Kirkland Professional Glossy Photo Paper at Costco

[Grandexp]

This is a widely used photo paper in USA sold at Costco. I have used it since Costco started carrying it about 10 years ago. Originally the box of this paper showed it was made in Switzerland. Many years later it had a change in its box and it showed that it was make in USA. Currently it is on a different packaging and is made in Mexico. I am not concerned about where it is made. But today I compared a sheet out of a box made in USA to another sheet that was made in Switzerland I was surprised that the older one is a little whiter.

I am now convinced that the paper that was made in Switzerland is different from the one made in USA an is probably different from the one made in Mexico too. I compared prints made on both paper and found that the Switzerland paper shows a deeper black and more saturated in colors slightly. Is this paper at Costco no longer as good as before?

 

[OutOFtheinkwell]

I use it and at the moment have almost a thousand sheets sitting behind me. I have no idea where it comes from aside that Costco sells it but I do know that I love using it and I get the results I want from it.
ok!, I just picked up one box and it says (Made In Mexico) on the product!
It is just fine in my opinion, I don't know if I had some older stock made in another country or not! I have been using it for several years. I pay under $20.00 a box of 150 sheets and that is a lot better price than most! I would pay more gladly if the results were that much better but I am very happy with what I get with this paper!

 

[Grandexp]

I am not concerned that the paper is made in Mexico. It is probably still the best for the money. I am just surprised that the original Switzerland made paper is a little whiter. That difference has some impact on skin tone of the photos. All light colors we print will be affected by the base color of the paper we use.

 

[Fenrir Enterprises]

I believe for a long time Costco/Kirkland paper was re-branded Ilford paper, which gets incredibly high ratings in the photo community. There was huge disappointment and a run on the product when they changed the supplier.

 

[Tin Ho]

What a surprise this is. I have been using Kirkland photo paper since Costco had it. I was impressed by its older batches. The latest (probably made in Mexico) is still very good but don't feel the same any more.

 

[Grandad35]

This is a small part of a spreadsheet that we did a number of years ago on fading, and it shows the reflected light from 3 papers at wavelengths from 380nm (left) to 730 nm (right). This source lists visible light as falling in the 390-750 nm band, so the far left side is just above the UV band. The Kodak Ultima shows a value above 1.0 (which seems to be impossible) because it apparently has Optical brightening agents that convert some of the UV into visible light in the 430-450nm band. Unfortunately, OBAs are usually very prone to fading from UV exposure.

In any case, the Costco paper made in the US had a better curve than the Ilford paper. As this work was done before the paper from Mexico was introduced, I have no data on its characteristics.

 

[Grandexp]

The Switzerland made paper is whiter than US made. I have both laying in front of me.