What Photo Paper Should You Select?
So, if you guys are anything like me, you’re probably confused about the different options for photo paper when shopping for prints. I tried to make it easier by only having three paper options in my print store (so far): glossy, lustre, and matte.
What’s the difference between them? Good question! I’ll try to explain:
Glossy: This paper has vibrant colors and deep shadows. It’ll take any colorful image and make those colors pop even more. The only downside is that because of the glossy finish, there can be a bad glare on the surface, making viewing the print more difficult in some lighting conditions. This glossy finish also shows fingerprints much easier. This would be a great paper for a wide dynamic range, full of highlights and shadows, and rich in color.
Lustre: A good way to think of this paper is that it’s a halfway point between glossy and matte paper. It has some texture to the surface, but also a bit of shine to it. The shine on this paper isn’t as intrusive as the glossy finish. Lustre paper has saturated colors and deep, rich blacks. The texture on the surface compliments textures in the actual image, such as a rough rock or some fractured ice in the foreground. This paper is my personal favorite for most images.
Matte: This finish is exactly how it sounds: completely matte. You can view a print in this finish at any angle and not have a glare. And because there’s no glare, fingerprints don’t show up nearly as much. While the Matte finish has extremely vibrant and beautiful colors, the blacks on a matte print are a bit lacking. This would be a good paper for a photo that has a wide range of highlights and color with minimal shadows.
I created a gallery of photos comparing and contrasting the different paper options in my print store, which is on display above. There are detail shots of the surfaces of each print, as well as side-by-side comparisons of the different papers on the same photo so you can see the affect that different photo papers have on one image. I would be glad to answer any further questions you have if you contact me via my contact page. Thanks for reading!
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