Photo Printing Paper - Original (hp/canon etc) or Third Party?

[daydreamz]

Hi all. Wondering...what brand of paper do u all use? reason i ask is that unlike printer inks where it is always advisable to buy original canon or hp etc ink cartridges, do we have to follow the same in paper too? after all good quality paper is quite easy to make for a third party manufacturer and why should one spend more $$$ on just a brand name paper.

Recently found this brand of paper in Carrefour called SEPOMs...looked quite good to me in terms of gloss, quality of paper, packaging etc....and is made by a Singaporean manufacturer (to me made in S'pore is also a reinforcement of good quality v/s other countries) and moreover hoping that the folks at Carrefour also do some basic QC & selection.

The price of this was at least 50% of the hp/cannon papers in the 4R type. But obviously dont wanna be penny wise & pound foolish....only to realise that precious pics have faded 6-12 months later....! :sweat:

Any comments by fellow cs'ers here who might have tried this or other third party papers or from someone who has a good idea of printing paper!??

Thanks muchly in advance mates! :thumbsup:

 

[giantcanopy]

Not true..
The original ink goes hand in hand with their paper.
For example. The archival qualities of the UltraChrome Ink ( ~ 100 over yrs ) is applicable to designated papers. The permeance of most 3rd party papers will pale compared to their Epson counterparts.

Having said that there are some reputable 3rd party paper makers such as Ilford, Hahnemühle.

 

[giantcanopy]

You can try to check out Wilhelm Imaging Research on their research articles on printer inks and the paper media ( original and 3rd party )
http://www.wilhelm-research.com/

I use Epson Premium Semigloss ( when there is a good lobang ), and Ilford papers

Ryan

 

[daydreamz]

thanks giantcopy. some very useful info/link from you.

well it seems from my own researching off the web that sometimes even first party branded paper + ink may not be totally & perfectly compatible. e.g. Epson paper with Canon ink etc.

seems that for SEPOM papers only SEPOM inks would work well from what i have read so far. strange !! hmmm...still wondering if i should try SEPOM?? :think:

any other fella cs'ers got any comments...? thanks ppl.

 

[LittleWolf]

Recently found this brand of paper in Carrefour called SEPOMs...looked quite good to me in terms of gloss, quality of paper, packaging etc....and is made by a Singaporean manufacturer (to me made in S'pore is also a reinforcement of good quality v/s other countries)

Are you sure about "made in Singapore"? I haven't seen this claim yet. Some of SEPOM's papers are labeled "packaged in China material from Japan", others I've seen don't give any information about the country of origin. I doubt SEPOMs has a paper mill or coating line in Singapore, probably not even somewhere else.

 

[psychobiologist]

mitsubishi makes one of the "best" photo papers around but that is only my opinion.

thats cuz i like the instant dry, and the quality of prints.

 

[daydreamz]

asked some questions on the origin/mfg source to the sepoms guys at the comex...apparently the paper is made in usa, taiwan, etc....a mix...depending on the type.

asked them how long the print would last...the guy told me forever!!! :bsmilie:

i guess its a tough call...spend so much on lenses, cam etc to take good pics and finally print on cheap paper!!?! :dunno:

 

[sammy888]

asked some questions on the origin/mfg source to the sepoms guys at the comex...apparently the paper is made in usa, taiwan, etc....a mix...depending on the type.

asked them how long the print would last...the guy told me forever!!! :bsmilie:

i guess its a tough call...spend so much on lenses, cam etc to take good pics and finally print on cheap paper!!?! :dunno:

Actually there has been alot of reverse engineering done so you can't really use that same of cliche claim that 3rd Party papers are not good for example. I use to see that with compatible inks for printers too. At one time it was true that they were a poor cousin to the real thing. But as you can see in the last yr or so, things has come to the point you can't tell the difference or at least in my case.

I have used Sepoms and Mitsubishi for a few years now and so far they are pretty good and in some case you have to use those alternative due to the fact that they had some specialised or fancy finishing paper or card that is non-existence with your usual brands like Epson or Canon..etc. I have yet to see any problem with those 3rd party papers I have used all these years.

 

[sammy888]

mitsubishi makes one of the "best" photo papers around but that is only my opinion.

thats cuz i like the instant dry, and the quality of prints.

Ya man...they make really good paper and cards. I love their pearl surface ones way back and I think they were great for those wedding prints.

 

[LittleWolf]

asked some questions on the origin/mfg source to the sepoms guys at the comex...apparently the paper is made in usa, taiwan, etc....a mix...depending on the type.

asked them how long the print would last...the guy told me forever!!! :bsmilie:

i guess its a tough call...spend so much on lenses, cam etc to take good pics and finally print on cheap paper!!?! :dunno:

One can take the stand that one always can reprint - then the longevity of the print doesn't matter that much.

Singapore companies aren't a guarantee for quality. For one, many companies are simply merchants that peddle goods made elsewhere. In addition, the mentality/work ethics of the workforce may also be problematic.

Based on my experience, SEPOMs has quality control issues (such as specks on a certain percentage of the paper), but print quality can be quite good (depending of the type of paper). There are also other issues, i.e. their alumina coated paper curls in Singapore's humid air to the extent that the print head may crash into the paper. On the other hand, one can find ways to live with it in exchange for a good price.

When it comes to combining print quality, longevity, and affordability, it's still pretty tough to beat a Fuji Frontier print.