My new i960 should be arriving in a day or two, and I thought I'd use with canon papers for a while for simplicity sake...anyone know of any good deals, special offers on the matte, plus or pro? How do you guys like the canon papers?
I initially used Canon Paper as well, the pro is very good. But I tried some other papers and settled on Red River Polar Gloss/Satin: http://tinyurl.com/6wq8u
The best paper pricewise is at Costco, namely the Kirkland gloss paper at $18 per 125 sheets. This is Ilford Smooth gloss paper but at a different thickness (260gsm vs 280gsm).
I did a side-by-side comparison with my I960 and Canon pro, Epson glossy, and Kirkland glossy photo paper. All produced excellent results. The Epson glossy has a slightly pebbled surface and is lighter in weight. Although the back has a lightly printed epson logo with a diagonal repeat, it almost doesn't show and this paper can be printed on both sides. I have used it for greeting cards and custom printed post cards. The Kirkland paper, in my estimation, is every bit as good as the Canon pro paper. I actually liked the Kirkland paper a little better as the Canon paper produced a more color saturated print. I don't know what the relative longevity of the prints will be on this paper, but Illford is certainly a good brand. I initially used OEM inks and now refill with MIS inks. Simple and the colors are so close I can't tell the difference.