Moab Slickrock Metallic Silver paper

[Manfred M]

I just bought a box of Moab Slickrock Metallic Silver paper (300 gsm). I have just started working with it. I suspect this is as close to printing on aluminum as one can get without going that route. I have never seen any other paper like it and as Moab is a distributor rather than a paper manufacturer, I do wonder where they source this material.

It seems to work extraordinarily well when printing B&W images of modern architecture (i.e. mainly glass buildings). I find I have to really boost the brightness (by around 2 ev) because the substrate is so dark, but the results are unique and stunning.

One other warning - pick up some white cotton gloves when using the material. The oil from ones hands transfers all too easily...

[DanK]

I'm interested to hear about your experiences as you work with it. I am intrigued by these papers but haven't been using them because at this point, I am focusing on printing on archival papers. As we discussed in an earlier thread, I'll probably use the Red River equivalent if I decide to use these because the color rendition is a bit better, but I think your experiences will be relevant to both.

[Manfred M]

The archival papers have been my main direction too, but the advanced printing course instructor is getting us to explore a very wide range of papers that range from the extremely delicate Awagami Factory washi paper (Kozo Thin (80 gsm)) at one extreme to the Moab Slickrock at the other. I'm using some of the "metallic" papers for an exhibition of some of the cosplay characters I shot this summer and it takes the images to a whole new level versus the baryta papers I had been using.

The Japanese washi papers look like they will be wonderful for high key work, especially snow scapes.

We are also looking at getting some Hahnemühle William Turner paper that has a really heavy "tooth". Then of course the standard cotton rags and baryta paper variants from different suppliers.

All this just reminds me why I love printing so much versus just showing digital images. It takes photography to a whole new level. The downside is that I have had to learn a whole new post-processing workflow because a print brings out subtleties in an image that we never notice in a digital version of the image.