Kodak Ultima Photo Paper

[nelda]

I stopped by the local Office Depot yesterday and (of course) checked out their clearance sections.

I found Kodak Ultima PhotoPaper (4x6, High Gloss, 100 shts) on sale for 4.01, and then further reduced to 2.01. Needless tosay I bought all 6 of the remaining packets. I also bough 6 packets of the Kodak Picture Paper (8.5x10, Satin, 40 shts for 2.01), and the last 2 pcks of 11X17 (25 shts for 2.01). They are listed with the "New Color Technology" with "brillant color that last over 100 years when using the latest inks, even when displayed without protection behind glass". From the package, it seems to be the top-of-the-line that they offer.

I have never used it before, but I ran off a few at standard setting through EasyPrint, at Photo Pro Glossy setting and am happy with them.

Not sure if Kodak is changing thier line-up or if it was something at OD. Packaging was perfect, no detectable flaws or damage. You might want to check it out if you have an OD near by. Not sure if it is storewide or just a fluke at my store.

Anyone have experience with this paper and any hints? At this price, I'm happy to experiment.

Nelda

I joined some club there last year that tracks your purchases and offers a cash-back. I received a $30 card this week, which paid for all of the above. Can't beat free!

 

[drc023]

I've used Kodak Ultima in the past and despite what the majority of users will say, it is possible to get a good looking print from this paper just as you found out. Ultima is a swellable polymer paper which has better resistance to ink fading as a result of out gassing. OTOH, swellable polymer papers have zero water resistance so any moisture (even damp fingertips) will damage the image. If the prints are going into an album or behind glass where there isn't a likelihood of moisture damage, there shouldn't be a problem. The main thing with any inkjet print is to have a couple of backup copies on disk that can be reprinted if necessary. At the price you paid, you definitely cant go wrong with that paper. I may stop by OD this afternoon and see if my local store has any similar deals.

 

[nelda]

I checked out another OD nearby and found the Utima line on discount there as well (for 4.01 per package). The newer line beside it was "Ultra", so I guess that Kodak is changing the name of this type of paper. So far, I have seen it for sale only at OD.

DRC - thanks for the advice. I may pick up a few more 4x6 packages. The paper has a funny feal to the rear side of it, kindy grainy feeling. Maybe this is because of the swellable paper.

 

[hpnetserver]

One of the problems with swellable paper, I mean Kodak, is it looks very glossy fine. But after printing the image on it the glossiness is gone. It looks matt on areas heavily covered by ink. Anyone see the same thing as I did?

 

[Fish Chris]

The Kodak paper didn't work well for me. It just looked really flat, and dull. No punch at all. You could probably play around with your ink volume settings and / or profiles, and correct this, but it was easier for me just to try something else.

The papers which have worked well on my i960 are:

Canon PPP (but WAY too expensive... about .90 cents a sheet)
Epson Premium Glossy Photo Paper (still pretty expensive)
Office Depot Premium Glossy (not Office max)
Ilford Classic Gloss
Ilford Classic Pearl

And what I now use, because it looks great, and is less than .15 cents for an 8 1/2" x 11", Kirkland Professional Glossy Inkjet 125 sheets for about $18, from Costco.

Peace,
Fish Chris

 

[hpnetserver]

Hi Fish, the Kirkland paper is used by many people here. Same as you do. Very good paper. Thick and cheap. Kodak has 3 different glossy photopaper. The best and most expensive one is the Ultima paper. I bought a 20 sheet package to try once. It looked very glossy before printing anything on it. But after an image is printed on it becomes flat and dull. Actually it is still very saturated. It just doesn't have the gloss any more, except areas that have no ink in them. I guess the gloss is covered by ink. Other than this it is actually a decent photopaper with 0 water resistance.