Paper Ponderings

[Jason Dunn]

I was down at a local camera store today, picking up some paper for the new R1800 Epson printer. I've decided to keep it: all my research points me toward the fact that Epson will be providing a Windows Vista driver, and that the R1800 will remain the "new" model for at least a while yet. And for the price, it's hard to argue even if a newer model comes out in mid-2007. I can't get over how expensive paper is though: I picked up three packages of paper, and my bill was $157 CAN ($140 USD)! 20 sheets of 13" x 19" semi-gloss ($69.95), 50 sheets of 13" x 19" heavyweight matte ($54.95), and 25 sheets of 8.5" x 11" Ilford Galerie Smooth Gloss ($23.95). I peered at the Epson paper sample book for quite some time, and I believe the semi-gloss will give me the look I'm aiming for. We'll see once my heart-rate hits 120 bpm and I hit print... ;-)

The 8.5 x 11" paper was what I was curious about: does anyone know why 8.5 x 11" paper is so popular for inkjet printers? It's incredibly hard to find frames for that size of paper - most are cheap document frames. 8 x 10" is the standard photography size in North America, so going into any store you'll find frames in 4 x 6", 5 x 7", 8 x 10", etc. I always found it baffling that Canon never made 8 x 10" paper - Epson does, but at the store today all they had was 8.5 x 11". So what am I missing here? Surely people aren't printing full-bleed then cutting the paper? Or is this an artifact from before full-page printers and in order to get an 8 x 10" print people would print on the bigger 8.5 x 11"? I've always been curious about this big have never managed to find a logical answer.

[randalllewis]

Paper imponderables: Good question Jason. I offer no answer but another question. Why is 5x7 paper so hard to find? This is a favorite size of mine, but the only way to get one is to print one or two on 8 X 10 (when you find it) or 8 1/2 X 11. And that doesn't always work well. It seems the photo paper market is not yet user friendly but manufacturer friendly.

[Lee Yuan Sheng]

Oh yes. That *really* irks me too. I keep on seeing A4 (the "Letter" in this part of the world) papers but very few 8x10s. C'mon, it's not like the printer won't take it...

[Gordo]

I wonder if its not a through back to times when printers could not print border-less. The only way to get an 8X10 border-less print was to use an 8.5X11 sheet.

Just a thought!

[Jason Dunn]

Why is 5x7 paper so hard to find? This is a favorite size of mine, but the only way to get one is to print one or two on 8 X 10 (when you find it) or 8 1/2 X 11.

Another good question. I have 5x7 paper myself, and I see it now and then, but I think 4x6 is the more popular version of the "small" print and thus most stores won't carry it.

[Jason Dunn]

I wonder if its not a through back to times when printers could not print border-less. The only way to get an 8X10 border-less print was to use an 8.5X11 sheet.

Yeah, that's what I was thinking as well, but every printer sold in the past 3-5 years can do borderless printing can't it? So this seems like a relic.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who was puzzling over this - I was afraid I was missing something REALLY obvious. ;-)