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Meghan Buckley, Illustrator, Creator & Sole Owner of MegsCuriocity reviews Double-Sided Test Pack

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As an artist, I love to explore and experiment with new media and mediums, so I was delighted to be asked by PermaJet to try out and review their new Double-Sided Test Pack, including their new paper; Double-Sided Lustre 295.

To briefly introduce myself, I’m Meg, the sole owner and creator for MegsCuriocity. MegsCuriocity revolves around a curious sense of adventure and exploration, derived from a love of travel and architecture. As an architectural graduate, my interest in architecture sparked a nostalgic relationship with cities I had once visited, in pre-pandemic times.

This longing to travel once again, was fulfilled through revisiting the cities personalities and aesthetics in drawing. My love of architecture, not just of the aesthetics of space, but the experience. I love to experience a city, not just ‘see’ it! Throughout my travels I would always sketch, hoping to portray how the city feels. Similar to the precise nature of an architectural drawing, the skylines and cityscapes created inspire a clean cut, chic representation of each city’s icons. After all, what is the one thing you miss about a place you love? The feelings and memories of the place of course, just the sense of being on the streets of the city you love, the smells, the people, the food, laughter and their cultural ways! The illustrations I’ve created facilitate exploration, no matter where you are, to remind you of home or away, wherever you may be! I love to illustrate new places, in this new world we find ourselves in, I am having so much fun exploring the world, from the drawing board.

Of the four sample papers provided within the pack, I am most familiar with the Double-Sided Matt 250, as this is the paper I use daily to produce my prints.

Double-Sided Lustre 295:

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On first impressions, the new Double-Sided Lustre displays a bright white quality, which I really like. For my works in particular, I prefer to print on a white paper, so that the print remains clear, vibrant, precise, and ‘borderless’ as the background of the print image, is also a perfect white. The paper exudes a good weight quality, and the lustre texture is noticeable on each side. After running the paper through my Epson Surecolor 800, I found that the paper holds the K3 inks very well. I sometimes found in the past that Lustre papers from other brands resulted in the ink ‘sitting’ on the paper rather than within the paper pores, but this was not the case with PermaJet’s new Double-Sided Lustre. Overall, for my prints, although the paper is 10/10 all around, I think the photographic sheen isn’t quite what i’m looking for, but it is perfect for my postcards, bookmarks and flyers. The heavy weight nature of the paper, and the ability to hold ink microporously instantly is a really great advantage when it comes to production speed, allowing me to print, trim and pack my bookmarks in record time.

So over all, 10/10 for the paper for some of my products, but not for my prints.

Double-Sided Oyster 285:

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While all of the above comments apply to this paper also, I found the weight of the paper wasn’t as good as the DS Lustre, even though the difference is only 10gsm. When the page is held at the top and ‘wiggled’ I found the oyster was more flexible than the Lustre. The paper has a brilliant bright white colour, providing excellent vibrant results though, and ink sits extremely well within the paper.

9/10, only because I’ve tried the Lustre, if the lustre was not included, 10/10.

Double-Sided Portfolio 230:

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I have past experience with single sided portfolio paper from PermaJet, where I found the opacity of the paper wasn’t exactly what I needed. It should be noted, at this point, that I do not print on both sides of my prints, only my bookmarks and postcards, hence why paper opacity is really important to me, as they are surrounded by a large area of ‘white’ space. I like the texture and quality of the DS Portfolio, but because it is not a bright white, I would not use the paper.

Double-Sided Matt 250:

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I use DS Matt every single day. I produce 100% of my products on DS Matt. Even though I only print my Skylines on one side of the paper, I love the weight of the paper, it responds very well to being rolled in a postal tube, without creasing or completely curling, even after weeks. The fact that when held up to the light, the page isn’t opaque, is a huge factor in why I use double sided paper, and not single sided, along with the extra weight. The bright white colour of the paper, allows my work to remain as vibrant as it appears on screen, and the paper holds ink so very well, no matter how ‘heavy’ or ‘dark’ the print might be. I recently started creating a new collection of ‘full page’ illustrations, entitled ‘The NYC Collection’, which will launch at the end of the month. These illustrations involve a full page of vibrant colours, and this paper definitely checks all of my boxes for printing those also, as I was worried the amount of ink needed may saturate the page, but that is not the case, fantastic!

In conclusion, each of the papers in the new Double Sided Test Packs are of impeccable quality, obviously each paper is not for each person, it depends on the work being printed. I would recommend each of these papers 100%.

The new DS Lustre is perfect for my newest products and bookmarks, as it is strong and vibrant, and has a photographic texture. For my prints, I will however be sticking with DS Matt.

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