This is exactly the kind if video i have been looking for for months! I really wanted to see the paper up close to see texture, colour and details. Thanks so much for posting this! I have been looking for a watercolour texture paper to print my watercolour paintings and I’ve wasted money on papers and cardstock other people have recommended but to me look cheap and don’t reproduce colours accurately. Thanks for this outstanding video!
Wow! I have looked high and low for a decent comparison video of popular papers without success. Then I unexpectedly stumbled on this. Thank you for the time and effort in producing this video - it is an excellent resource.
Brilliant! This is great for me to see a direct comparison between the Photo Rag Baryta and the Fine Art Baryta. I currently use- and love- the Hahnemuhle Photo Rag Metallic for half my work but the yellow cast of the paper doesn’t work for certain images. Now I can see that the Fine Art Baryta is what I need. Thank you very much for this!
I totally agree with you. If you haven't seen it, I posted a recent video featuring a very large print on William Turner -- also made by WhiteWall. They are typically my go-to print shop. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-0RRp4szBeow.html&ab_channel=KeithDotsonPhotography
Very helpful Keith. I just dove into the deep end of printing my work myself with the purchase of a Canon Pro-1000. I am doing as much research as possible before it arrives, so that I don't print a lot right off the bat on the wrong papers and regret it later. I had already ordered some Hahnemühle paper before understanding all the varieties they offer and the paper properties that differentiate them. I ordered the Torchon Matte paper. After watching your review, I now understand more how the weight, brightness, texture and other qualities of the paper affect the prints. I see the Torchon is very textured and so may not be great for many of the prints I'll want. From you descriptions, I can see I'll want to also get some Baryta and some Photo Rag. I wonder how the Torchon compares to the William Turner, which looks great in your presentation. Thanks for taking the time. Your presentation was very informative and easy to watch.
This was an amazing resource! As a long-time Baryta printer myself I can't wait to try the Henry Turner (not included in their sampler unfortunately). Ordering from a lab today and next time from your link! Thanks!
I am big fan of Photo Rag Baryta (especially for B&W prints) and the Photo Rag Metallic for color. I was slightly disappointed with the color gamust that pigment ink reproduces but I found with the Photo Rag Metallic it makes up for this in an exciting way. Thanks for the comparison. I have some Fine Art Baryta that I haven't tried but I will now for B&W prints.
@@Keithdotson Yes if you've got some design images that need to pop (well as much as they can with pigment ink?) metallic paper is very good. It would be very interesting to see what dye based inks would look like with metallic paper, great I'd say?
great video, but after checking different papers, and never seen photo rag in person, i noticed i needed a size reference when you do the close up, to figure it out the texture size. Now that i compare with ur fingers i notice texture is really fine, smooth, so not sure if for my watercolors prints will be best texture. Maybe the turner has stronger texture
What kind of printer did you use to print the photos? Please and thank you. Do you think there’s affordable printers that print really well or leave it to another company to print my work. If so could you recommend the printers.
I would say unless you are very serious about printing and want to print often, it's better to let other companies do the printing. I use an Epson printer and the printer, the inks, the paper -- really everything about it is expensive. And if you let it sit for more than a week, it'll start to clog. Canon printers are very good too, and you can get a nice little Canon dye-based printer for under $100 if you just want to make test prints or prints for home. Dyes are not as permanent as pigments, but they look beautiful.
Great info! Have you used Epson Cold press? I would like to know how it compares texture wise to William Turner? I use to use Epson Exhibition Watercolor but it was discontinued.
I use regularly Photo Rag Baryta. The paper results are great. It produces a predictable outcome with crisp color and rich blacks. Only drawback it’s really expensive
Do you think the Baryta paper would be suitable for coating your own emulsion and processing in a traditional darkroom? I just got some adox polywarmtone and am I looking for suitable papers. Thanks
Nice video. I would like to go with photo rag baryta and photo rag matte. ive ordered a printer but its out of stock so gonna brush up on things as much as possible. will finally have prints for sale. 🙂 at some point.
@@Keithdotson Thanks so much. Im about to order. Printer shipped. Canon 2100. I tried to change it to the 4100 but it shipped already too much trouble to change. Am ordering rolls of rag baryta and rag matte. i think the baryta looks better though. maybe will delay the rag matte. i rewatched this a couple of times. i could see the yellow tone on some for sure. 🙏🏻thanks again for the video. forgot i had commented before.
