Soul Dr. wrote:
Hi everyone, I see Red River Paper is having an anniversary 20% sale on their paper.
I have never used their photo paper. I would like to know from those of you who do use it, what photo paper of theirs do you like best.
Please, also let me know why you like a particular paper better than other ones.
Thanks for your input, I will be ordering some paper from them based on recommendations I get here.
I will be using a dye based Canon printer.
will
I use Red River Paper exclusively. My favorite is their Arctic Polar Luster. It is not glossy, but has a bit of shine. Colors pop on it and there is a sense of depth of field. As a less expensive alternative I use their Ultra-Pro Satin, which has a different "temperature", but is almost equally as good.
My other favorite, but more specialized paper, is the Polar Pearl Metallic. It also makes colors pop, and has a great sense of depth of field. A bit of shine, somewhat more than the Luster and Satin papers. It is interesting how some colors will take the metallic look more readily than others which is part of how it has that 3-D feel. Best displayed under non-glare glass for full effect. Caution: There are some images that do NOT print well on this paper. If there are similar colors next to each other they might look as though they are all one creating a "blob" effect. It does best with good contrast, and bold colors are amazing.
I have used their Aurora Art Natural paper, and like it a lot. Especially good for images with strong lines and black and white.
All their papers are good quality, so you should not be hesitant about buying what you prefer. I don't use much matte paper, but when I do the results are excellent. They have a good selection of "specialty" surfaces, which is where the sampler package comes in handy. What I did with it, I found an image that is especially for testing color rendition on different papers and printed it on 1/2 of each sheet. On the other 1/2 I printed one of my photos - it could have been just about anything, but I chose a very pink poppy with yellow center, with stem visible and background also green [bokeh]. This was great for comparison, and helped me decide which papers to start with. Later, when their Art paper was on sale, I looked in the sampler box and found that one. Printed something on it, which helped to decide on buying it! [I also have a Canon dye-ink printer!]
Read their descriptions of the papers to get a feel for them. Download the ICC profiles from the website, and use them when printing. The website has a lot of good information on it, as well. Their customer service is also great, and if you have an account with them you will build up points that can be used as a discount for future purchases. I have communicated with them by email and by phone and have always been satisfied.
Susan