Print n frame with this paper (Epson Matte Paper Heavyweight)

Member Name: davomrmac

Product:	Epson Matte Paper Heavyweight
Date:	27/04/09 (83 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good price, nice detail on prints

Disadvantages: Photos look a little flat

This is what I would term as one of Epson's mid-range papers. They do an archival matte paper too, which is more expensive. This particular paper is available for around £7 for 50 A4 sheets (shown here), or just under £20 for 50 larger A3 sheets. If your printer can handle is, you can also get oversized A3+ sheets for around £30 (again for 50 sheets).

This paper is rated as 167gsm, which might not sound much, but is quite rigid to touch. It is a nice white finish, not super bright, but nice for photos. It is single sided, so can only be printed on one side.

Ideally it is suited to printed photos or maybe watercolour effect prints that you intend to frame behind glass. In my experience, I always go for a matte paper for framing, as gloss can sometimes causes unsightly marks if moisture or air gets trapped between the print and frame glass. It works equally as well with colour or black and white prints, though I would suggest using something a bit brighter for fine art printing to get more detailed results.

In use, printing photographic material on this paper is fine. It holds the ink very well, but does give quite a flat (not very punchy) result. That said, detail is fine and colour is very accurate. This is a good value paper, if you find yourself printing lots of photos and are not keen on the glossy finish it is a good choice. However, I pick and choose what I print, as I frame most of my good photos. If this describes you, then I would recommend spending a little more on Epson Archival Matte Paper, as it holds better detail and the prints have more punch and dimension to them.

Summary: Great value paper for everyday use

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