@@jdg6336 Why don't you look into a pack of 8.5 x 11 paper from Epson or Canon or whatever cheaper brand? Maybe one of their baryta surface papers or even just a luster paper or something like that?
@@Keithdotson I got a 24” roll of hahnemuhle cotton rag baryta and matt cotton rag but was just thinking i should have a cheaper roll to experiment with / leave in the printer for maintenance. printer arrives next week. i was looking at rolls of canon / epson as you said as they are cheaper. 🤔
@@Keithdotson Thank you for replying. Can I also ask how you find the ink levels on the printer. I am looking at that one or the Epson P900. Do you know roughly how much it might cost in ink for a standard A2 print?
There's no way that I know of to measure that exactly, but one print doesn't really use that much ink. Also, inks are consumed at inconsistent levels, for example since I print "black and white" images I use more blacks and grays than magentas or cyans, so I replace those cartridges more often.
Thank you! Yes, I have made the switch to Photo Rag Baryta, occasionally still using the Fine Art baryta too, while I still have sheets left. Both are fantastic papers.
@@Keithdotson The Photo Rag Baryta is the most beautiful paper I've ever used. Do you tend to stick with gloss papers for all your prints or are there certain images you'd choose matt papers for?
I stick with the same papers for all prints, with the option for customers to select a matt paper if that's their preference. Most don't do that, though. In my opinion, the gloss papers are good for every subject matter. And I agree about the Photo Rag Baryta -- top notch. And with Hahnemühle, there's never a variation in quality.
@@Keithdotson I ought to add that your photographs are fantastic, particularly the Abandoned Places series. How would you say an inkjet print on Photo Rag Baryta compares to a silver gelatin print in terms of dynamic range and texture?
Hey thank you very much! I have specifically tested the papers to answer this same question and in my opinion the Hahnemühle baryta papers are very similar to darkroom barytas. Some other coated papers fail because of gloss differential, but you can't see the inks on the surface of Hahnemühle barytas as much as some other papers. Canson baryta papers are pretty good too from what I have seen. I'm a big fan of their Platine Fibre Rag. A UV spray coating will minimize that problem on a lot of the other papers though.
Great info! Have you used Epson Cold press? I would like to know how it compares texture wise to William Turner? I use to use Epson Exhibition Watercolor but it was discontinued.
Hi Keith. Thank you for sharing your knowledge. I very much appreciate it. As I am shifting into fine art photography, understanding paper becomes even more important. Can you please share your knowledge about paper weights? For instance, how does the weight of paper, if at all, influence an image and what weight is best suited to what environmental conditions? I look forward to my continued learning journey with you. In kindness, T.
Thank you Toni! It's nice hearing from you. Paper weight doesn't really effect image quality, but it may have more of an effect on handling and framing. Baryta fiber-based paper in the darkroom was notoriously curly after drying and had to be flattened. Inkjet barytas are the same -- except it's the curl of the roll that you must deal with. But it relaxes if you let it rest, and it can be flattened. I make a lot of very large prints on heavy-weight barytas and they have to be handled very carefully or the paper will bend or crimp around your fingers and create a permanent half-moon scallop dent in the paper. I hope that helps -- maybe someone else will see this question and offer other advice.
My favourite brand - note that baryta is not an optical brightening agent (OBA). OBA's perform a trick in that they convert UV light into visible light and this makes especially white areas brighter. But OBA fade over time and then the paper generally turns yellow. And, as indicated they need UV light to work, so in an environment without UV light they do nothing. Baryta paper may be a bit warmer (tint) than paper without baryta layer, but that is not always the case. The effect of baryta is deeper "blacks" (we should say darker darkest greys) and in many cases lighter "whites" (we should say lighter lightest greys).
Great comment! Thank you. I have framed Hahnemühle papers with OBAs under UV glass and frankly it didn’t make much difference in their appearance that I could see
@@Keithdotson - thank you for responding. Interesting. Makes me wonder if that UV glass is from the Chinese manufacturer that makes 32MB memory cards called 4TB and Li-ion cells of 900 mAh called 3800 mAh. If you look at measurement data of the reflectance of OBA papers, you see more than 100% due to the UV conversion. If the Hahnemuehle paper with their version of OBA is under 100% then I would assume that there is no UV conversion and so I would assume they found another way of getting nearer to 100%. The fun.