A3 Portable Printing Press

Documents look like they came off of a printing press.

I was printing on 11x14 Epson photo paper on my Epson 1430 and recently got the A3 size and the increase in size is very noticeable and also less cropping is needed. The quality of the print remains excellent. I have found that I need to make the image a little brighter on my computer screen to get the same brightness on the paper. The cost of the ink is an issue (for me) but I only use this printer to print photos and use an Epson Eco tank printer for all my normal printing needs which is a very economical printer.

This is the paper I use most often for printing but prior to now used 4X6, 8X10 and 8.5 X 11. This is first time I am using A3+ size and the quality of prints is the same with this much larger size. Only wish is that the price would be lower.

We use this product for color managed proof for our Heidelberg XL105 6/C printing press.

I use the Epson Hot Press Natural (all cut sizes up to 17x22) for most of my fine art prints. The paper is slightly warm toned and smooth, and has great detail sharpness and color range. It prints well in my Epson 3880 through the rear manual load tray. Handling is much better than other matte fine art papers I've used. It does not flake, so I have found I don't need to brush or blow off the surface prior to printing, and the surface is more durable after printing.

I am currently printing for a photography class, I print all of my own photographs and this is my favorite paper right now to print on. It is also an excellent quality paper for the cost! Enhanced matte has striking quality of color and sharpness and is comparable to Premium Luster. It works great in rendering the darks and lights without losing deatil within the image. Because it is matte, watching the darks from losing detail can be a little difficult, but I find enhanced matte is the easiest to work with in comparrison to thicker papers, such as Hot Press or Cold Press.

I'm an advanced amateur and do a medium volume of printing. Dozens but not hundreds of images hanging on other peoples' walls, mainly 12x18 and 16x24. Epson 3880. After printing on semi-gloss media for years (Harman Baryta and Canson Baryta were favorites), I've recently switched to matte for framed work. I don't adhere prints to the backboard, I mount to a front mat with archival corners, and the gloss papers show the paper's undulations since the print is floating. It's particularly distracting with larger images and with museum glass. I've tested probably 50 papers by printing color wheels, B&W scales, and a handful of challenging images on each paper: same images, same size, same printer. Epson Hot Press Bright is my current favorite. Particularly behind glass or acrylic, the blacks are as black, the colors as vibrant, and the details as sharp as the barytas. In fact, if there's any glare from daylight or artificial light, the HPB is more vibrant because there are fewer distracting glares. It's important to test your prints behind the glazing of your choice if that's how they'll be displayed. Mattes get better behind glass; glossies and semi-glossies get worse. Of the 4 Epsons, I prefer the smooth Hot Press to the stippled Cold Press, and the white Bright to the warmer, creamier Natural, but that's just personal preference. Hahnemuhle PhotoRag Ultrasmooth is very comparable, but 50% more expensive.

I have been using HP5+ 4x5 with Graflex press cameras for the past 6 years. I use my negatives for darkroom printing and also scan them. The tones are wonderful and the film is always consistent. I expose at ISO 320 to get good shadow detail in the final darkroom prints. I use Ilfotec HC (same as Kodak HC-110) for development.

My standard printing paper is smooth-surfaced Epson Hot Press Natural but sometimes I want a more textured surface. Cold Press Natural has become that paper for the majority of those times. I love the substantial feel and the weight of the paper. The not-so-bright natural whites are clean, the blacks are black, colors are radiant and the texture is just about perfect. I just finished a project of printing some of my older photographs done with compact cameras and less than state-of-the-art digital equipment. Although the quality of the photos are excellent for the time, they lack the resolution and sharpness of today's better cameras. To maintain the overall look but hide the imperfections, Cold Press Natural was my choice.

It is a good quality and inexpensive storage box for A3 size unmounted prints.