Paper is the basis for any good print and especially inkjet printers heavily depend on the right combination of ink and paper (along with the correct color management). The best printer isn't allowed to shine if the paper is not compatible or simply of lesser quality. The price tag of Epson's line of Premium photo paper alone suggests that quality should not be an issue.

Why? Home printing has become a popular albeit often expensive alternative to photo labs. However, this is not the main application for Epson's professional photo paper. Associated cost and in this case large format gear the A3 size more towards graphics studios and enthusiasts that want maximum control over their prints and don't want to wait. Of course that requires to have the proper equipment available. Anyway, professional photo paper is a great basis to bring out Epson's color definition and resolution as shown in the recent R260.

Size: The large A3 size isn't technically usable with my - Epson Stylus Photo R260 printer, but photos from our trip to - New Zealand simply deserved a bigger "canvas", and most kind of lend themselves to panoramic prints anyway. Trimming the 11.7 inches to 8.5 gave me a perfect 16.5x8.5 inches panorama which is close enough to the desired 16:9 ratio by virtue of the gained nearly 5 inches in length over standard letter. While that's an expensive way to outgrow the standard letter size, it's currently one of the easiest. Owners of larger format printers like Epson's new R3800 are typically used to higher cost anyway and the Premium Luster is a great companion for art prints. If a little smaller will do, the 8.5x14 inch (legal) paper is cheaper in this application due to the lack of cut-off waste. However, to my knowledge it's not available in Luster finish.

Weight & texture: The thickness of 10 mil (0.25mm) and resulting weight of 240 g/m2 give the Premium Luster a solid photo feel that largely maintains shape without problem. The Luster finish is sometimes mistaken as some sort of ultra glossy, but realistically it's more like a satin finish with a slight texture. Both improve feel and looks significantly by hiding dust particles and minor scratches. This comes at the expense of minor (!) reduction in brilliance (similar to anti-glare), a small price to pay for more robust prints with an even shine. Either way, make sure to not touch the picture surface until printed. (Finger prints may prevent the ink from absorbing in the affected spots.) ISO brightness is rated at 97% and gloss (reflectivity) is a moderate 16 at 60 degree. The result is an effective anti-glare texture with just enough shine to give your pictures a professional look. The rated optimized print resolution is 2880 dpi, which pretty much is based on the paper texture and finer structures may not be reproduced as accurately.

Printing: Epson specifies room temperature at 60F to 80F (15C - 25C) and humidity should be with in 40% to 60%. The more humidity the longer the drying (especially before hot lamination). Dry days make it sometimes a little hard to reach the proposed 40%, but it doesn't seem to create too much of a problem aside from the paper being a little more absorbing. The best output, however, most heavily depends on calibration of both printer and monitor (for processing). Typical problems include wrong paper type in the driver, wrong color profile (for the paper type) and especially competing color management between printer and computer. Be sure to turn one of the two off. It's much easier to determine the print side, as the back holds Epson watermarks and "no duplication" remarks. The latter makes it illegal for your customers to make copies and is particularly useful when trying to use professional services for the act. Pictures from my Canon EOS 20D, converted by DxO Optics Pro v4.1 and finally arranged and printed by Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 1.0, turn out in a stunning color and resolution at full size (cropped A3) with roughly 240 dpi. Slight improvements were noticeable when up-rezzing with Genuine Fractals.

Durability: The coating of photo paper in conjunction with a specific ink is the basis for long lasting prints (and the durability claims made by Epson). Using both premium photo paper and the new Claria ink, Epson suggests high resistance against smudging while handling. UV resistance is claimed to be high. Keep in mind that archival condition reduce UV exposure to a minimum (either behind glass avoiding direct sun light, or by storing in an acid-free album). Under those condition the Premium / Claria combination is rated to last 200 years (in storage) or 98 years on display (minimal UV). Obviously these are times that are hard to verify. Nevertheless, strong direct sunlight still fades pictures quickly within months when not protected by glass. A protective coating (laminate) is suggested in situations where neither glass shield nor album storage are acceptable.

Compatibility: In general, if you're buying specialized paper that's made by the printer manufacturer, this is typically the best combination anyway. Therefor, using it exclusively with Epson printers (or more specifically ink) is recommended. I didn't have access to a comparable inkjet from another manufacturer. However, results should still be good yet chances are that you may find optimized paper from your manufacturer to be slightly better. Given the price tag (and in my case associated waste), I reserve the A3 to special photos after I already printed a smaller proof for color verification. Feeding the printer with 240 dpi to 360 dpi may require to up-rez pictures to mitigate, but of course native resolution yields best results.

Cost: At $93 (MSRP) per 50 sheets, the A3 Premium Luster contributes roughly $2 in paper cost alone to a single print. There is some special pricing available online, but in stores Epson seems to control distribution and retail price tightly (similar to ink cartridges). This is not too surprising since this is the true source of income for the manufacturer while printer hardware prices suggest calculated losses. Anyway, if you're not wasting too many sheets with test prints or problems, the cost per full size photo still runs within $5 for both paper and ink (not counting printer hardware like the Epson Stylus Photo R260). Coated paper is much less absorbing than standard paper and ultimately requires much less ink. Overall cost is not bad for a high quality print, considering online services charging roughly $7 for the same size but with occasionally different interpretations of your pictures (automated "correction"). Doing it yourself certainly maintains ultimate control of printing at home or in the studio.


© 2007, theuerkorn


- Epson Stylus Photo R260
- Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 1.0
- DxO Optics Pro v4.1
- Canon EOS 20D
- OnOne Genuine Fractals 4.1

Recommended: Yes

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