Revolutionary Promaster Paper Here Now

Puff. Puff. Pant. Gasp.

Just stocked the shelves with the new Promaster inkjet and darkroom papers. There are a LOT of new papers there - and a new size as well.

Lett's start with the darkroom paper for analog users. Promaster make packets of Glossy and Luster  paper in 8" x 10" size - there are 25 sheets of paper in each packet. The packets are marked for a new wider range emulsion. The paper is shipped out of Connecticut so it may be Kodak ( but probably isn't ) or Oriental. The packets have been kept plain so be sure you read the label on the bottom - the two types look very similar.

In the inkjet papers there has also been a commendable plainness in packaging but they have put colour coding on the boxes to let you differentiate between fine-art surfaces or materials and plainer photographic paper. The following types are in stock:

1. Glossy
2. Pearl
3. Bright White Cotton
4. Soft Gloss Dual-sided
5. Glossy canvas
6. Metallic

The intriguing thing about these new papers - apart from them being new - is that their size is US Letter. This means that it is 8 1/2" x 11 "......or 215.9 mm x 279.4 mm. I looked into the printing section for my Epson driver and found that it does indeed include this size and the preplanning images can be shuffled about to see where the margins will occur. It will mean a little different proportions for my general work, but not by much. If I elect to shoot my images using a 4/5 ratio it becomes even easier.

Okay - why? Why do we get a different paper size like this when we are generally used to seeing the European A system - A4, A3, A3+ etc. Because there is a large part of North America that does not work in metric measurements. Squeak or sneer about this as you will, but there it is. So they can cut good quality paper at a very competitive price specifically for the market. If your images will fit here, this is a good substrate.

One final note - remember that these papers have 6 sides but you are generally restricted to printing on just one - in the case of the dual-sided glossy you can also do it on the back with equal success.