Hi, everyone. I read old threads about how much better results you get when you print your WWG models on matte photo paper, so I decided to try it. I got some Canon Matte Photo Paper, 45lb, 170gsm, 8.5x11 inches, 50/pk for $9.99 at Staples to try out. Naturally, shortly after buying it, I found packs with 100 sheets of a different brand from 4inkjets.com for $4.99. http://www.4inkjets.com/Compatible,Phot ... inter=2666 I ordered some but haven't tried it out yet.

I had a recent cardstock build of the Hilltop Ruin so I made it again with the photo paper. What a big difference! The textures just pop off the page, colors more vibrant. This stuff is great. Only drawback is that it is much more flimsy compared to 110lb cardstock, but since I mount it on foamcore, that's not a big deal for me. Both builds were printed with a Brother MFC240C inkjet printer. The cardstock was printed on normal quality. There's no improvement in printing on cardstock between "normal" and "fine". The "fine" setting does work better for the photo paper however, and that is what I used for the photo paper. Anyway, here's some pics.

This is the photo paper version of the ruin.


Here's a side by side comparion of the photo paper and cardstock ruins showing the difference in detail. The left side is photo paper, right is cardstock. Note the difference in the campfire and floor tiles.


Here are the rugs - photo paper on right


Tents- photo paper on right


Sorry about pic quality. I think the photo paper looks even better IRL. If you haven't tried photo paper yet you should check it out. Thanks for looking.

Luckyjoe

That is an amazing difference.

Yup, Photopaper looks great (nice little build by the way). That's one of the big reasons I moved to a laser printer. You can use standard cardstock but you get Photopaper quality print results. I highly recommend it

Please post a review of the 4inkjets photopaper. I used some dollar store photo paper and had similar print improvement, but it scratched off super easily. Please let me know if there is a similar problem with that new paper.


I use that same printer and I'm about to order some more ink from 4inkjet I'll grab the photopaper too if its any good.

@LD: I'll be glad to check out the Photo paper and post about it. I want to make some 15mm VillageWorks builds. I'll try it for that tonight.

Luckyjoe

wow, what a difference. you may have a convert

Amen

Nice build by the way. I've never got around to building it myself

Kane showed us some figures printed on Photo Paper and OMG! They were beatiful.

I'm thinking I may need to do grass tiles on photopaper. The cardstock ones are just so very...bland looking.

Are these results with the same printer settings (plain paper) for both cardstock and the photopaper?

@2GunMojo: This stuff is great. It's especially nice for standees, especially at smaller scales, because the relative flimsiness of the paper is offset by the smaller surface area.

@DR: Thanks, I really like this set. It's a quick, very useful build that looks great on the table.

@CCOTD: Yes, it was mainly from Kane that I got the idea to try photo paper. And it's really easy to cut compared to cover stock or card stock.

@Kane: Grass tiles look great on photo paper, but they do eat a lot of ink, at least on my printer on "fine" setting.

@Shinobi: Yes, both were set to plain paper. I think that's what others had recommended. I haven't tried changing the setting for the photo paper. That may be worth trying.

@LD2062: I printed out several 15mm versions (they only take 1 page in 15mm) of the VillageWorks Medium Plaster House kitbash last night to see how the 4inkjets.com LD photo paper compares. I printed one on 110lb WalMart cardstock, 80lb coverstock, LD photo paper, and Canon photo paper. So far image quality is sort of in the order listed, with 110 cardstock at the low end, and the Canon photo paper the best. However, the LD paper is a close second in appearance. The LD paper is lighter weight, somewhere around 127gsm with Canon being 170gsm. The brightness on the LD paper is 98, with Canon being 108 (I'm thinking it's the difference in brightness that makes Canon look better). One thing I didn't like about the LD paper is that it is hard to tell the print side from the backside. The Canon paper has the print side being noticeably whiter. You need to load the dim side up in the MFC printer. I accidentally put it in upside down at first. I flipped it and ran it through again and got a much better result. I also did a little destructive testing on all of the printouts, scratching a little with a thumbnail. I didn't make a mark on any of the print-outs or cause any discernible damage. But that was as far as I got last night. I wanted to let the papers dry overnight. Tonight I'll do some test builds. That will give some idea of how it holds up to scoring, cutting and folding. I had not experienced any problems with the Canon paper with cutting, scoring or folding, previously. As a matter of fact I noticed a benefit. The Canon Photo Paper showed no sign of bleeding while edging. More tonight.

Luckyjoe

Just for the edification of those that have seen my photo paper standees. Those were done on the matte photo paper setting in normal print so ink use should not be much different.

Only downside to this is the price of paper. But when it makes your models look (to my eye) four times better, it starts to become well worth it.

Sounds promising so far.

So does this mean that photo paper on a laser would be even more incredible than a normal cardstock on the laser?

Yes it does, but....... there is a set back. I've printed out a couple of items on photo paper with my laser printer and had some major flaking

You win some, you lose some.

Do you think photo paper would be strong enough for the Maiden?

May need to try this for myself.

Photo paper setting will eat more ink I reckon.

I don't think it would work well, Spoo. Photo paper is much more flimsy than cardstock. The two weights of photo paper I've been using are 170gsm (45lb) and 128gsm. I built my Maiden with 110lb cardstock, and I wish I had used 80lb coverstock. The coverstock is much stronger. I think the photo paper would just be too weak, especially for the hull and masts and railings. It's a pity because the textures on the Maiden are so beautiful I'm sure you'd otherwise get a great result.

I did a little building with the photo papers tonight. The Village Works Medium Plaster kitbash in 15mm. I chose the kitbash becasue it has interior walls and I wanted the strength of double thickness paper. Made one with the Canon 45lb matte photo paper and 1 with the LD 128gsm photo paper. I think they both look better than either card or coverstock as far as textures and brightness. The Canon brand is a little heavier and I used double-sided tape to "glue" the walls together. Then I decided to try an Elmer's Memory Book Glue Pen to glue the walls of the LD brand paper. That was a mistake. Even a little bit of glue caused almost immediate warping of the paper. And because of the way you have to construct this bash, you can't press the walls under something heavy. I was able to correct some of the warping, but it is not a very good build. I think I would have been okay if I had used tape for the LD paper instead of the Elmer's glue pen. I still need to build the card and cover stock versions but that will have to wait for the weekend.

Here's some pics of what I have so far. The Canon Photo Paper is on the left, 4inkjets,com LD paper on the right.



I really like the way these models came out at 15mm. They will make a great addition to our table. And they are sitting on a Hinterlands masterboard printed out at 15mm on coverstock.

Luckyjoe