articles/Paper/pc-hahn-slk-page1
by Mike McNamee Published 01/06/2014
This is another paper intended to plug the gap left by the demise of Ilford Galerie Gold Fibre Silk. It is fair to say that the gap is now well and truly plugged up with yet another top-notch replacement.
This is 320 micron 100% alpha cellulose media at 310gsm with a baryta coating and just a hint of optical brightening agents* on a bright but colourmetrically neutral base. Overall there is a hint of warmth to the finished prints, in the highlights. The product has been placed in the Hahnemuhle Photo range which is a budget line (but not in performance!). *See call-out box opposite.
Colour Performance
We made a bespoke profile using a 727 patch target with an i1 and Colour Profiler. The settings were 'Quality' and 'Premium Semi Gloss Photo paper 250' on an Epson 4900. The media was from a roll feed and we did not make any platen gap adjustments.
The target was audited in the usual way and the statistics are set out in the table. The average error across all the patches is a record by one hundredth of a point! This is not statistically significant and the data in general are aligned with Canson Baryta Photographique, PermaJet FB Gold, Ilford Gold Fibre Silk and probably a few others yet to pass across our desk. These papers carry the data hallmarks of high Dmax, high gamut volume, accurate overall colours, spectacularly accurate skin tones, low metamerism and excellent monochrome printing also - it is not for nothing that we always recommend them when asked what paper to choose for exhibition work. The base tone is colourmetrically neutral (ie near zero Lab a and b values) which gives the result just a little warmth and contributes greatly to the good colour statistics. If you need, or prefer, a lot more punch, then there are many equivalent baryta papers with higher OBA contents and a pop to match.
The gamut volume measured at 1,055,575 units which is typical for this class of paper. The HiGAM colour patches were well rendered with an average error of 1.83ΔE₀₀ evenly split across the lightness, hue and saturation components.
The metamerism was low at 1.03 (ΔE₀₀ D65-Tungsten A on 50% Grey). The colour print Dmax was 2.15, lower than that delivered by the ABW driver (so the paper is capable of holding much more!)
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