Matt Papers compared Printer Paper Review

Canon Matt MP-101 170gsm
Like some other papers in the Canon range this Matt Photo Paper also offers up to 15-years light fastness (subject to storage conditions).

It is a bright white paper and is only available in A4 size. Interestingly the table Canon include on the back of their papers describing each paper's potential use states that the MP-101 is for "High quality graphics/text printing", with no mention of anything photographic. Though the rest of the packaging does have claims such as "Print vivid photos".

Not surprisingly the MP-101 worked best with Canon's own printer and scored highly on the water and coffee tests for all of the printers. It performed well with all the printers and is reasonably priced making it an attractive paper.

30p a sheet

HP Premium Matt 240gsm
This is classed (by HP) as a four out of five stars paper for image quality, five out five stars for fade resistance and four out of five stars for fast dry time.

Described as having a 'smooth, premium matt finish' it stands out from the other matt papers. If you are from a traditional photographic background it will seem more like a pearl or silk paper than a matt.

The worst performance of this paper was with the Epson 2100 which just produced vertical white stripes about an inch apart down the paper and the tonal range was greatly reduced. It didn't score very highly on any of the Water of Coffee tests and performed best with the two HP printers. Bronzing was also evident on the Epson 830 AGFA print in the very darkest areas.

59p a sheet

ICI Matt 230gsm
This heavyweight photo paper is available in sizes from A6+ to A2. It proved to have only reasonable resistance in our water and coffee tests.

With the exception of the Epson 2100 it didn't perform very well in our black and white tests, but faired better with the colour prints.

Jessops Matt 170gsm
This is a double sided paper, which is convenient as it saves examining the paper to check you are printing on the right side!

It was best suited to the Epson 2100, though also performed well with the Epson 830 and Canon S900. On the whole it is a good cheap paper, although perhaps not suitable for your best prints or for use with HP printers. It was outperformed by other lighter-weight papers in this test.

Kentmere K.Projet Matt 160gsm
Available in both sheets and rolls this paper is one of the lightest in the test although no brightness figures were available it is one of the brighter papers we've looked at.

It got some of the top scores on the Canon S900, Epson 830 and Epson 2100. Comparing prints between this and other papers such as the Jessops Matt, it was abundantly clear that the Kentmere is a very high quality paper. It's not exactly cheap though at 30p a sheet for quite a lightweight paper.

Although it did well with the Canon and Epson printers, the HP prints didn't come out very well. The water testing element proved no problem for this paper on any of the printers giving some of the highest sets of scores.

30p a sheet.

Kentmere Porfolio 270gsm
The heavier of the two papers from Kentmere and the heaviest on the test, this one isn't as bright as the Projet. In fact it's one of the least bright papers on this test.

As well as producing the worst results on the water and coffee tests it scored poorly on most of the image quality tests too. The main problem we had was a mottling effect from the ink not siting evenly on the paper. This was most noticeable in the black and white prints and on parts of the AGFA prints.

As well as the mottling effect we also noticed an exaggerated graining effect on both the HP black and white prints. This graining was also evident on the Colour prints but just wasn't so easy to spot.

It's a shame these flaws ruined the performance of this paper as otherwise it performed quite well.

£1.10 a sheet.

Lyson Matt 170gsm
Available in sizes from A4 to A2 and also in roll form this Lyson paper is one of the highest scoring matt papers.

The AGFA print on the S900 was one of the best prints of the whole test, with pin sharp clarity on the line tests, excellent neutrality and definition throughout the greyscale tonal range and overall high quality. The Epson 2100 also got on well with this Lyson paper as did the Epson 830. The HP prints were dissapointing in comparison although the HP 7550 did marginally better than the HP 5550.

It scores very highly on the water and coffee tests and being one of the cheapest papers on the test, looks very appealing indeed.

18p a sheet.

MX2 Matt 220gsm
This thick bright paper has a good quality feel to it and also achieved some quite high image quality scores. It is suprisingly cheap and is actually the cheapest paper in this test.

Like the Lyson paper above it, the MX2 paper also performs well on the water and coffee tests.

Although it performs quite well on the Canon and Epson printers there are still better papers available, but this could be a very good choice if you are after a low-cost heavyweight paper.

Permajet MattPlus 245gsm
This is the second heaviest Matt paper we've looked at and also one of the higher scoring ones.

The box mentions "The extra weight gives this paper a sumptuous feel and appearance", and indeed it does. Even the packaging feels of a higher class than much of the competition.

The results from the tests also show it is a more than capable paper, performing well with all but the HP printers.

Although a slightly heavier weight paper than the MX2 Matt, it is considerably more expensive and doesn't offer a huge difference in image quality.

32p a sheet. Buy it here.