How to Choose Photo Paper
- Photo Paper Types - the Differences
- How to Choose Photo Paper - Glossy Prints
- How to Choose Photo Paper - Matte Prints
- Optimizing Image Files for Printing
- Photo Paper Prints as Merchandise
- Summary: How to Choose Photo Paper for Printing
- Recommended Photography Gear
- How To Streamline Your Professional Photography Workflow
- 4 Benefits of Enterprise Grade Canvases from Lumaprints
- Lumaprints Canvas Prints Review
Ordering photo paper prints of your cherished images is a wonderful method of displaying your art in your home or office. Photo paper prints are also a common choice for photographers selling physical copies of their work, either as part of a photography package or as stand-alone art.
In addition to the size and cropping variables involved in printing images, there are also numerous photo paper types from which to choose. Knowing how to choose photo paper that fits your images and display needs goes a long way toward getting the best out of your images and printing options.
The premium online photo printer Lumaprints has several photo paper types that can be made into physical prints of your photographs in sizes up to 40x60'' and up to 36x72” for panoramic images. Using their collection of photo paper types, we’ll explain how to choose photo paper for your prints.
Table of Contents:
Photo Paper Types - the Differences
Knowing how to choose photo paper types requires that we know what photo paper types there are and what differences they have. Photo paper types can be picked depending on what kind of image it is, what mood you want the picture to convey, or based on practicality.
As far as mood or style, we could paint with a very broad brush and say that matte lends itself well to subtlety, while glossy is great for anything vibrant. Subtle or vibrant can refer to color, contrast, or subject matter. Obviously, there are many more variables in between these two extremes, but this idea gives a good place to start.
Breaking down into more discrete selections, matte can be a smooth matte or very heavily textured with some photo paper types in between these two ideas. The basic makeup of matte paper is that it has a slight bit of surface texture to it. Glossy photo paper prints are smooth and can be either high gloss or semi-gloss, which is a little less shiny.
How to Choose Photo Paper - Glossy Prints
Choosing glossy photo paper involves thinking about how you want this image to be perceived or what type of subject matter is imaged.
Glossy and semi-gloss photo paper types are excellent for any photo with bright colors, deep colors, or lots of color contrast. As you can imagine, that takes in a lot of different styles of photography!
The glossy papers also work well for images that include fine detail within the captured file. This could be a portrait, especially if you’re aiming for realism, but also when attempting a softer look through soft focus techniques. A selective focus portrait usually has a level of contrast that will work wonderfully with glossy papers.
Interestingly, while glossy papers tend to portray a level of modernity, black and white photos can also look fantastic when printed as glossy photo paper prints. This seems especially true with high-contrast B&W photos. If you want to mix old with new, try B&W digital photography and print it on glossy paper.
How to Choose Photo Paper - Matte Prints
Matte papers are awesome for a low-key mood or for portraying a subtlety with the subject matter. Pastels or soft color contrasts, vintage styles, or any image including text will look great when printed on matte papers.
Matte paper shows fewer fingerprints and reflects light less than glossy, so these photo paper types handle being made into large prints that could have distracting glare if printed on glossy paper.
Heavily textured matte papers are excellent for all styles of portraits, romantic imagery such as a garden still life, or most B&W photos. It also does well with photos that are primarily monochromatic, regardless of what color the primary focus is. Almost any landscape image will reproduce gorgeously as a matte paper print.
Optimizing Image Files for Printing
Whenever you send out a file for printing, you want to make sure it is the best file you can use. Sometimes this requires extra post-processing to optimize your files.
One part of the post-processing workflow that helps make files more printable is to clean up the noise. Electronic noise can manifest as image sharpness degradation that appears very similar to film grain. It tends to show up more in large areas of the same tone or color, such as in the sky, but it can affect how sharp and edge contrast appears.
Most programs have a simple control tool to lower or eliminate the noise. You might want to keep the noise in the image or even increase it, depending on the mood you want to evoke. Noise in a contrasty black and white image printed on heavy matte paper can make an outstanding print.
You are likely shooting and capturing in RAW format, so you must save the photo as a JPEG or TIFF file to send to the printers. Use the least compression possible and ensure that the color profile matches the printer's requirements. Then save the largest file you can upload to the printer.
Lumaprints can accept JPEG, TIFF, PSD, and PNG files. They print in AdobeRGB color space but can also accept sRGB and convert it to AdobeRGB before printing. Check their FAQs about printing and ordering, including minimum and optimum DPI for their varied printed products.
Photo Paper Prints as Merchandise
Since Lumaprints is a professional-grade photo printing company, it will be no surprise that they offer enhancements for professional photographers in their Pro User Program.
Some perks of being a professional user are drop shipping, simple order integration, custom branding, fast turnaround time, and pricing discounts. With this program, you can increase your bottom line profits and enhance the marketability of your photo paper prints. This is beneficial whether using a photography package type of business model or selling prints as separate photo art pieces.
Summary: How to Choose Photo Paper for Printing
Paper is a fantastic medium for making physical photos. Knowing how to choose photo paper for your various images and clients, plus using a high-quality print fulfillment service, will give you more enjoyment as a photographer and more profit as a photography business.
Try it out for yourselves!
