Paper choices

I am amazed at how many paper choices there are for the Epson R2880 printer.  Some criteria I use when selecting paper are

• Can the paper be used with pigment inks? (note that some glossy, metalic, and transluant papers are only compatible with dye based inkjet printers)
• Does the paper manufacturer provide ICC color profiles specifically for the Epson R2880?
• Is the paper readily available locally and in the sizes that I need? (I like to use Red River Paper - largely because I live less than 20 miles from their headquarters in Dallas; so, I can just drive there and save on shipping costs)

Paper comes as both sheets and rolls.  With the R2880 printer, only rolls 13" or less can be used - which severely limits choices.  Many papers are only available as sheets in the smaller sizes and only come in rolls 24" wide or more.

Standard sheet sizes that will work on the R2880 printer are:

4x6
8x10
5x7
8½x11
8½x14
11x14
11x17
12x12
13x19

Of these, the sizes I find most useful to keep on hand are:

8½x11 - because it fits into a standard notebook, is the most readily available size, and can be easily trimmed to 8x10 

11x17 - because it is roughly a 2:3 ration (the same as DSLR sensors) and can be easily trimmed to 11x14, cut into two 8½x11 sheets or cut and trimmed into four 5x7 sheets

13x19 - because this is the largest size that can be printed on the R2880 printer and can be trimmed to smaller sizes.

Whenever getting a new paper, I recommend taking a sheet and cutting it into 4x6 sheets so that you can do some test prints to get a feel for how well it works for your needs.  Different papers will work better depending on if you are printing in color or b&w or if the subject of your image is portraits vs nature vs landscape vs etc.

Paper comes in a variety of finishes

glossy
semi-gloss
satin
luster
matte

Paper also comes in a variety of textures, more so in the matte finish papers.

Some papers are treated such that you can only print on one side.  Other papers can be printed on both sides.

Personally, I prefer the matte finish papers to use on the R2880 printer.  If I want single-sided glossy or luster then it's just as easy (and a little cheaper) to print it at CostCo.  I especially like those papers that are labeled as "Fine Art" papers.

Project Examples

I have an image of my granddaughter that I especially love and which I've framed and hanging in my living room.  Originally I printed it at CostCo with a luster finish.  However, I was always less than satisfied because there was always some glare coming either from the window or the lights in the room.  I tried removing the glass from the frame; however, even with a luster finish there was some glare.  So, I printed it again on Red River Aurora Fine Art White paper in 11x17 size, which I trimmed to 11x14.  The difference was nothing less than amazing.  The print on the Aurora paper has a depth to it that I've never seen before on prints.  Framed without glass has virtually eliminated the glare.

All of my children are married; so, for Christmas, I printed calendars using my own images.  I put an image of the person on their birthday and the couple on their anniversary.  Then I used a variety of images to use as backgrounds and to show the various family members.  I printed these on Red River 50lb.Premium Matte 2-Sided paper and took them to Office Depot to have them spiral bound.  Red River has a calendar kit which inclues a pack of this paper plus a CD with PhotoShop files for each month in the year.  Although, I did end up purchasing another pack of the paper in order to complete the calendars.

I recently joined the Fort Worth Camera Club and am preparing a couple of prints to submit to their monthly contest.  I decided to use Epson Velvet Fine Art and Epson Watercolor Radiant White in 13x19 size, trimmed to 13x17 because I think it looks better on a 16x20 matboard.  One of the pictures is a flower printed on the watercolor paper.  It too has a depth to it - almost a 3D effect - that is difficult to describe and impossible to illlustrate on a web page.  It's just something you have to see to appreciate.

Other papers I've tried and liked are

• Red River River Linen - it has a nice texture to it
• Epson Ultra Premium Photo Paper in 4x6 size - useful for small prints to hand out or for my wife to use in scrapebooking

Many paper manufactures provide a sample pack of their various papers in 8½x11 size.  I've done this using Red River, Inkpress, and Moab papers.  I created a collage of images that included: people, nature, architecture - large black areas or white areas - black & white.  I printed this collage on each of the different papers which I keep in a notebook.