Sustainable Inkjet Printing on Bamboo, Hemp, and Agave // Hahnemuehle Newspaper Review

Introduction

Hahnemuehle is a German language paper company which has recently launched its Natural Line, a range of digital fine art 290gsm papers with a focus on using sustainable raw materials such as bamboo, agave, and hemp. I've been trying these papers on my Canon Pro-100s inkjet photograph printer and have some insights regarding their technical and artistic qualities.* To flush these out, I will be comparing the three new stocks against my current go-to paper: Hahnemuehle's PhotoRag Baryta, a rich, glossy 315gsm cotton fiber paper that has qualities similar to that of traditional black-and-white silver gelatine prints. By comparison, these beautiful new sustainable alternatives come with a very different warm-toned, matte aesthetic quality. There are comparison photographs throughout this article to give a visual sense of these new papers. So who are these papers for? The more environmentally witting photographer. Anyone working with a muted pastel colour palette or lower contrast black and white scenes volition likewise love these paper stocks.

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From left to right, Baryta, Bamboo, Hemp, Agave

Inkjet Press

Firstly, lets set out some context regarding press. Information technology seems as though fewer and fewer  people, permit alone photographers, are press their work at all. Certainly, trends over the last decade or so in technological advances (smart phones) and social media (Instagram, etc.) means photography is vastly more than accessible to the general public and has shifted from a physical medium to one which is primarily digital and online - we are limited to sharing small-scale jpegs or depression resolution files to a portfolio website. Still, photographers historically e'er had a focus on 'the print' (Ansel Adams even dedicated a whole book to the subject); this included a wide variety of culling processes and media that get into making a beautifully crafted object to put on display. Personally, I'thousand trying to go along myself involved in the physical process of printing as I find information technology offers creative diverseness within today's largely digital world of photography.

Printing techniques such as silver gelatine darkroom or platinum-palladium were, even so, developed for a different time. We are presented with a unlike prepare of cultural and political concerns in the 21st century, notably the on-going climate crisis. The photography community equally a whole is slowly becoming more environmentally witting with movements to shoot local and travel less, simply I remember this can extend into the realm of printing as well.

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Cute sheen of a Baryta terminate

While it is not viable for all of us to return to chemical-based printing techniques, fine-art inkjet press is a great option. At that place are a huge range of media choices, from gloss to matte, textured to shine, warm to cool. Dye and pigment inks at present have incredibly long lifespans, especially when paired with papers that meet high archival standards. This is important as we should take into consideration the embodied energy in the materials nosotros use also every bit how long they will final. Even with all this variety, however, the current options are more often than not cotton based papers. So when Hahnemuehle launched its new Natural Line papers, I was extremely excited to give them a try and see if they are the way forward for inkjet printing to address both the aesthetic and environmental concerns that nosotros are faced with today.

Sustainability

How is bamboo, hemp, or agave amend than cotton for the planet? These crops, in general, require less resources and maintenance to abound, they grow faster, and they out produce their cotton counterparts. Carbon Farming Solutions claims that Bamboo can sequester up to 16 tons of carbon per hectare per yr.** Even with theoretical best practice, cotton struggles to reach values of .7 ton of carbon/hec/yr.*** Furthermore, Project Drawdown estimates that "Hemp out produces cotton or trees by factors of x to 100 times in terms of yielding useable fibre".**** So, environmental concerns and the sharing of global resource has fostered innovation; companies are producing smarter planet-conscious products in response to climate change. It is worth noting that Hahnemuehle'southward Natural Line products yet use a mix of these more sustainable resource with cotton in their terminal products, no incertitude a necessary compromise to maintain aesthetic and archival integrity. It's fantastic that readily available photo papers are becoming more traceable with a lower carbon footprint while still maintaining comparable pricing to cotton stocks of the same quality.

Aesthetics & Comparison

The result of using these sustainable raw materials is an overall very dissimilar aesthetic quality to a typical glossy cotton paper. The first thing to have into consideration is that they are all matte papers. This results in less dissimilarity and more of the textural quality of the paper showing through in the last print. Bamboo displays the most texture, with Hemp close backside and Agave the smoothest. The bamboo stock (90% bamboo, 10% cotton), is a far warmer ("natural white") paper stock when compared to a 100% cotton bright-white paper similar PhotoRag Baryta. The agave and hemp papers fall somewhere in between the warm tones of bamboo and the bright white of cotton wool due to their 30% and twoscore% cotton mix respectively. Their overall warmth wasn't actually apparent to me until viewed next with the Baryta stock - this is a mutual visual phenomenon called the 'contrast effect' in which the man centre uses comparison in order to distinguish or blend similar tones. Accept a wait at the comparison montage of the unprinted stocks.

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Tiptop, Baryta & Bamboo

Bottom, Hemp & Agave

I have found all of these papers incredible sharp, with an average amount of dissimilarity for matte papers - certainly nothing of the richness plant in a glossy Baryta finish. This being said, their relatively heavy weight of 290gsm still helps to make each print feel like a special piece of artwork. From a practical standpoint, the papers agree up well to handling and whatever artists signatures you might add.

These papers, therefore, have pros and cons. While Hahnemuehle uses sustainable sourcing for all their paper stocks, these new Natural Line papers are certainly fifty-fifty more world-friendly. In that location are other benefits to these papers as well. Their matte terminate ways that the prints handle various lighting weather condition wonderfully; they hold up visually in dark conditions and under bright lights every bit well – a consideration yous might take into account if producing a print for a client with express knowledge of where they plan on presenting your work or if they programme on displaying it under compromised lighting. They are all beautiful papers, just they come up with a specific warm-tone, matte, and highly textural artful which unfortunately doesn't quite suit my current needs.

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Tonalities & textures, from left to correct, Baryta, Bamboo, Hemp, Agave

Conclusion

In the end, information technology comes down to a very personal choice. Some photographers love the low contrast warm expect, others lean towards absurd-tone, glossy, and shine. For my photography, there is a fourth dimension and place for both of these things. A particular photograph may suit a warm, matte expect. As a primarily black and white lensman who looks to the likes of Adams and Salgado for inspiration, I institute the matte paper didn't agree deep blacks in the way I like for my prints - see some of the sample photos for the Baryta stock. For at present, I volition continue to utilize PhotoRag Baryta equally my standard glossy choice but if I plan on printing on a matte finish, I will certainly reach for one of these sustainable papers (Agave was my personal favourite). If you are interested in these products for your own press, I would recommend picking upwards a exam pack.

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Agave

Its worth noting that these papers are some of the world's commencement photo papers using these raw sustainable materials and so the aesthetic range is still adequately limited. Here's hoping that a glossy variation of this Natural Line is in the pipeline - it would be fantastic to see a wider range of sustainable papers that encompass both ends of the spectrum to provide more aesthetic options, while yet maintaining a sustainable focus.

*I am in no style affiliated with either Hahnemuehle or Canon; the opinions shared in the article are my own.

**www.carbonfarmingsolution.com/carbon-sequestration-rates-and-stocks

www.drawdown.org/solutions/country-use/bamboo

***Causarano, Hector & Franzluebbers, Alan & Reeves, D & Shaw, J. (2006). Soil organic carbon sequestration in cotton fiber production systems of the southeastern U.s.: a review. Periodical of environmental quality. 35. 1374-83. 10.2134/jeq2005.0150.

****www.drawdown.org/solutions/coming-attractions/industrial-hemp