Canson Infinity

Canson is an old and respectable French maker of fine papers. Its history dates back to mid 16th century and nowadays their name is Canson & Arches. Names like Picasso, Chagall, Matisse, Warholl and numerous others have been users of their papers and canvases. Now Canson has brought their know how also into printing of photographs as Canson Infinity product range.

Infinity Rag Photographique print on DiBond, 105x140cm

My main printing materials during recent years have been Hahnemuhle PhotoRag (308g) for matte prints, Ilford Galerie Gold Fibre Silk for semigloss prints and Ilford Galerie Smooth Pearl for the first or test print. I have also used Hahnemuhle Fine Art Pearl but have mostly preferred Gold Fibre Silk of these two quite similar papers.

A few months ago Canson Infinity´s importer in Finland contacted me and asked if I would like to test their papers. First I thought that not now, maybe later; I have to concentrate on printing my Fotofinlandia series and not even touch anything that´s not broken. But then I printed my images for Finnish Advertising Photographers´ Association´s yearly exhibition. There was a very dark series of images that turned out a bit mushy on PhotoRag. I gouldn´t get the prints quite like I wanted as they did not have in dark areas the separation I wanted. Because of deadline I sent them anyway to the exhibition, but thought that maybe I could try some Canson Infinity materials after all.

I printed test images on all Canson Infinity materials, except on canvases. Two materials got my attention immediately. They were Infinity Rag Photographique for matte prints and Infinity Platine Fibre Rag for a traditional photographic print look. Afterwards I chose three more papers: Infinity Baryta Photographique for even wider gamut, Infinity BFK Rives as a more textured matte paper and Infinity PhotoSatin for first tests.

One of my test runs on various Canson Infinity papers

Infinity Rag Photographique

Infinity Rag Photographique has a pure white, smooth surface and very good DMax. It is 100% cotton rag, acid free, internally buffered and has no optical brighteners (OBA´s). All this means very good for print longevity. Rag Photographique is used with Matte Black ink.

I made test runs for various color and black & white images, both with sharp edges and subtle gradients. I did not find any banding with Canson profile and liked paper´s gamut and DMax. Maybe you can already guess that my problem images turned out better on Infinity Rag Photographique than Hahnemuhle PhotoRag. PhotoRag has a warm base tone and it´s surface texture is rougher than Rag Photographique. Maybe it is also a profile issue but anyway Canson profile for Rag Photographique was at least as good as both my own and Hahnemuhle profile for PhotoRag.

Suddenly it was easy for me to change my mind on choice of matte paper as I noticed that also my both Fotofinlandia series printed as well or better on Infinity Rag Photographique. Those images turned out to be better suited for it´s whiter paper base.

Now, everyone must understand that I have nothing to say against PhotoRag. It´s the same great material as before. I have used it lot and liked it a lot. Choosing a printing paper is a matter of personal taste. I have to feel it in my hand and see how my images print on it. It´s like with a good single malt whisky, you know a great single malt when you have tasted enough good whiskies. Well, it takes more than one night to know that, if you want to try... Based on specs both materials are great, but they are not visually alike, my taste has shifted for the purer and smoother material. 

As a note, all my comments here are based on printing with Epson 9900 (and some with Epson 3800) printer. (And as a side note, I was later told that the jury of above mentioned exhibition said that my choice of paper in that dark series was wrong... The series was in the exhibition but did not get any awards because of that!)

Rag Photographique comes in three versions: 210g, 310g and Duo 220g. Duo has printable surface on both sides and is great for portfolios ja books. One-sided papers are available in all standard sizes from 8,5x11" / A4 up to 44" roll. Duo is available in sheets from 8,5x11" / A4 up to 17x22" / A2.

Infinity Platine Fibre Rag

Canson was very keen to hear my opinion on Infinity Baryta Photographique. Instead I was at first much keener to try Infinity Platine Fibre Rag. It is a thick paper with 310g. Holding a printed sheet of Platine Fibre Rag is a joy. It´s gorgeous, absolutely beautiful. Printed surface has some structure, a bit more than Canson´s Infinity Baryta Photographique. It has also some gloss. If you have ever printed on traditional, analog black and white baryta paper and let it dry by itself, you know the feel of surface. This kind of surface was called F-type. Platine Fibre Rag is only thicker and and it is dry and very flat after printing. It´s easy to frame. Platine Fibre Rag is also internally buffered, acid free and has no optical brighteners. It is used with Photo Black ink.

Later, when looking more closely at my test images I noticed that Infinity Baryta Photographique has a larger gamut than Platine Fibre Rag. It has more saturated colors. The difference is not huge but it is there. Baryta Photographique will be my material for images that need more punch than subtlety.

There is a lot in Platine Fibre Rag that I like. Deep blacks, beautiful tones. The feel and quality in both the material and how images are reproduced on it. It is available in all standard sizes from 8,5x11" / A4 up to 44" roll.

Canson Infinity range and support

I have found that Canson has done a few important things right. 

First is the width of high quality materials and surfaces. They have everything from high gloss to baryta surfaces. From smooth mattes to textured watercolor papers and canvases. 20 different products.

Second, Canson has taken time and effort to make excellent ICC profiles. When you change from one paper into another, you only need to change the profile (and printer settings) and the result is very predictable and consistent. This consistency makes printing a lot easier and cheaper without any compromise in quality. As I noted above, any high quality paper is not perfect for every image. Canson makes it easier to choose the best paper for every image.

And third, Canson Infinity has good instructions on their website for choosing right inks and paper settings for various printers which include over 40 printer models from Epson, Canon and HP. Paper range, product PDFs, ICC profiles and lots of information and tips on printing can be found at cansoninfinity.com

Next on papers

I will write later more on the other three papers: Infinity Baryta Photographique, PhotoSatin and BFK Rives

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