Photo paper experiences: Costco Kirkland Photo Paper

[Nifty]

Before I got my Canon printer to start printing photos from home I always heard my brother brag about the Epson photo paper at Costco. That it was inexpensive and made for beautiful prints.

Well, just my luck, right after I got my printer Costco stopped carrying the Epson photo paper and replaced it with Kodak. Fewer sheets and more expensive, but I bought it anyway. My results seemed okay, but I was reading about other people's experiences with the Kodak paper and it didn't seem to sound good.

Two days ago I was talking with a friend (Hi Ian) who said that the local Costco was now carrying their own brand (Kirkland) photo paper. It was cheaper, more sheets, and thicker than the Kodak paper so I returned the Kodak (thank you Costco return policy) and picked up a pack of the Kirkland paper.

I brought it home and printed 15 4x6 prints and WOW was I impressed. I haven't done any extensive tests (yet) but so far I'm very happy with the purchase.

There was a bit of space on the 8 1/2 sheets I printed the 4x6 prints on so I ran them through the printer again to print some color swatches that I'll stick in the sun and other places to test their color fastness.

Speaking of which, anybody hear anything about longevity of prints with this paper?

 

[Nifty]

Okay, it is 11/13/04 10:44 AM...

I stuck two samples in a southern facing window (lots of direct sunlight), two in the office where they should get a normal amount of regular light, and two hidden in a dark drawer.

I guess we'll see what happens... if I can be patient enough.

 

[wrbjr]

I picked up 250 sheets of the Kirkland paper and it prints out beautiful! What a deal.

 

[Nifty]

That's so funny that you posted this today!!! I was with some friends and was going through my briefcase (cleaning it out) and pulled out a picture of Alana and thought, "I don't remember getting this developed." For a moment I had forgotten that I had printed this photo on my Canon i860 using the Costco Kirkland Glossy Photo Paper. It really is just an amzaing setup... and so innexpensive!

Here's the picture I printed:

 

[wrbjr]

I keep worrying that someone from Costco will read these posts and jump the prices on us!

Alana's quite the cutie. Is she a daddy's girl? (of course!)

I only wish this technology was available when I was younger and especially when I had the children. Old black and white faded color dog eared photos are all thats left.... need to preserve them I guess.

 

[fotofreek]

20 - 30 minutes with a good paper cutter that has a guide bar that can be set for width of the paper cut and you have 375 4x6 sheets of Kirkland paper for about five cents per sheet. I've printed over 1,000 photos with this paper on my I960 with oem and (mostly)MIS inks with great results. I use glosssy photo paper setting and manual setting with intensity set to -4 and get results that are excellent and very close to the monitor image. I compared this paper to the epson glossy paper, epson premium glossy paper, and canon photo paper pro and like the kirkland paper best. I haven't evaluated longevity of the prints. I've read that this paper is made by Illford. Good stuff.

 

[Nifty]

Here's the paper cutter I use:

Cuts throught two reams of paper like a hot knife through warm butter! I got it at a surplus auction for next to nothing... it's huge and takes up a lot of room, but it's such a fun toy!

 

[Nifty]

By the way wrbjr thanks for the nice comment on Alana... she really is a sweetie!

If Costco knows what they're doing they'll keep this stuff in stock a long time! The hoarder in me says, "STOCK UP while they still have it and it's still cheap!!!"

 

[fotofreek]

Couldn't see the picture of the paper cutter. Is it an industrial strength cutter used in print shops? How does it do with the glossy paper? edges clean and unbent? any curve at the edges can cause banding on the trailing edge and also dark ink smears as it acts like a thicker paper. I am using a professional photo darkroom cutter but am interested in the unit you mentioned in your post.

 

[Nifty]

Okay, fixed the image! Thanks for pointing that out to me.

It sure is an industrial strength! Super clean edges as long as I put the press down tight. I usually put about 3 scrap pieces on top and bottom to make sure the top and bottom pages stay clean.

Like I said, it is a huge MONSTER! Weight a ton (not literally... well, actually, maybe it does) and they used a forklift to get it off the truck.... we had to use pulleys, ramps, and a few friends to get it off the truck. I really did get if for a steal. The college just wanted to get rid of it.

I don't use it enough to justify the space it takes up... but I just haven't gotten to the point where I'm ready to sell it. It really doesn't seem to be a very depreciating asset!