Hahnemuhle Photo Rag Ultra Smooth 8.5 x 11 In. Paper (25 Sheets)

Coming from a film and analog background I always felt something was missing in my digital prints. When I bought a Canon Prograf-1000 I surveyed all the test paper samples I could find at the local pro shop. The Epson Hot Press papers seemed the best quality and value for matte papers. I also discovered the Hahnemuhle Fine Art Pearl which finally had nearly the feel of a silver gelatin print. After owning the printer for awhile I discovered the Canon PM 101 Matte paper is an incredible value and high quality paper considering its price point. Next time I went back to the pro shop I renewed my interest in matte papers. I found this one. The ultra smooth is just the perfect matte finish for me and allows for more fine photo detail to show up than textured papers. I compared it to the Epson Hot Press papers and every other fine art matte paper by Moab or Canson or Epson or Canon that had a sample at the pro shop. I came away deciding it was the best. I actually just started printing on this at home. But I discovered that the same photo printed on this vs the Canon PM 101 (which I think looks great) has subtle but noticeably better sharpness, depth, saturation, and contrast. I printed a 800 ppi file and without a look I could see all the individual dots that are digital grain on the Hahnemuhle Ultra-Smooth. The takeaway being that the paper produced no loss of sharpness from the file itself. Anyway, at 3 times the cost of the Canon PM 101 it is a bit hard to justify the cost. But if you want the best (price not a consideration) look no further.

I use this to make fine art prints and I am happy with the results.