Eco-friendly Photo Papers

There’s quite a bit of opportunity for photographers to go green.  A direct contribution can be made by choosing an environmentally friendly option from the currently available papers (for photos and matting). There are several sophisticated options available that will make you change your mind about being green. Some tree-free options are fiber paper, cotton rag, and bamboo. Because these options are tree free, they are naturally acid-free and lignin-free so your art prints will look good hundreds of years from now.

1. Epson Exhibition Fiber Paper
Fiber paper is usually a mix of fibers which can include cotton, hemp, and banana leaf. This is number one for us for our enlargements. Fiber paper gives art prints a distinguishing texture, weight, and remarkable surface quality.

2. Hahnemuhle Bamboo 290 Photographic Paper
This is the first fine art inkjet paper made from bamboo grass fibers. Bamboo is a great choice for photo paper if the bamboo forest is FSC certified (waiting for a reply from Hahnemuhle on this one). This paper has a beautiful warm tone since it’s naturally white. A bonus is that a portion of the revenue is donated in supporting environmental projects.

3. Crescent RagMat
Rag matboard is made from cotton fibers and has an extremely soft texture. RagMat is the only matboard guaranteed safe next to prints and it meets museum conservation standards. The only other more green option for matboard is recycled matboard, but it’s not recommended for preservation. We love the look and feel of RagMat so much that we print our business cards on it!

Click here for the “Green in Print” pdf published by The Nature Conservancy.