Prints that last a long long time (Epson Archival Matte Paper)

Member Name: davomrmac

Product:	Epson Archival Matte Paper
Date:	28/04/09 (114 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Nice weight, helps your printer deliver a lot of quality

Disadvantages: A little more expensive than their standard paper

Epson Archival Matte Paper is slightly heavier in weight than their standard Heavyweight Matte Paper. It is rated as 192gsm and costs just under £13 for 50 A4 sheets. It is also available in A3 size (297mm x 420mm) for around £30 for 50 sheets, and in oversize A3+ (330mm x 483mm) for around £32 for 50 sheets.

Being a slightly heavier weight makes the paper feel much more substantial. It is a nice bright white paper, with a very smooth finish. I think this is worth the extra money over the cheaper Heavyweight Matte as it has a lot of benefits if you really scrutinize image quality.

For colour photos the improvement is smaller. For black and white and fine art prints, the paper holds the ink a lot better. It resolves much more detail. Holding the two papers side-by-side will show a lot more detail in shadow areas on this paper. If you photos show a lot of character and mood, then I have no doubt in saying that this paper will portray the feeling in the photo a lot better.

Although you can use this paper with regular Epson printers that use dye based ink, it is better suited to those that use pigment based inks, such as the Epson R2880 and 3800 to name just two. As such (without going into too much technical detail) you get a print that will last up to 200 years. So it is really suitable for preserving those photographic memories for a long time.

I use this paper for almost all of my black and white photo work. It runs trouble free through my Epson R2880 and the results are nothing short of outstanding.

Summary: Results are nothing short of outstanding

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