Music Paper Colour (opinions needed!)

[SantaKiwi]

Hi all

Recently, I received a sample of some new paper my regular paper provider has started making, which has an off-white, blush/nude colour with "high opacity, yet low lightfastness". After doing some research on what this means, the paper has the fascinating ability to purposely lose its tint when exposed to direct light.

Here are some photos of a 9.5" x 12.5" part score that illustrate this (though the camera does half-correct this):
In low light:

20211024_145326.jpg (1.74 MiB) Viewed 15679 times

Versus

In direct light:

20211024_145338.jpg (2.04 MiB) Viewed 15679 times

Personally, I love the unique colour and it still has enough visibility for musicians to read comfortably (the perks of off-white paper, like cream/ivory) but isn't too flashy either. But I'm worried people will just see this paper and think it's too dull/tinted for proper use.

What're everyone's thoughts? Would love to know!

[benwiggy]

Hard to know without seeing it in the flesh: so let your eyes be the judge!

Presumably, the pink tint offsets the blue light that's often found in strong lights. Very interesting!

[John Ruggero]

I personally would be hesitant to use it because lighting can vary so much in different environments as can visual acuity.

[SantaKiwi]

True, but surely this is true for all paper and inks? And even in the low light, I don't see a noticeable difference in contrast when compared to ivory paper.

Tomorrow I will print two identical parts using this coloured paper and some stock ivory paper I have on hand and will post them for comparison in various different lights.

[SantaKiwi]

Hi all

So after trying lots of lighting and distance tests (none of which I could accurately recreate on my camera - apologies!), it does seem that the nude paper is slightly duller than my other test papers, but not by a lot. It's noticeable when directly compared with pure white paper, but not as much when compared to which cream/ivory paper (favoured by most publishers).

Thanks for the feedback, all