Epson Unveils New Metallic Photo Papers at WPPI

Epson had some big news for inkjet printer enthusiasts at the WPPI show today. The company introduced two new Metallic papers: Metallic Photo Paper Luster and Metallic Photo Paper Glossy.

We got a chance to check out samples of the new papers at the Epson booth at WPPI and they were a bit different than expected. Rather than the flashy silver metallic look of some competing papers, Epson’s Metallic Photo Paper Luster and Metallic Photo Paper Glossy were whiter and subtler in tone.

This appears to be a calculated move by Epson to attract a broader range of photographers who might be turned off by highly reflective silver paper. Metallic Photo Paper Glossy is the shinier and more striking of the two. Metallic Photo Paper Luster has a polished metallic cast to it but doesn’t look drastically different from Epson’s traditional Photo Paper Luster.

Epson says the two new metallic papers were developed over several years in collaboration with professional photographers and fine artists. The papers are aimed at wedding photographers, portrait photographers and event photographers.

Epson Metallic Photo Paper Luster and Metallic Photo Paper Glossy go on sale at the end of March with the following MSRPs:

• 8.5″ x 11″ (25 sheets) for $24
• 13″ x 19″ (25 sheets) for $64
• 17″ x 22″ (25 sheets) for $97
• 16″ x 100′ roll for $159
• 24″ x 100′ roll for $239
• 36″ x 100′ roll for $359