Recommended Papers

Glossy Photo Paper

First Choice :  Epson Premium Glossy Photo Paper 255gsm

The Epson Stylus Photo 1290 has been around longer than any other photo printer for one reason - It’s excellent.  The 1290 is especially good with the paper it was made for - Epson Premium Glossy Photo Paper.  Results are first rate with smooth tones and bright saturated colours. When the 1290 was released it was the best available A3+ printer at a reasonable price and it’s output is still up there with the very best. The only real downsides are speed and cost - The Epson is slow - very slow by modern standards - and Epson Premium Glossy is expensive. So either Fuji Multijet Premium Glossy or Ilford Galerie Smooth Glossy which give similar results are my recommendation for the Epson 1290, 1280, 1270, 890, 870 and any others which use the T007, T008 and T009 ink cartridges.

Matt Photo Paper

Budget Choice :  Epson Matt Paper Heavyweight 167gsm

To me the 1290 will always be a printer for glossy paper where  it is excellent, but if you want to print on matt, Epson Heavyweight Matt would be my budget choice. Image quality with this paper is excellent and as it’s sold in packs of 50 sheets at a reasonable price it’s a great choice for day to day photo printing. It does well in fade tests too. The only downside is that, despite the name, it’s fairly lightweight and wrinkles a little in dark areas.

Message to Epson: Since when was 167gsm Heavyweight?

At 210-230gsm this would be an absolute winner. OK so it would be slightly more expensive, but I’d pay, and I think so would everyone else.

Epson Dye Inks - T007 and T009 (tested with Epson 900 & 1290)

Same inks as the 790, 870, 875DC, 890, 895, 900, 915, 1270, 1280