Abbott Schindl Offline Upload & Sell: Off
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I use an Epson 3880 (now replaced with the P800) and print to Epson's metallic papers. I tried Red River's metallic as well, but ended up preferring Epson's papers.
But the P800 only prints up to 17" wide (Super C size), so won't suffice for your 18" desire. You'll need to go at least to the next size up, which is a huge printer and takes very large and costly cartridges. The nice thing from a cost perspective is that the larger cartridges translate to lower per-print ink costs, but you really need to do a lot of printing to justify 125ml cartridges (the P800's are 80ml).
As previously mentioned, the look of metallic paper prints is quite a bit different from printed-on-metal prints, so you might want to look at samples of both before deciding to print your own. And as mentioned, printing on metallic paper uses glossy settings.
The other thing: "metallic" paper gets its look by adding brighteners. I've read concerns that these can fade over time (a long time) if exposed to UV light, leaving the print with pretty much a regular glossy look. Not a worry for me as my images are framed behind Museum Glass and kept in subdued light, but could be a concern on a strongly sunlit wall.
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