Has anyone ever used this brand of paper? I am interested in their pastel papers and metallic paper. Any info would be welcome.

Thanks, Kevin

-- Kevin Finigan (kfinigan@swbell.net), November 13, 1997

Answers

I have used Luminous papers for several years. They have some fine esoteric papers, and I have found them consistant from one box to the next. Their technical staff is helpful and will talk with you over the phone. Because they are a small company, you generally talk to someone who knows the ansers. I have a friend who special- izes in b&w portraits up to 60x60 and uses their papers exclusively. Try a pack. What do you have to lose?

-- jack gottlob (sam@injersey.com), November 27, 1997.

Luminos has been around for may may years. They are very innovative and reasonably priced. They have a very intresting offer if you join the Print Makers Guild they have competitions and tech advice but more importantly they will send you a variety of 5-10 sheets of several of their papers, ask for the photo linen, yes paper on a linen finish , their charcol and pastel papers are intresting. Also they have a RC Art paper very good for b&w with pencil or oils this is a RC paper with a fiber type emulsion and a liquid emulsion for wood, metal etc. All I can say is get in touch with them @ 1-800-luminos for some great products. I must note I am not affiliated with Luminos but simply a very big fan of great products for some great Black & White.

-- David Wright (dwright@colorcards.com), December 24, 1998.

I would like to add my kudos to Luminos. I have used their paper for about a year now and have always had good results with it. They have a great variety for the fine art photographer and are there if you have a question.

-- Frank Bowing (frabow@onslowonline.net), January 12, 1999.

My parents are professionals who have run a small, mostly b/w, commercial studio for over fifty years. They've used Luminos papers for MANY years, and over the last fifteen or so have switched almost entirely to Luminos papers from Kodak. Luminos papers are fine products, very attractively priced, from a small, friendly company who are delightfully old-school, and a real pleasure to deal with.

I've done all of my own b/w work on Luminos papers exclusively for over ten years, and as somebody who was a working pro from just about the time I could see over a developing tray as a kid, I'm telling you: Luminos papers are great! Their Flexicon is an excellent general- purpose VC paper, and their specialty papers and chemisty are also top-notch.

By all means, try Luminos paper!

-- Michael Goldfarb (mgoldfar@mobius-inc.com), January 19, 1999.

Ditto! I've been using Luminos for several years now and their products are excellent. Their Charcoal R is a warm toned, textured paper with a surface similar to a watercolor paper. It is the best paper I've ever used for tinting with Marshall's Oils and it also tones beautifully with sepia and selenium. It's a premium weight product, yet is comparable in price to most double weight papers. My only wish is that they would produce it in different grades. Right now it is available only in grade 2 1/2.

As far as their pastels are concerned, the only one I've tried is the Antique Ivory. It's a unique, RC paper with a nice creamy base. Definitly something worth trying. Also, for an RC paper, their RCR Art is a gorgeous, lightly-textured paper you must try. As for the metallic, I've heard that it's interesting, but a bit pricy. Hey...for about $30 bucks, you can join the Luminos Printmakers Guild and they'll send you a sampler pack with five sheets each of their most popular papers. What have you got to loose?

Good Luck,

Walter

-- Walter Massa (Massacam@aol.com), May 27, 1999.