Showing posts with label Legacy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Legacy. Show all posts

Sunday, February 21, 2016

REVIEW: Epson Legacy Platine & Video Tutorial (Legacy Series 4 of 5)

Epson Legacy Platine Paper
Epson Legacy Platine Paper

Epson Legacy Platine paper is a cotton fiber substrate that uses photo black ink to create archival quality fine art prints. Here are a few important facts about this paper:

  • 100% cotton fiber
  • Image Permanence: 200 years color / 400 years B&W (when used with Epson HD and Epson HDX Ink)
  • 17 mil / 432 Mu caliper
  • Acid and lignin free / pH buffered
  • No Optical Brightening Agents
  • Smooth surface / Satin finish

Check out the Print Your Legacy landing page with videos here to see what some well respected photographers think of this and all of the Legacy papers.

For more on my thoughts, continue reading.

Geeky Comparison

If you aren’t a geek you might want to skip this section.

When comparing Platine next to a variety of other Epson papers you’ll see that its color gamut is outstanding even against Exhibition Fiber Paper which was my previous favorite:


Epson Legacy Platine vs Baryta, Exhibition Fibre Paper (EFP) and Metallics
Click  for a larger view

compare the color gamut as a 2d chart (from ColorThink Pro) against Exhibition Fiber  Paper  then you’ll see they are fairly similar:

Epson Legacy Platine vs Cold Press Natural Color Gamut
Epson Legacy Platine vs Exhibition Fiber vs Legacy Etching Color Gamut
on a Epson SureColor P800

In The Hands Analysis

This paper is rigid enough not to flex when you hold the edge, but it is less thick and rigid as Exhibition Fiber (EFP) yet thicker than Luster. The texture is closer to Luster, but a lot less busy. It does have more visible light gathering texture than EFP, but that has the advantage in that I didn’t see the scuffing issues that seem so prevalent with EFP.

The colors are simply jaw dropping, and better than any paper I’ve seen before it. The blacks are incredibly deep with its nearly 2.7 Dmax and the colors just pop off the page better than most displays can render the color. I was so thrilled when I saw the results that I wanted to stop everything and start reprinting all of my favorite prints over again on this paper – it’s that good!

The flexibility of this paper means it should be a lot more roll paper friendly than Exhibition Fiber or even Legacy Baryta which would be a big plus for pano and super large prints.

Real World Print Analysis


Epson V850 scan of Legacy Platine on a Mac (16-bit)
(Click for Original Mac Version above or Windows Version Here)

The photo below is a scan of a print made using this paper, but even the scan is so vivid that it looks like the original photo! This is a great example of just how wide the color gamut is for this paper (included by permission of Vincent Versace author of Welcome to Oz 2 and Oz to Kansas: Black & White Conversion Techniques):


Actual Epson V850 Scan of a Print from SureColor P9000 on Legacy Platine

as well as this one which is available as a full resolution 24MB TIFF scan:


Full Resolution Tiff V850 Scan of a SureColor P800 Legacy Platine Print

On a scale of 1 (worse) to 10 (the best I’ve ever seen), I’d give it a 9.5 whereas I’d give the Exhibition Fiber Signature Worthy papers a 9.4. It’s outstanding and extremely pleasing to the eye, but a bit it isn’t quite as rigid as Exhibition Fiber.

Tutorial Video

This video teaches you how to print on this paper in both Photoshop CC 2015 and Lightroom CC 2015 on Windows 10 , but past reviews were done on OS X El Capitan:

If you’d like visual instructions, including Advanced Black & White, then be sure to check out the visual tutorial in the Epson Legacy Papers Reviews & Tutorials video which covers both Windows and Mac.

The printer paper profile you use will be in the format <printer> LegacyPlatine_PK_<version>.icc (or sometimes icm) so for the Epson SureColor P800 you’d choose SC-P800_Series LegacyPlatine_PK_v1.icc

Conclusion

I didn’t know what to make of this paper when I first heard about it. I had high hopes that were exceeded for the Baryta, so I wondered why this was even necessary. Now that I’ve used it, I think if I were going to get print via roll paper I’d choose the Platine over the Baryta or Exhibition Fiber as the lighter weight would resist curling much better than its thicker counterparts. What’s more, this is so much richer and darker than Exhibition Fiber, that I don’t see the point in even using EFP anymore.

