My Favorite Metallic Paper Just Got Better - 300gsm Polar Pearl Metallic Plus

Carrera 4s by Ron Martinsen - All Rights Reserved
This image looks great on Polar Pearl Metallic Plus

Red River Paper has introduced a new 300gsm Polar Pearl Metallic Plus that offers the proven benefits of the original 255gsm weight Polar Pearl Metallic with more weight and thickness. You’ll get amazing results from this truly unique inkjet paper that closely matches the look of photo lab metallic prints. Polar Pearl Metallic features the same aspects as its lab equivalent - a high gloss finish and a pearlescent base stock that yields an elegant iridescence in your images. Getting great prints from Polar Pearl Metallic is easy, and Red River Paper even offers free printer profiles to make color management a breeze. This paper is compatible with any inkjet printer and requires no special equipment, inks, or finishing techniques to achieve the metallic effect.
300gsm Polar Pearl Metallic Plus is part of Red River's Polar family of products which represent the absolute state-of-the-art in photo inkjet papers.

Color profiles are available for your printer in Red River's color profile library using the same Polar Pearl Metallic profile for both the original and new version.

Handling guide and FAQ click here

• The look of photo lab metallic prints
• Compatible with any inkjet printer
• Low OBA paper
• 11.8mil photo thickness (vs 10.4 for the 255gsm version)
• Warm tone for pleasing color reproduction
• Acid free base stock. Coating slightly acidic.

To see my review of the thinner predecessor to this paper, check out my article entitled Metallic Paper Comparison: Red River Polar Pearl vs LexJet Sunset Photo (Coupon Code Included). I’ve used this new paper and it’s everything the original is with more substance which helps reduce the chance of accident denting – woohoo!

Click here to order this cool new paper today!

Special Offer

Example for coupon entry only – the offer and code here have expired

Visit http://www.redrivercatalog.com/landing/ronmart/ to learn what the latest offer details to see how much you can save!

Offer subject to change. See my discount coupon code page for the latest terms, and the printing series page for more Red River Paper articles.

Disclaimer

I may get a commission if you make a purchase using links in this article. I also was provided with sample paper to test for this review.

Let’s See Your Fall Colors

 
Canon EOS-1D X, f/13 @ 70 mm (24-70mm f/2.8L II),1/100, ISO 1600

The Fall colors are out of this world in Seattle right now. How are they in your area? Post your favorite fall colors shot you’ve taken recently to the ronmartblog.com Flickr group or Facebook page and let’s see the beauty of your area! I’d especially love to see shots from all around the world (you hear that readers from Japan, UK, Germany and Russia?).

This image was editing using Color Efex 4 which as great filters like Foliage, Skylight, Tonal Contrast, Polarization and more to help make your fall colors pop as much as you want. You can find a discount for Nik Software on my discount coupon code page.

A word about saturated colors and resizing

I intentionally did this one a little over the top to exaggerate the variety of colors in the shot, but downsizing it and converting it sRGB will exaggerate your colors even more (as pixels are discarded). To keep it from having that oversaturated HDR look (and this isn’t an HDR), then you’ll want to desaturate it about 20% to give it a little bit more of a believable look. To see the difference, hover over the above image for a less punchy version. (NOTE: Internet Explorer will typically show the most extreme saturation, with Chrome showing the most accurate color. Firefox tends to show colors more washed out).

You’ll also notice that this image has a lot of detail so when you resize it all of that detail gets crushed which makes the image look soft and kind of blurry. This is why your great foliage images are best shown big, so be sure to print out your favorite images at 13x19” or larger. I like the Epson R3000 or Canon PRO-1 for personal sized prints at an affordable price, but the best results are found on the pro printers featured in my printing series on premium fine art papers like Epson Exhibition Fiber or Red River Polar Pearl Metallic. 

Disclosure

If you make a purchase using links found in this article, I may make a commission.

Red River Polar Pearl Metallic Now In Rolls (Cash Discount Offer)

Red River Polar Pearl Metallic
is my preferred paper for my popular Manhattan Nightscape print
Copyright Ron Martinsen – ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Red River Polar Pearl Metallic is now available in rolls! Best of all you can get ANY Red River paper at a discounted price when you use my discount coupon code. Visit http://www.redrivercatalog.com/landing/ronmart/ or my discount coupon code page for details.

If you are fan of Epson’s Exhibition Fiber or Luster, then you’ll definitely love UltraPro™ Satin Photo Inkjet Paper.

If you’ve never tried Red River papers before then consider getting their Photographer's Choice Sample Kit.

Disclaimer

I may get a commission if you make a purchase using links in this article. I also was provided with sample paper to test for this review.

