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Paper
Perhaps the biggest surprise of late is the announcement that Hahnemühle is taking over the Harman line of inkjet media. Named HARMAN by Hahnemühle, the line includes a range of surfaces that complement the current Hahnemühle offerings in both photo rag and baryta surfaces. I’ll have some of this media in soon for testing, so keep an eye open for a detailed report.

Hahnemühle wasn’t the only one to announce a merger. Mohawk Fine Papers has joined up with LabPrints to offer book printing along with their own well-regarded papers for self-printing. LabPrints will do custom books as well as serve as a lab service for high-volume printing.

Ilford has a new dual-sided paper, Galerie Smooth Lustre Duo. At 280gsm, this is a nice weight paper with an excellent luster surface similar to the single-sided Smooth Lustre that is a popular choice for photographers looking for an RC-style paper.

Ilford Galerie Smooth Lustre Duo

Mitsubishi Imaging has a new line of Grace papers out designed for the dry lab market in both a gloss and pearlescent finish. The pearlescent paper has a metallic look and feel to it that is very close to the Kodak paper that is popular. Although not available in sheets to fit desktop printers, the Grace papers are available in wide-format rolls.

Magiclée is a popular choice for photographers wanting to print on canvas. The Torino 17M has an exceptional dmax for a canvas media, producing saturated colors as well as good blacks for black-and-white printing. The samples I saw, coated with their ClearShield Type C Gloss coating, have excellent properties and should work well for a variety of print types.
Museo has a new paper that includes a pressure-sensitive backing—essentially giving you print and dry mount in one operation. The paper is available in two surfaces—Fuse, a 12.8-mil matte finish, and FotoFuse, a 9-mil gloss finish, both with a release liner on the back side of the paper. After printing, peel and stick to your mounting board for a finished product.

Premier Imaging Products has a new line of Generations Alise fine art papers. The Museum Grade 260 and 310 (gsm) papers contain no OBAs for a natural tone, while the Photo Grade 260 and 310 (gsm) are a brighter white with OBAs added. Both papers are 100 percent cotton rag and acid free for better archival properties. The papers have a slight texture that enhances surface detail and works well with black-and-white images that have lots of shadow detail. Also available is a new AQUA Colour paper in 310gsm weight. This is a mix of cotton and alpha cellulous with a bright white watercolor/textured surface.

ARTtrust

Perhaps one of the more interesting announcements though is in the area of image protection. With digital, it’s easier than ever to duplicate, or forge, work that belongs to you. Whether it’s downloading your images from the net for printing, or scanning an existing print and making copies, our work is being stolen at unprecedented rates today. Enter ARTtrust, a venture being done with HP to certify both the authenticity and archival qualities of prints. Using a system of BubbleTags, individual prints are certified by the photographer/printer as being authentic, and printed on a combination of ink and paper that has been certified by Wilhelm Research Imaging to be archival. Currently, ARTtrust is being used by photographers like Douglas Kirkland, Joel Meyerowitz, and Martin Parr.

Manufacturers/Distributors’ website addresses can be found by visiting the Instant Links section of our website at: www.shutterbug.com/currentissuelinks/.