Of the four papers in the new Legacy series, this is the sleeper hit that I think roll users are going to love the most in the long run. My only gripe is that its pleasing texture is more reflective than Baryta or EFP, so that could be a turn off if a print was placed in a location where side light would make it hard to view the print while hanging on the wall. With that said, it’s less distracting than what you get from Luster, so images with lots of texture (especially abstracts) could actually use this characteristic to an advantage.

To say that I highly recommend this paper is an understatement – it’s simply incredible, so YES – I HIGHLY, HIGHLY, HIGHLY recommend it for people looking for incredible color and black depth in a paper that isn’t going to curl like heck when you are done printing.

Where to order

Click here to learn more or order at Adorama or order at B&H here.

Just want to try it out first? Try picking up the Legacy sample pack (also at Adorama) that I used for testing!

Other articles you may enjoy

If you enjoyed this article, you may also enjoy these:

Disclosure

If you make a purchase using links found in this article, I may make a commission. It doesn’t cost you a penny more, but it does help to support future articles like this.

By ronmartblog.com at February 21, 2016 0 comments
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Wednesday, February 17, 2016

REVIEW: Epson Legacy Etching & Video Tutorial (Legacy Series 3 of 5)

Epson Legacy Etching Paper
Epson Legacy Etching Paper

Epson Legacy Etching paper is a cotton fiber substrate that uses matte black ink to create archival quality fine art prints. Here are a few important facts about this paper:

  • 100% cotton fiber
  • Image Permanence: 200 years color / 400 years B&W (when used with Epson HD and Epson HDX Ink)
  • 20 mil / 508 Mu caliper
  • Acid and lignin free / pH buffered
  • No Optical Brightening Agents (OBAs)
  • Smooth surface / Matte finish

Check out the Print Your Legacy landing page with videos here to see what some well respected photographers think of this and all of the Legacy papers.

For more on my thoughts, continue reading.

Geeky Comparison

If you aren’t a geek you might want to skip this section.

When comparing Etching next to a variety of other Epson papers you’ll see that its color gamut isn’t quite as large as some of the others:


Epson Legacy Etching vs Legacy Fibre,
Cold Press Bright & Natural, and Hot Press Bright and Natural
Click  for a larger view

However, in practice the differences don’t feel that large. In fact, if you compare the color gamut as a 2d chart (from ColorThink Pro) against Cold Press Natural then you’ll see they are fairly similar:


Epson Legacy Etching vs Cold Press Natural Color Gamut
on a Epson SureColor P800

In The Hands Analysis

When holding the paper in my hand I observed that it is slightly darker than Epson Velvet and much brighter than Hot Press Natural, despite the absence of OBA’s. This makes it more aesthetically pleasing paper with whites, yet it still retains the archival longevity of papers that do not have OBA’s.

The texture and thickness of my sample paper felt much like the Hot and Cold Press papers which is a good thing, as I love a hearty matte paper that doesn’t flex when you hold it. This coupled with a noticeable texture when viewed at an angle that feels good in the hand, but doesn’t stand out on the print means that you get all of the advantages of a textured matte paper without it distracting from your photo. I like that – a lot!

In terms of durability, it’s like all matte papers with matte ink – you have to be careful as it’s easy to scratch or smudge so using gloves is recommended and protect as soon as possible. However, it seemed less fragile than the Fibre in real world testing use and abuse.

If you are someone who appreciates things that feel good in your hands, you will definitely love this paper!

Real World Print Analysis


Epson V850 scan of Legacy Etching on a Mac (16-bit)
(Click for Original Mac Version above or Windows Version Here)

While the colors look a bit washed out in the scan, in real life it isn’t quite so faded looking. In fact the prints vibrant and the blacks look deep, but it’s not like Baryta bright and deep. As a matte paper, I found it to be very good. In fact, unless you have it next to better color gamut papers you’ll most likely find that feels exceptionally vibrant for a matte paper. This is definitely true of this photo (image provided by Epson for this review):


Actual Epson V850 Scan of a Print from SureColor P9000 on Legacy Etching

as well as this one which is available as a full resolution 24MB TIFF scan printing using Epson Advanced Black & White mode:


Full Resolution Tiff V850 Scan of a SureColor P800 Legacy Etching Print
Advanced Black & White Mode Used (Warm / Dark presets)
Faded old photo look created using Texture Effects

The ABW print has excellent grayscale tonal range, but it comes at the cost of not faithfully reproducing the color. Just for completeness sake I’ve included this one which is available as a full resolution 24MB TIFF scan printing in color using the icc paper profile for the P800:


