Watercolor paper?

[jowensphoto]

Anyone have experience printing on watercolor paper? I'm thinking about ordering some from Bay. Was it everything you hoped it would be?

 

[KenC]

I haven't done this, but I've seen prints from it and they didn't strike me as being significantly different than prints on heavyweight matte paper, like Epson ultrapremium presentation paper matte, which I've used quite a bit. Having said that, I'm sure there is a big variation in different watercolor papers, so who knows? It may be difficult to print on one which is not made for photo printing because it won't have an ICC profile and also may absorb ink too much.

 

[jowensphoto]

Thanks Ken, I'm looking into Bay Photo's watercolor giclee prints for a flower abstract or two.

 

[Mike_E]

Thanks Ken, I'm looking into Bay Photo's watercolor giclee prints for a flower abstract or two.

Give it a shot and Please let us know, I've wondered about this too.

 

[Benco]

You'll get better results with a textured paper that's designed for printing, there are ones out there that are textured just like cold pressed watercolour paper. Art media can work in a printer but the results are certainly no better than on print media, usually worse.

 

[timor]

Anyone have experience printing on watercolor paper? I'm thinking about ordering some from Bay. Was it everything you hoped it would be?

What kind of printing are you going to do ? Inkjet ? Or silver gelatin ?

 

[jowensphoto]

^The "giclee" offered by Bay. I'm a bit confused (by debates I've seen else where) if giclee is really anything special?

The print is for a gallery consignment.

I'm looking for something that boosts the painting-like quality of the digital image. Maybe someone can point me in the direction of the best medium? Thanks for all the help so far

 

[Benco]

^The "giclee" offered by Bay. I'm a bit confused (by debates I've seen else where) if giclee is really anything special?

The print is for a gallery consignment.

I'm looking for something that boosts the painting-like quality of the digital image. Maybe someone can point me in the direction of the best medium? Thanks for all the help so far

The term 'Giclee' printing was invented to make high quality archival inkjet printing sound more sexy (and shorter), that's all it is though. As long as the printer knows his/her stuff and has the hardware and media to do the job the result will be as good as any snooty 'giclee' printer can do.

When you say 'the painting like quality' do you mean that the image is tweaked to make it look more like a painting or just that you want it printed on painting style media?

 

[jowensphoto]

(I wasn't sure about where to post this, I figured people who shoot film are more likely to print than digital )

By painting like quality, I'm meaning the way it was photographed. I'd like to have in printed in a way that compliments the characteristics of the photo.

 

[Ysarex]

^The "giclee" offered by Bay. I'm a bit confused (by debates I've seen else where) if giclee is really anything special?

The print is for a gallery consignment.

I'm looking for something that boosts the painting-like quality of the digital image. Maybe someone can point me in the direction of the best medium? Thanks for all the help so far

The term 'Giclee' printing was invented to make high quality archival inkjet printing sound more sexy (and shorter), that's all it is though. As long as the printer knows his/her stuff and has the hardware and media to do the job the result will be as good as any snooty 'giclee' printer can do.

When you say 'the painting like quality' do you mean that the image is tweaked to make it look more like a painting or just that you want it printed on painting style media?

I want to :thumbup:second this comment that giclee just means inkjet, and also spell out that "more sexy" should be understood as typically more $$exy and $$nooty.

Joe

 

[Ysarex]

^The "giclee" offered by Bay. I'm a bit confused (by debates I've seen else where) if giclee is really anything special?

The print is for a gallery consignment.

I'm looking for something that boosts the painting-like quality of the digital image. Maybe someone can point me in the direction of the best medium? Thanks for all the help so far

I think you're looking in the right direction toward an inkjet print. Inkjet prints can vary widely in look/feel and quality. Today's modern Epson/Canon inkjet printers can do a great job and their inks are more stable and fade resistant than prints made using RA4 materials. What you're looking for is a distinctive quality in the paper. It's all about the paper. If you're having the prints commercially made they should tell you specifically what paper is being used. There are a number of traditional water color papers that have been re-purposed with a surface to handle photo inkjet. I like to use them for photos of floral subjects where the more matte surface has a softer feel. Canson sells Arches Velin for inkjet use, it has a heavy matte surface. Legion sells Somerset enhanced which has a very traditional watercolor surface and a more natural base color. Epson has really stepped up to the plate lately with new paper stocks and their watercolor paper is excellent. Moab's Entrada is similar to the Arches Velin surface with options for a white and more natural base color.

Giclee isn't anything special, but a well made inkjet print on really excellent paper is special. It's all about the paper.

Joe

 

[compur]

I've printed on watercolor paper. I've printed gum, salt and Van Dykes. However I don't think my experiences would be of much help in this case.

But that giclee thing sure sounds artsy.

 

[Benco]

I see I got the wrong end of the stick with my original answer, I thought you were talking about printing on actual watercolour paper rather than watercolour style print media. My bad. There's nothing wrong with stuff like that.

 

[Benco]

I've printed on watercolor paper. I've printed gum, salt and Van Dykes. However I don't think my experiences would be of much help in this case.

But that giclee thing sure sounds artsy.

Oh yes, the top Artists (note the capital 'A') just loooove terms like 'Giclee', they're so full of sh1t.

 

[ColRay]

I thought this may have been salt printing on watercolour paper