little ashamed that I’ve only ever used the Canon Semi Gloss! Having seen your prints at HCPS when you talked a couple of weeks ago I’m keen to try the papers you mentioned, particularly the cotton. Belting portrait of Pebbles by the way, I have an old Gordon Setter, Dougie, who’s well known to club members due to the number of times he gets entered into competitions.
HI Nigel I have an epson pro 3880 that is over 7 years old. I always printed either on glossy or Matte papers and sometimes on luster. I have a cover to keep my epson pro 3880 clean, that I remove only while printing. A service man from epson in a seminar from adorama said that its mandatory to keep a printer clean all the time , that dust is the prime ennemy to all inkjet printers. 1- What papers (cheap) would you recommend for printing images not for resale ? 2- Can you make a video of how to adjust platter height for printing on rag papers & the printer maintenance following your printing (dust & rollers cleaning) ? regards Luke
Well 4 years to late to win the print 😂 but I’m just getting started with printing my photography and your videos are helping a lot. I am using mostly Kodak paper at the moment although my switch to something like you are using here for the custom ICC profiles. I am having a hard time getting Lightroom classic to print correctly however what ever profile in colour management I pick in lightroom it still seems to be using my printers settings as well which is screwed up a couple of small prints while I get the hang of it. Anyone with any notes on what I may be missing here ? All the best
Great video Nigel, love your vlog! Same as you I prefer to print my images. I had been wondering about what paper type to use in any particular case, so this video was just what I needed, thanks for that! What I'm struggling with at the moment is the cost of printing my images at home compared to having the prints done in a lab. The original ink for my Canon Pixma 10S Pro is ridiculously overpriced and since it's got 12 ink tanks the "low ink" warning is up 9 out of 10 times I start the printer. I'm wondering if you've had the same issue and this might well be a topic for a future video, what do you think? On a sidenote, do you really have to wave images with bluebells in them in front of my eyes? :D :D :D I won't be in the Lake District for another 2 weeks and will probably miss out on the bluebells, which really sucks ;) Favorite papers? Canson Infinity, Photo High Gloss Premium RC - although after watching this video I think I'll be moving away from glossy paper.
Hi Andy, you can order via our website www.fotospeed.com and use the code danson10 to get yourself 10% off as well. I look forward to hearing from you.
Thanks for posting this video. Like your 7 printing tips which reinforces my other learning. As a newbie in selling printed photography, I thought using ink like sharpie for signature is better than pencil. Please explain why you sign in pencil.
The picture of pebbles and the one of the tree amongst the bluebells were really striking. Printing is an area Ive not delved into but liked the look of the Fotospeed cotton etching paper. Do you darken your studio when you are editing your images for printing to get the colour balance right in Lightroom? Very informative episode Nigel and always enjoy learning from your experiences
Hi Nigel - I know this is an old video but it was a good watch and it got me thinking about cropping. I’ve noticed that you sometimes freeform crop as opposed to sticking to a fixed aspect ratio. Does this have any impact / considerations for your printing or social media posts? Thanks
I use X-Rite for measurement from shot to monitor to print. Color passport to get "tint" perfectly neutral for camera, lens and light source. As a starting point. Moving away from there as an artistic decision. Getting neutral fast.
Great video, I also started to use Fotospeed and it’s been a great help learning from your mistakes (your journey), used roll paper mostly but have now changed to A3plus, I’m using the two you have mentioned, NST 315, platinum Baryta 300 and the platinum lustre 270. My favourite is the NST. Love the honesty, keep those videos coming
I have always been put off printing myself due to extortionate ink costs. Which online printing services provide these paper options? I would love to see some of my images on Fotospeed cotton etching.
Cropping for paper size is an issue :/ I can't crop the photo down because as you said, the entire photo is essential. But when I add a border in photoshop before going to the store to try and print it- the border is uneven. Disgusting :l
Hi Nigel, i all ready use Fotospeed paper, i know one of the ladys that promote it, i am yet to get a free sample mind haha i use Pearl290 PFLustre275 & MattUltra240 all great papers, i also use Ilford Satin this has a great white background for mono images, I have also used Matt FineArt Torchon 285 from Hahnemuchle with a good texture to it.
I've matched the white of my phone to that of the photo paper I use most in display settings (more yellow than you'd think) and then bring down the brightness to match perfectly.
I was inspired to get a printer but a major disadvantage I can see is the issue of clogged print heads. How do you deal with this? I've heard you should print several times a week to avoid clogging
Yeah, still doing a couple of those mistakes, even after all this time... One day I'll kick myself into gear and sort out custom profiles! haha Reminds me, need some ink. I've been using the Fotospeed Artfibre 300 for a year now, I love it! Yes its a bit glossy, but love the texture of it and it handles the reds and darks that dominate my work so much better than any other paper I've tried.
