ACTION Photo paper and canvas and other low cost papers

[palombian]

Thanks for the advice.

I made a profile for the PRO-9500 II with Inkjet Hagaki settings and the result is quite pleasing.
No striking difference in colour with PRO-10 prints (on better paper and with better inks).
I would not be ashamed to give the prints away, most people won't see the difference.
For kids crafting it is easier to print than cardboard.
Will keep my 9500 busy.

Contrary to Aldi and Lidl the paper is always available.

ACTION stores sell low budget items in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Austria, Poland.

PS: they also have magnetic photo paper, in case there is room left on the fridge door.

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

Contrary to Aldi and Lidl the paper is always available.

I can get the Sihl paper for 8€ per 50 sheets A4 - w/o shipping, but I don't know why Sihl is not shipping outside Germany .
I'm using as it fits cc castcoated fotopapers from Labelheaven, LogicSeek or Mediarange - via Amazon or other dealers.
You are using pigment inks, but users of dye inks should be aware that such cc papers have a rather open surface structure and perform worse than PE papers when tested for UV/ozone stability. So using cheap 3rd party dye refill inks on such cc papers may disappoint you after a while when prints get a suntan look. It's all about the price/performance ratio you need to be aware of and a conscious decision whether such paper is good (enough) for the purpose.

 

[palombian]

I can get the Sihl paper for 8€ per 50 sheets A4 - w/o shipping, but I don't know why Sihl is not shipping outside Germany .
I'm using as it fits cc castcoated fotopapers from Labelheaven, LogicSeek or Mediarange - via Amazon or other dealers.
You are using pigment inks, but users of dye inks should be aware that such cc papers have a rather open surface structure and perform worse than PE papers when tested for UV/ozone stability. So using cheap 3rd party dye refill inks on such cc papers may disappoint you after a while when prints get a suntan look. It's all about the price/performance ratio you need to be aware of and a conscious decision whether such paper is good (enough) for the purpose.

Labelheaven 180g is offered on amazon.de at very good prices and most important in larger sizes.
Interesting a review mentions the sprocket wheels are visible, same as on my test (with a magnifying glass).
I read also it has not a paper back.
But you mentioned waving, maybe because it is only 180g io 210.
How do you rate this paper with pigment ink ?

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

I'm only using dye inks on these cc papers, I don't know how they perform with pigment inks. I was using a 180g paper which got rather wavy , I place the printed sheets into clear A4 sleeves so the waviness does not really matter. Imprints of the sprocket wheels may be visible but that doesn't matter for these prints, nobody is viewing them with a magnifier.
I have some 270g Labelheaven paper left, that's heavier and does not get wavy at all. When I compare these cc papers of different brands there is one difference visible that the black level of the Labelheaven papers is not as dark as on the others. This is visible as well when you compare the gamuts, they are all quite similar except the black levels. I got the Labelheaven papers even cheaper than the Amazon offers, I think it was at Rakuten, a platform for sales out, special and surplus deals.

 

[palombian]

I received yesterday 50 sheet A3+ ProLine Vibrant Mat Photo Paper 180g (€ 24,95 free shipping)

https://www.inktwereld.be/detail/7056/foto-fine-art-papier/pro-line/vm-p16182-50/

It is a private brand of Dutch ARCA.nl and seems to be used as preferred matte paper by some pro printing shops, also available in 230g (but 180g is sufficient for poster printing).
Smooth surface and lots of details (Olmec OLM67 has a rougher "art" surface).

The widest gamut I achieved until now with matte papers (all on PRO-10 and MBK ink).
Very nice against the wall.

yellow=Proline Vibrant Mat
blue=Canon Pro Premium Matte (published profile)
red= Olmec OLM67 (I used before)
orange= Olmec OLM67 on PRO-9500II
green= as a reference Sihl glossy (CMY+CO Precision Colors, PBK+R OEM, remaining Octo)

Unfortunately I am at the last drops of the Prodinks MBK I printed 5 years with and OEM or Octoinkjet MBK are less black (FYI except for the magenta all other Prodinks pigment inks were unusable, some caused nasty clogs).
Although this is relative, I reached L=16 on the 9500 while the PRO-10 MBK's don't come under 20, with OEM PBK on glossy or luster L=3). Could be the different driver also.

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

I did a quick check which black level I'm getting with the P400 on Epson inkjet paper - I'm getting L=18.1 in this case with the matte black ink 105 for the ET-7750, so this fits into your range above between 16 and 20. It's clear that these numbers depend on the actual paper, driver settings and the actual matte ink in use and yes, black levels on good glossy papers are much lower.

 

[user5800]

I tested the Labelheaven 180 with the 9000 mkII, City Ink Express Fotorite inks. It performs not so bad but you have to find a setting where you don't put too much ink on paper otherwise it will dwell. Also I can confirm that the sprocket wheels signs (you are talking about the tiny wheels moving the paper forward right?) are visible, to me they are pretty evident tough even without a magnifier. Colors can be decently vivid, you have to profile the paper however, don't think any of original profile can come closer.

Also bought another Labelheaven product the adhesive one, testing asap to see if could be useful for some crafts.

The nice thing of Labelheaven ones is the fact that they are double packed: 100 sheets in 5 x 20 sheets sub packages, making it easy to store it well.

 

[Ink stained Fingers]

You may check as well if Logic Seek papers are available in your country - e.g. via Amazon, they fall as well into the low budget cost range, and I find this one better than the Labelheaven papers - with a lower black level. But this is as always a matter of the printer/driver settings and inks used and can give you this or that result.
https://www.amazon.de/s?k=logic+seek+photopapier+A4&__mk_de_DE=ÅMÅŽÕÑ&ref=nb_sb_noss

 

[user5800]

I can tell also about Koala papers, surely cast coated. They are decent if your usage isn't directly photographic in my opinion. They are cheap but seems that after brexit the dealer shipper from uk removed it from amazon in eu.

I considered buy them from us but custom+shipment totally cancel the vantage of the cost, previously was cheap+prime free shipping included.