What is Katana Paper?

 

A collection of ultimate quality and reasonably priced ink-jet photo papers, intended to make every Photo-Shop and Print-Lab business profitable, competitive and consistent.

 

Professional photographers and Photo shop owners know very well that everyday photo business is not about the FineArt photography collectors, it's for families, for their memories and the most important moments in their lives. People want their pictures to not present them in galleries and museums, but to hang on the walls, in their homes, to put on their desks, at work, to arrange in albums, for their most beloved.

 

What these customers want is QUALITY, longevity and acceptable price. So, the combination of these requirements is not an easy one.
But we proudly achieve it - every Katana paper is a fusion of top quality, consistent parameters and unbeatable price.

 

Why Katana? Because they are produced in Japan, where, in ancient times, the noble samurai warriors used Katana swords to protect their life and honour. One Katana sword costs a fortune, but it is able to win a fortune.
As ancient samurai, today's professional photographers and Photo shop owners have to fight every day, to defend their businesses from being overrun by the competition. They cannot allow themselves to decrease the quality or to use less reliable materials, in order to offer more competitive prices, obviously. They need their Katana.

 

We don't say we offer FineArt Papers. 
We do offer the FinePhoto papers for everyday battles of the modern samurai - the professional commercial photographer and Photo shop or Print Lab owner. Of course, the Artists, Amateurs, Crafters and Hobysts can also benefit from the great Quality/Price ratio our Katana offers. 
But our main focus is to offer ink-jet photo media for BUSINESS.

 

We have few different product groups:

 

Premium Resin Coated Photo Papers - Gloss, Silk, Luster, Raster. Different surfaces and thicknesses, Single or Double-sided printable, even in Self-adhesive variant, all they have something in common - they are the workhorse of the everyday and studio photography. Small size photo pictures, panoramas, photo books and albums, large format prints - everything looks amazing, when printed on Katana Premium papers. 
The paper construction consists of a high-quality paper base, laminated both sides with thin polyethilene layers, preventing the water from the ink to soack in the paper and coated, single or double sided with multilayer hi-tec microporous coating. 
Pro's:
- very high printing resolution, resulting in sharp lines and finest details 
- ability to reproduce every type of images perfectly - from pastel sensual portrait, trough bright summer and winter day images, wedding, fashion and commercial photos, landscapes, seas, sunrises and sunsets to bright, saturated and colorful snaps from concerts and and club parties. Luster and Silk papers are especially well accepted for photo exhibitions, where the special surface structure almost eliminates the reflections of the bright spotlights, but retains all the details, bright colors and impressive contrast, that are associated with the Glossy RC papers. 
- Available on rolls and sheets for Dry Lab, Dye or Pigment desktop photo printers and Large-fornat pigment waterbased printers. 
- Thanks to lamination, no cockling or deformation of the paper occurs, even if the paper is soacked in ink or water. 
- Prints on RC papers, even if made with Dye inks, can be dropped in water, without degradation of the printed image
- Double sided printable variants available
- Self-adhesive variant available
Con's: 
- slightly 'plastic' feeling, due to the double-sided lamination
- Cannot be glued or mounted with standard paper adhesives, but only with double-sided selfadhesive tapes.

 

Glossy coated papers - as the name tells us, they are with a bright, high-gloss finish, but the coating is of a different type, mostly suitable for Dye inks. These papers are developed as an alternative to the Premium Class papers, for jobs that are less critical and where the price per print is the  the first thing, that customers asks for. 
Pro's:
- Low cost
- Bright colors
- Hi-gloss finish
- The non-laminated paperback allows for gluing the picture to a support surface, by every normal paper adhesive, contrary to Premium Papers, therefore suitable for mock-ups and scrapbooking
- Double sided printable variants available
- Self-adhesive variant available
Con's: 
- Best results with Dye inks, not recommended for Pigment inks
- Lower resolution and total ink limit, therefore less detailed and less dynamic printout in some occasions, but still very good, for everyday photo
- In case of heavy ink loads thinner papers can show some slight deformation, but later they restore the initial shape, after the water evaporates 
- The different front and back surfaces could be a reason for different absorption of moisture from the air, resulting in a sheet, that is not completely flat, but bended up or downside, so the paper stack should be prepared for printing, by folding in the proper direction - typically, edges should go down, not up, so they can't touch the moving print head.

 

Matt coated papers - they have different matt finishes, different textures, very affordable price and can be printed both with Pigment and Dye inks, on DryLab, Desktop and LFP machines. The Art&Decor series of textured matt papers is loved by all creative individuals - photographers, designers, bookscrapers and crafters. 
Pro's:
- Low cost
- Bright colors, sharper details
- The non-laminated paperback allows for gluing the picture to a support surface, by every normal paper adhesive, contrary to Premium Papers, therefore suitable for mock-ups and scrapbooking
- Plenty of texture in the Art&Decor series
- Double sided printable variants available
- Self-adhesive variant available
Con's: 
- Lower resolution and total ink limit, therefore less detailed and less dynamic printout in some occasions, but still very good, for everyday photo
- In case of heavy ink loads thinner papers can show some slight deformation, but later they restore the initial shape, after the water evaporates 
- The paper stack should be prepared for printing, by folding in the proper direction - typically, edges should go down, not up, so they can't touch the moving print head.