Photo Paper News

Many photographers love printing their images and displaying their best photos at home or at work. Beautiful prints also make great gifts for family and friends, and they’re also a great way to closely evaluate your work.

Claims about inkjet print permanence have been bandied about for years and while there have not been (and certainly cannot be) “real world” tests without the use of a time machine, it’s generally accepted that “accelerated” aging tests are a good indication of when a paper/ink combination will start to lose color fidelity/density, or even when the paper base and coating itself will cause problems. Indeed, this discussion can be as contentious as it is competitive, such as what happened six years ago when Epson properly threw down the gauntlet to Kodak, whose in-house test methodology and claims for their papers were subject to dispute.

Print surface decisions are usually conditional, that is, they depend on the look you want for each image and how you might intend to display the print later. There is a general wisdom that states that glossy surfaces make prints look “sharper” and matte makes them look “softer”, although that softness is more in overall tone and mood (and ink dispersion) than edge definition.

At the PhotoPlus Expo show in New York City this past week, Epson introduced its most advanced line of photographic papers—Epson Legacy Papers.

Everybody makes prints from their digital image files—everybody. It may just be cranking out a few photo prints from a birthday party on a kiosk at Walgreens, or wedding photographers having full albums printed at commercial labs, but contrary to some pundits who claim digital has destroyed the need for a physical print, they are still being made and enjoyed. As Mark Twain once said, “Facts are stubborn, but statistics are more pliable.”

Photokina 2014 in Germany has been covered widely on the Internet already—including our own extensive reporting on the show on Shutterbug.com—so there’s no need for me to rehash the major announcements from the event, such as the latest full-frame cameras from Canon and Nikon and the like. My photo report here is aimed at sharing some wider ranging thoughts and perspectives on this important biennial show and what it told us about photography today and where it might be heading tomorrow.

The Technical Image Press Association (TIPA) member magazines recently convened for their General Assembly to vote for the best photo and imaging products launched by the industry in the last 12 months. The voting took place during the General Assembly that was held in spring, 2014, in Vancouver, Canada.