Full Resolution Tiff V850 Scan of a SureColor P800 Legacy Etching Print

For reference, I’ve also done a print and scan using Epson Hot Press Natural:


Full Resolution Tiff V850 Scan of a SureColor P800 Hot Press Natural Print

and one using Velvet Fine Art:


Full Resolution Tiff V850 Scan of a SureColor P800 Velvet Fine Art Print

During my testing I observed that the Legacy Etching had the best overall result when printing as a color image when compared to the Hot Press Natural and Velvet Fine Art papers. In theory the Hot Press should have better blacks, but the Etching print just had a richer feel to it thanks to the most accurate reproduction of the original colors – presumably due to a great paper profile. The Hot Press Natural was the warmest toned paper of the trio with the Etching landing right in the middle as the Velvet was the brightest.

The Velvet was also the worst print with more muddled blacks, so I really appreciated the Legacy Etching even more after this test – especially using Advanced Black and White mode where the grayscale range was excellent.

On a scale of 1 (worse) to 10 (the best I’ve ever seen), I’d give it a 8.8 whereas I’d give the Hot Press Signature Worthy papers a 8.5, and Velvet a 6. This is an excellent paper that feels wonderful in the hand and its great paper profile means fantastic color and black and white prints that are faithful to the original image (assuming you have a properly calibrated display – which most don’t).

Tutorial Video with ABW

This video teaches you how to print on this paper in both Photoshop CC 2015 and Lightroom CC 2015 on OS X El Capitan with an emphasis on Advanced Black & White mode, but future reviews will also cover Windows 10:

If you’d like visual instructions, including Advanced Black & White, then be sure to check out the visual tutorial in the Epson Legacy Papers Reviews & Tutorials video which covers both Windows and Mac.

The printer paper profile you use will be in the format <printer> LegacyEtching_MK_<version>.icc (or sometimes icm) so for the Epson SureColor P800 you’d choose SC-P800_Series LegacyEtching_MK_v1.icc

Conclusion

I had such a high regard for the Epson Hot Press papers for their incredible dmax and color gamut (for a matte paper) that I went in wanting to declare them the winner. When I saw the “data” that confirmed my gut instincts, I was even more ready to say this wasn’t as good. However, when I held prints in my hand and compared them under my GTI lightbox it became clear that Epson has generated an excellent icc paper profile which creates great prints that rival the statistically better Hot Press papers.

I was also a huge fan of the cold press papers for their wonderful texture, so again I expected that etching would disappoint me. However, I found the texture on this paper to be substantial enough to see and feel but subtle enough so as not to distract. In fact, I wish it was a little more aggressive with the texture, but then again I’m a huge fan of the heavily textured Hahnemühle German Etching.

As matte papers go, this is one of the finest I’ve tested. I’d have to toss a coin when comparing the Legacy Etching to the Hot Press Natural as to which is better, so I’d probably purchase the cheaper of the two if there was a deal. All things equal, I’d probably go for the Legacy Etching. With that said, I enjoy bright papers so I’d probably do Cold Press Bright or Hot Press Bright for my fine art matte paper needs, but they are all so good I can’t see a customer who appreciates matte prints being disappointed with any of them.

I highly recommend Legacy Etching for its bright OBA free color, its wonderful but not over done texture and its wide color gamut that allows for faithful reproduction of my fine art prints.

Where to order

Click here to learn more or order at Adorama and click here to learn more or order from B&H.

Other articles you may enjoy

If you enjoyed this article, you may also enjoy these:

Disclosure

If you make a purchase using links found in this article, I may make a commission. It doesn’t cost you a penny more, but it does help to support future articles like this.

By ronmartblog.com at February 17, 2016 0 comments
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REVIEW: Epson Legacy Fibre & Video Tutorial (Legacy Series 2 of 5)

Epson Legacy Fibre Paper
Epson Legacy Fibre Paper

Epson Legacy Fibre paper is a cotton fiber substrate that uses matte black ink to create archival quality fine art prints. Here are a few important facts about this paper:

  • 100% cotton fiber
  • Image Permanence: 200 years color / 400 years B&W (when used with Epson HD and Epson HDX Ink)
  • 19 mil / 483 Mu caliper
  • Acid and lignin free / pH buffered
  • No Optical Brightening Agents (OBAs)
  • Smooth surface / Matte finish

Check out the Print Your Legacy landing page with videos here to see what some well respected photographers think of this and all of the Legacy papers.

For more on my thoughts, continue reading.

Geeky Comparison

If you aren’t a geek you might want to skip this section.

