Arches Infinity 230 gram textured finish paper. It is a watercolor paper that works well in the portfolio, fine art prints and small run promo pieces. The 355 gram paper is a bit thick for my Epson printer and I prefer the 230 gram for it's versatility.
But since you want to try some papers, the best thing you can do is to buy some sampler packs and see for yourself what you like best. Atlex sells a number of sampler packs at reasonable prices. I would recommend the B&W pack (which contains the Baryta papers like Ilford GFS) and the Hahnemuhle pack which offers a wide selection of fine art papers.
May ask a terribly dumb question that someone would be kind enough to reply please?
Before I go nuts researching all the types of quality paper out there, can someone break it down to me (or direct me to an article that explains it) on how you go about choosing the type of paper for a specific image? (ie. landscape, portrait, sports, motorsports, etc...)
I don't print on an Epson, but have used many papers in my HP 9180 and have landed quite firmly on Moab Colorado Fibre Satine. More detail and pop than Ilford Gold silk, not as warm as the Harmon.
Ilford fibre silk great and somewhat reasonable price. Harmon FB warm is all I use for BW and I am printing about 40 percent BW. Harmon is also nice for color. A great real cheap paper for give aways family is the kirkland glossy. Check out the kirkland glossy only in 8.5*11 but works well for alot of stuff for me family friends photo album goodies.
Harman Gloss FB for me. I still cheat on it from time to time with my old favorite Crane Museo Max, but I'm a huge sucker for air-dried glossy. Just the right balance between gloss and matte.
As a bonus it (unsurprisingly) matches well with most lots of Ilford darkroom paper.
XFBO wrote:
Before I go nuts researching all the types of quality paper out there, can someone break it down to me (or direct me to an article that explains it) on how you go about choosing the type of paper for a specific image? (ie. landscape, portrait, sports, motorsports, etc...)
99% of it is personal or client preference.
The other 1% is "Is this a portrait?"—you generally don't want to print portraiture on heavily-textured papers (e.g., cold press watercolor).
Hahnemuhle Photo Rag Baryta and Harman Gloss FB AI Warmtone. Both have no optical brighteners and produce beautiful, crisp prints. The Harman warm is my pick for b/w's, and as mentioned, is available in 17x25 sheets.
I use my own profiles for color and ImagePrint for b/w prints.
+ another 1, especially for B&W. I also like the fact that they have 17x25" papers (using an Epson 3800) instead of 17x22". Ilford Gold Fibre Silk is very good too.
EDIT: I obviously didn't read on on long enough to discover the 17x25 benefit was already mentioned...
Right now its the Winsor & Newton Cotman Water Color Paper, its not an inkjet paper, its true to god Art use water color paper ( as for painting ) but when processed ( coated ) it made for a very nice slightly textured and matt paper ( cream colored base ) and deliver very solid performance. better than any of the Canvas / Fine art paper. Its also come in variety of size that's interesting to had ( no roll though ).
I like the Ilford Gold fibre silk also, but think its a bit too white
Harman Gloss FB Al for reflective prints. (It has a whole-milk color compared to the Epson Exhibition Fibre, which is cooler, like skim milk, and throws slightly blue. The Ilford Gold Fibre Silk is more like heavy cream, with a slight golden cast that can be a nice base for B & W prints.) The Harman and the Ilford are moderately priced.
