p.1 #1 · Epson Legacy baryta vs Hahnemuhle Photo Rag Baryta 315gsm which had better deep blacks and elegant sheen
I'm curious to as if anyone had experience producing prints with deep blacks, strong contrast, excellent color reproduction and fine detail using one of these papers over the other.
The style of the images are soft and quiet larger panos my goal is to add this deep black with the soft colors and possible one bright color or one Very dark black object. My images have a isolated subject sitting against a dark background or quiet surroundings and they are minimalistic images. I dont want an overly glossy or commercial looking image where the blacks are crushed. Im using an Epson P8000 and haven't experienced the Hahnemuhle Photo Rag paper as of yet.
In the case of the Epson paper I have a custom ICC profile that I'm going to use to test images on small prints and then tweak them to get the look of saturated blacks and rich color before going large size. I can buy some Photo Rag no problem to test but if the papers are comparable I just stick with the Epson Brand.
p.1 #2 · Epson Legacy baryta vs Hahnemuhle Photo Rag Baryta 315gsm which had better deep blacks and elegant sheen
Unless your lighting is carefully controlled, won't reflections ruin the deep blacks you're hoping to get with a baryta paper? I'm no printing expert, but I've found baryta papers in general to be too glossy for my tastes and a little too reflective in uncontrolled lighting and viewing. I really like the HFA Photo Rag Pearl. Blacks can be slightly less deep using stock profiles, but maybe your custom profiling can address that. I think the lower gloss of the pearl is much more forgiving than baryta yet still provides a nice sheen.
p.1 #3 · Epson Legacy baryta vs Hahnemuhle Photo Rag Baryta 315gsm which had better deep blacks and elegant sheen
A word of caution. I asked the specialist at the paper supply area of my photo store here in Vienna why they don’t carry Epson or Canon papers. He said that’s because these companies don’t actually make their own papers and don’t communicate when paper formulas change, unlike the dedicated paper manufacturers.
p.1 #4 · Epson Legacy baryta vs Hahnemuhle Photo Rag Baryta 315gsm which had better deep blacks and elegant sheen
It really depends. I like Baryta for B&W portraits especially when presented without glazing and I've used it for some direct mount landscape/WL prints as well. The slight surface texture and subtle glossiness are very pleasing in this context. Behind glazing, this advantage disappears and I think there are better options if one is planning on displaying it that way. If that's your intent, I would seriously look at Arches 88 which has deep, rich blacks and the largest gamut that I've found for matte papers.