Have you done an episode about printing labs and online printing options? I’d like to set up a website eventually to sell some prints but I don’t have a printer and know close to nothing about printing.
I think the idea of using the matte even for more shadowed images is a great concept. I'm still at the beginning of my photography adventure and learning everything I can. I've been able to learn so much from your videos. I think I'd like to try the matte paper. Do you have recommendations for online print services? Thanks a lot!
I used to have a great Canon A3 full bleed printer, but it dried out and the head was ruined. I've been reluctant to buy another inkjet printer, but they really do the best job. The thing about inkjet printers is that if you don't print frequently, the print head and inks start to dry out and clog. How do you deal with that?
I believe with the Canon Pro 1000 and 10 you can replace the actual ink head so you wouldn't have to buy a new printer? Not sure how much one would cost as opposed to buying a new printer, anyone know?
Hi Nigel. I have definitely committed error # 7, which is a crime because my Canon Pixma printer is excellent. I currently use Canon's Photo Paper Pro Luster paper to print portraits and bird photos. But I see the value of quality matte or textured paper as I am getting into landscape photography. I look forward to trying out your preferred brand, should you grace me with a free pack (wink wink, nod nod). I'll try it regardless. Thanks.
Oh, bother. It appears the major photo outlets in my area don't carry Fotospeed paper. Neither does Amazon. This is a Europe-only product? Guess I'm depending on you. *BIG WINK*
Thank you for the mini course on paper types and how to calibrate for color. As always, great content. I used to always lean toward matte, but you gave me some good reasons to branch out. By the way, Pebbles looked fantastic in her portrait.
After trying various papers I have ended up with Permajet who make a fabulous range of paper. Occasionally I print on textured paper but mostly use their Oyster which is one of the cheapest papers but is superb quality. I may, however give up printing on paper altogether having recently had some prints done on aluminium from a really cheap company in Belgium. I was sceptical at first given how cheap the prints were but the quality was excellent and they look superb on the wall. One of the main reasons for not printing much nowadays, and one that nobody seems to address, is what do you do with the prints once they are printed? There is only so much wall space in the average home and even if you rotate prints for display you just end up with a huge box of prints that you never look at again. That really is not much different than just leaving them on your hard drive!
I think it would be better to structure these kinds of videos better and cutting them down to a length that is easily digestible. This video is about 7 mistakes about printing but what I took from the video for the most part is papertype papertype papertype
6 лет назад
My favorite papers are Epson's Cold Press Bright for landscapes and nature shot. For architecture I tend to use Epson's metallic luster paper. Great video very informative.
More than one year now that I have a printer, and still inside its box, postpone, postpone, pfffffffff... Yes! You are right, I need to print, the screen and the net are not enough.
The Hahnemuhle Photorag 308 is a wonderful matt paper... love the video, but I think the biggest issue for hobbyist photographers is 1. do I buy the printer or 2 do I send my prints out. Sending them out has it's cons as you don't often get the paper you might want to use or you put off making a print until you have enough to pay for the shipping cost, etc... but then I look at the cost of saying the Canon 1000 and unless your printing every other week or so your going to lose lots of ink to cleaning and the question of initial cost of over 1k. I want to print more but find I put it off instead of sending my prints to Bay Photo then I get serious about a printer then think...I can't justify over 1,000.00 for a printer, plus ink, plus fancy paper..and before I'm like a dog chasing its tail. I have friends who have bought printers and be excited from watching them being used on YT only to find the cost, occasional use, and frustration getting to look right make them regret spending the cost on what could have been a decent lens. Most YTer use the Canon 1000 which is an awesome printer don't get me wrong but I wish more photographers online focused on using a printer that most hobbyist can afford so that we don't regret getting the wrong thing or get excited with a new printer only to find out half the ink is wasted on cycling when we get ready to print. For me it's a huge expense to consider a 1k printer or to decide to send my prints out...I'm sure others have this problem as well.
Thanks Nigel, great video. Just what I'm looking for. I'm about to buy a camera and then get my photos printed. Is Canon T7 good? It has 24 MP. Thanks!
How big are you printing and for whom are you printing? That T7 will be susceptible to a lot of noise considering the sensor size and dated technology. Your subject, or location, will have to be more well-lit and planned.
Since I'm starting my adventure with printing my photos I don't have much experience. Recently I bought Fomei Jet Portrait Matt Duo 230 gsm and Fomei Jet Pro Gloss G265 papers and I find them to suit my needs (at least for now). However I have a problem with my printer - I bought an Epson L805 printer which in theory supports Linux which I use as my operating system but the drivers for the printer are so buggy that there is no way to print a photo using it... I had to create a Windows virtual machine just for image printing. Epson's support doesn't care about that. I'll never buy Epson again...
