There are few times where I’ve made a print and felt like my breath was truly taken away. It’s that moment where you look at the photograph that’s been spit out of the printer and you take a very deep inhale followed by a slow exhale. That’s the breath they cue you on in yoga at the start of class — and it’s what my body went into automatically when using Epson Legacy Baryta II. It’s rather fascinating as this is a breath that cues the body to let it know that it’s okay. This time around, though, my body went into this mode because of how excited I was at the print.
Epson says that this paper is what you’ll want to print black-and-white photos on. Specifically, it’s also designed to mimic the look of darkroom prints. That’s not the first time I’ve heard this before. Red River Palo Alto Duro Etching is another paper that was designed to do just that. But Epson specifically talks about printing black and white photos with this paper.
Epson’s Legacy paper is their highest-end stuff. That’s evident in the price — Epson Legacy Baryta II costs over $100 for 25 sheets at 17×22 inches. Then you have to have the printer and the ink. That’s starting you out at over $4 a print when you’re considering your costs. Of course, then you’ll price accordingly. Epson encourages you to print only your best work on their Legacy paper. With that said, you should be charging at least a few hundred bucks per print with this stuff.
The company also sent me the 13×17 inch paper. At first, I printed a color infrared photo I made. To be very frank with you, I hated the way the print came out. Then, I went back to read more about the paper and found that the company really tells you to print in black and white. With this information in mind, I printed a black-and-white photo from my Canon Prograf-1000 printer.
This paper is a combination of matte and gloss. It leans much more towards the matte side with only a bit of gloss and sheen to make details pop. This results in a paper that looks insanely gorgeous when printing black-and-white photos. The deepest blacks are very inky and jaw-dropping to look at in contrast to the rest of the photo.
That’s when the heavy breathing came. I adored the way the image looked. So then I printed another and felt the same way.
Overall, I’ve been working to move away from displaying photos online and to instead work to get people to come see my work in person. Well, I say that I’ve been doing this. The truth is that it’s a concept that I’ve got in my head, and I just haven’t allowed myself to have the time to execute it yet. Between my job and wanting to take some time to actually just be Chris Gampat the person (not the Editor in Chief or the photographer or the journalist or the publisher), it’s quite taxing. And don’t get me wrong, photography isn’t just a job to me. I just need time to creatively recharge in a similar way that an introvert needs time away from people to socially recharge.
Looking at Epson Legacy Baryta II sparks a bit more life into me, though. It makes me want to print more — but this would specifically be just for black and white stuff. I’ve got lots of beautiful black and white images that I’ve made in the past. Just recently, I had a lot of fun with the Leica M11 Monochrom. I’ve also made photos with the TTArtisan 28mm f5.6 that I adored and even keep in my portfolio. Then there’s also the fun photos I’ve made using the Fujifilm Acros simulation. And who can forget the Panasonic L Monochrome profiles? Of course, there’s also lots of film that I’ve shot over the years too.
This is the problem, though — Epson Legacy Baryta II is really just for the very best photos that you’ve done. So, I’d have to pick and choose from my archives. I’ve done a good job of this over the years, so it shouldn’t be all that hard to do. If anything, it’ll be more about actually selling the photos. That’s something I’m sure that I could do.
While all this is wonderful, there is one problem. Epson’s paper continues to not be cut straight, so it still causes problems when printing at times. This was an issue told to me by an Epson rep many years ago — and unfortunately, Epson hasn’t done the quality control work for it yet. Canon still makes our favorite paper, but there are a lot of really good ones.
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I adore Epson Legacy Baryta II and am awarding it five out of five stars and our Editor’s Choice award. But be sure to print only your best black and white photos with it.