Metallic Paper Comparison: Red River Polar Pearl vs LexJet Sunset Photo (Coupon Code Included)

Red River Polar Pearl Metallic
is my preferred paper for my popular Manhattan Nightscape print
Copyright Ron Martinsen – ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

When I did my printing series the first third party paper I tested was LexJet’s Sunset Photo Metallic which I learned about from Eddie Tapp. It is a great paper that I raved about in my review, but it’s pretty expensive. What’s more, the discount that I negotiated for you only lasted a short time and LexJet never renewed it. I get lots of requests to bring the discount back or offer a comparable paper for a better price, so I’m here to share some exciting news about that happening.

I’ve been using LexJet Sunset Photo Metallic for over a year and Red River Polar Pearl for over four months. During my testing I’ve found the papers to be identical in performance, so I’ve been able to use the same printer profile for both papers from a given printer and get identical results! If you like Metallic paper, both will serve you well but Red River Polar Pearl Metallic will just cost you a lot less.

Red River Polar Pearl Metallic Specifications

Here are the key facts that I have gathered about this paper:

Basis Weight	255 g/m²
Thickness	10.4 mil
ISO Brightness	78 (est)
Base Material	Resin-coated (RC) photo paper
Surface Finish	High-gloss, metallic

Click here to learn more about this paper. For Canon printers, I disagree with their recommendations and suggest that you go to LexJet’s site to get the Sunset Metallic Media Type file (AM1 file) for your printer and use it instead of the the Photo Paper Glossy (I & II) media type.

Paper Profiles

You can get Red River Paper Profiles here, but I’ve done a quick link to printers covered on this blog:

• Canon ipf6300/ipf6350 & ipf8300 – I tested this profile and it more accurate than the Lexjet profile, but I personally prefer the additional warmth found in Lexjet’s profile. Precise color matching work should use this profile with the Relative Colormetric rendering intent.
• Epson 3880 – This profile appears to perform better than what Lexjet offers since they only offer a 3800 profile. I prefer Canon printers over Epson for this paper, but you can get accurate results with this profile. On Epson my preference is still to use ColorByte ImagePrint (my review of version 9 is coming soon).
• Epson 4900 – Currently Red River Paper is using the profile they generated for the 7900 and 9900 which is incorrect. While the 4900 uses the same ink and print head technology, I’ve discovered (and verified with printer driver experts) that the 4900 differs just enough that it requires its own paper profile for the best result.
• Colorbyte ImagePrint – I am now testing version 9.0.0.1 and it had profiles for both my 3880 and 4900. I printed using both the Red River Polar Pearl Metallic and Lexjet Sunset Photo Metallic profiles and the results were identical.

How To Walkthrough

My Sunset Photo Metallic article had a walkthrough which showed how to use this paper with PC’s and Mac’s in Photoshop and Lightroom. Everything in that article applies to this paper – you can even use the Lexjet profiles and settings OR you can just substitute the Red River profile. As a result, I won’t redo all of that discussion for this article, but I have included some screen shots using the Red River profiles to point you in the right direction.  

Canon imagePrograf Print Plug-In for Photoshop

Canon iPF6300 Print Plug-In for Photoshop
Lexjet Sunset Metallic Media Type and Red River Polar Pearl Paper Profile

Colorbyte ImagePrint 9.0.0.1

Colorbyte ImagePrint 9 settings for an Epson 4900
(change display lighting and speed to suit your needs)

Epson 4900 in Photoshop CS4 Printer Dialogs

Do this to center your image to the paper

Photoshop CS4 Settings*

I continue to advice those who care about color matching to use Photoshop CS4 instead of CS5 for printing. Unfortunately CS5 appears to add its own saturation enhancements to your photos which makes soft proofing and accurate color matching impossible.

Conclusion

In all of my testing, I found the performance of Red River Polar Pearl Metallic to be identical to LexJet Sunset Photo Metallic. You can use either profile with either paper, but my preference is for the Lexjet profiles which are a bit warmer. The Red River paper costs less and that is BEFORE the special offer (see below) on this blog which makes it even more affordable. With 12 sheet sizes offered by Red River versus only 3 by Lexjet, the odds are that you’ll find the size you need and can save some money.

UPDATE: Red River Paper now sells metallic in rolls! Now there’s no excuse not to get this paper as its cheaper than the competition PLUS I have a special offer below to make it even more affordable!

Special Offer

Example for coupon entry only – the offer and code here have expired

Visit http://www.redrivercatalog.com/landing/ronmart/ to learn what the latest offer details are as well

Offer subject to change. See my discount coupon code page for the latest terms, and the printing series page for more Red River Paper articles.

Disclaimer

I may get a commission if you make a purchase using links in this article. I also was provided with sample paper to test for this review.