Epson America today expanded its line of professional media solutions with new Signature Worthy(TM) Hot Press and Cold Press Papers designed for use with Epson’s award-winning printers. Offering advanced reproduction capabilities for the fine art market, the new Hot Press Bright, Cold Press Bright, Hot Press Natural, and Cold Press Natural papers are poised to redefine fine art reproduction.

“The new series of Epson fine art papers were inspired by the hand craftsmanship of artisans who developed the first watercolor papers, and were vigorously tested to ensure prints have the highest print quality with consistency roll-to-roll and sheet-to-sheet,” said Jeff Smith, product marketing manager, professional imaging, Epson America. “In combination with Epson professional printers, these new Signature Worthy fine art papers deliver the industry with reproductions that are the closest thing to an original piece of art.”

Optimized for use with Epson inks, including new Epson UltraChrome(R) HDR ink technology found in the Epson Stylus(R) Pro 7900 and 9900, the new Signature Worthy Hot Press and Cold Press Papers yield richer blacks, smoother tonal transitions and an expanded color gamut to produce the most advanced fine art prints. The Hot Press papers offer a smooth surface and Cold Press papers offer a textured surface. In addition, Hot Press and Cold Press Bright offer a bright white point, while the Hot Press and Cold Press Natural offer a warm white point.

The new Hot Press and Cold Press papers enable artists to achieve a certain look and feel in order to convey their final vision. For Timothy Greenfield-Sanders’ traveling exhibition, “The Black List,” organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the new Epson Hot Press Bright paper, combined with the Epson Stylus Pro 9900 printer and UltraChrome HDR Inks, played a big role in helping him create a successful exhibition highlighting the “stories, triumphs and joys of black life in the United States.”

“The paper a photographer chooses for an exhibition really makes a difference in the overall effect of prints,” said Greenfield-Sanders, leading portrait photographer. “When using the Epson Hot Press Bright Fine Art Paper with the Epson Stylus Pro 9900, I was able to achieve new levels of extreme detail and sharpness, along with superb skin tones in my recent exhibition The Black List. The look, the touch and the feel of the prints on the Epson Hot Press Bright paper was irresistible.”

More information regarding Greenfield-Sanders’ The Black List and the impact of Epson’s fine art printing solutions on the traveling exhibit is available at Epson’s Focal Points Web site.

Availability

The new Signature Worthy Hot Press and Cold Press fine art cut sheet papers will be available in late April through authorized Epson Professional Imaging resellers; Hot Press and Cold Press roll papers will be available later in 2009. For more information on Epson’s complete line of professional media, visit www.proimaging.epson.com.