When comparing Fibre next to a variety of other Epson papers you’ll see that its color gamut isn’t quite as large as some of the others:


Epson Legacy Fibre vs Legacy Etching,
Cold Press Bright & Natural, and Hot Press Bright and Natural
Click  for a larger view

However, in practice the differences don’t feel that large. In fact, if you compare the color gamut as a 2d chart (from ColorThink Pro) against Cold Press Natural then you’ll see they are fairly similar:

Epson Legacy Fibre vs Cold Press Natural Color Gamut
Epson Legacy Fibre vs Cold Press Natural Color Gamut
on a Epson SureColor P800

In The Hands Analysis

When holding the paper in my hand I observed that it is slightly brighter than Epson Velvet and much brighter than Hot Press Natural, despite the absence of OBA’s. This makes it more aesthetically pleasing paper with whites, yet it still retains the archival longevity of papers that do not have OBA’s.

The texture and thickness of my sample paper felt much like Ultra Premium Presentation Paper Matte in that it is very flexible. If you hold it at the edge it will flex down unlike Hot or Cold Press papers that stay rigid. However, the sample provided by Epson using Vincent Versace’s print felt more solid like a 19 mil paper should. As a result, I think might have received a sample that was closer to 10 mil vs the final paper that is 19 mil.

UPDATE: I did confirm that two of the three sample packs I had contained 10 mil Fibre Etching whereas the third contained 19 mil – which fills like the hot and cold press papers. I confirmed that the print results didn’t change, but the feel in the hand was significantly better without the flexing.

The texture is extremely smooth with no hint of any texture, so I really liked that. While there are times that I like texture, and appreciate papers like Etching, there’s also certain subjects that can be ruined if the paper has too much texture (i.e., a smooth vegetable or fruit). As a result those who are looking for a super smooth paper that isn’t going to have annoying reflections like RC papers, will find this to be an excellent choice.

In terms of durability, it’s like all matte papers with matte ink – you have to be careful as it’s easy to scratch or smudge so using gloves is recommended and protect as soon as possible.

Real World Print Analysis


Epson V850 scan of Legacy Fibre on a Mac (16-bit)
(Click for Original Mac Version above or Windows Version Here)

While the colors look a bit washed out in the scan, in real life it isn’t quite so faded looking. In fact the prints vibrant and the blacks look deep, but it’s not like Baryta bright and deep. As a matte paper, I found it to be very good. In fact, unless you have it next to better color gamut papers you’ll most likely find that feels exceptionally vibrant for a matte paper. This is definitely true of this photo (included by permission of Vincent Versace author of Welcome to Oz 2 and Oz to Kansas: Black & White Conversion Techniques):


Actual Epson V850 Scan of a Print from SureColor P9000 on Legacy Fibre

as well as this one which is available as a full resolution 24MB TIFF scan:


Full Resolution Tiff V850 Scan of a SureColor P800 Legacy Fibre Print

On a scale of 1 (worse) to 10 (the best I’ve ever seen), I’d give it a 7 whereas I’d give the Hot Press Signature Worthy papers a 8.5. It’s very good and pleasing to both the eye and hand.

Tutorial Video

This video teaches you how to print on this paper in both Photoshop CC 2015 and Lightroom CC 2015 on OS X El Capitan, but future reviews will also cover Windows 10:

If you’d like visual instructions, including Advanced Black & White, then be sure to check out the visual tutorial in the Epson Legacy Papers Reviews & Tutorials video which covers both Windows and Mac.

The printer paper profile you use will be in the format <printer> LegacyFibre_MK_<version>.icc (or sometimes icm) so for the Epson SureColor P800 you’d choose SC-P800_Series LegacyFibre_MK_v1.icc

Conclusion

Of the four Legacy papers I tested, this was my least favorite. While I did like it and found it to be very good, I honestly would go for Hot Press Bright (despite the OBA’s) if I wanted a bright smooth paper and if I wanted no OBA’s I’d reach for Hot Press Natural. If I wanted texture, I’d go for Legacy Etching, so this paper is left in a category where I’d use it if I had it but I probably wouldn’t buy it or chose it over the others for an important fine art print. 

Where to order

Click here to learn more or order at Adorama

Other articles you may enjoy

If you enjoyed this article, you may also enjoy these:

Disclosure

If you make a purchase using links found in this article, I may make a commission. It doesn’t cost you a penny more, but it does help to support future articles like this.

By ronmartblog.com at February 17, 2016 5 comments
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