Today I want to talk about the other side of photography that in my opinion photographers have forgotten about, print making. Ilford is one of those brands that have literally stood the test of time. For over 130 years Ilford has been involved in the photographic process and since 1998 Ilford has been immersed in the fine art ink jet paper market.

My favorite paper right now is Ilford’s5 star Galerie Prestige Cotton Artist Textured Paper. Thisis a 100% cotton rag 310gsm (grams per square meter) paper that feels wonderfully heavy and firm at touch. I can promise you that once you hold this paper in your hand you will feel just how special the paper is. There are no optical brighteners, which can cause your paper to fade and yellow over time. The Cotton Artist Textured paper feels like a traditional watercolor paper that a painter might use.

What impressed me most is the clarity and sharpness of my prints. I wanted that watercolor look without sacrificing sharpness, and so I was pleasantly surprised when the colors and sharpness jumped off the print.

This particular print was taken in Venice, Italy, and had a wide color range with deep greens and light blues. The Cotton Artist Textured covered the color gamut flawlessly. I print and show my landscapes with the art gallery, Drizl. When I sell a print, my customers are looking for that fine art touch and feel, so paper choice is paramount to producing beautiful works of art.

A good way to get a feel for all of Ilford’s papers is to buy one of their Discovery Packs. These sample packs allow you to try four papers at a time , so you can find what paper works best for you. Another important step is to download the ICC profiles for your select inject printer (Epson, Canon, and HP). The ICC profile is a custom profile from Ilford that is made specifically for each paper.

I can’t finish this post without mentioning a couple other papers from Ilford that I really like but for different reasons, the Ilford Galerie Prestige Gold Fibre Gloss 310gsm and Smooth Cotton Rag 310gsm.

I like to use the Smooth Cotton Rag for some of my B&W images because it gives that charcoal etching look while maintaining paper firmness.

I also like to use the Gold Fibre Gloss for architectural photography because the paper saves those finite details without having to sacrifice that cotton rag feel.

I hope you enjoyed reading this post. Please feel free to leave comments and share this blog with your friends. Please make sure you also sign up for my newsletter, where I give away prints and show the tips and tricks I use to produce my works of art. Happy Printing

Semper Fi