Do you have a thought process you go through deciding what a photo would look best on a certain paper? In the past for large prints I have went with matte papers. I am getting ready to print another one and am considering semi-gloss, hoping I won't be disappointed. My second option is fine-art paper. If it matters this will be a giclee print. The photo is a fall photo and will be printed by a lab. There will also be a non-glare glass over the photo. Thanks for any input you can offer!
grandmas wrote:
Do you have a thought process you go through deciding what a photo would look best on a certain paper? In the past for large prints I have went with matte papers. I am getting ready to print another one and am considering semi-gloss, hoping I won't be disappointed. My second option is fine-art paper. If it matters this will be a giclee print. The photo is a fall photo and will be printed by a lab. There will also be a non-glare glass over the photo. Thanks for any input you can offer!
Since you asked, a few thoughts:
Since I want to know what. a print will look like, I’m not really much into using a lot of different types of papers. I will definitively try different papers regularly, just to see if anything crops up that might persuade me to change, but I generally stick to just a couple of types — one “luster” paper and perhaps one matte paper. (I print on luster probably 95% of the time, but that’s larger a subjective preference.)
One consideration is how the print will be displayed. If it will be matted, framed, and glazed (under glass or plexiglass), the differences between the paper types amount to much less than you might think since the glazing ends up being essentially a primary surface anyway. You’d have to look pretty hard to tell the difference under glass.
I would be more inclined to use a matte paper for smaller prints, say for a folio or similar, where viewers might actually look very closely, even hold the print, and thus be more aware of the paper’s qualities.
If you are not sure which way to go, why not initially make small versions fo the prints on both of the paper types under consideration? You’ll likely be able to better judge that way.
By the way, I don’t think many people in the photoraphy world are using the term “giclee print” any more. “Giclee print” is basically just a highfallutin’ way of saying “ink jet.” (Some will refer to them as “pigment prints,” which seems a bitt more, uh, midfallutin’.)
gdanmitchell wrote:
Since you asked, a few thoughts:
Since I want to know what. a print will look like, I’m not really much into using a lot of different types of papers. I will definitively try different papers regularly, just to see if anything crops up that might persuade me to change, but I generally stick to just a couple of types — one “luster” paper and perhaps one matte paper. (I print on luster probably 95% of the time, but that’s larger a subjective preference.)
One consideration is how the print will be displayed. If it will be matted, framed, and glazed (under glass or plexiglass), the differences between the paper types amount to much less than you might think since the glazing ends up being essentially a primary surface anyway. You’d have to look pretty hard to tell the difference under glass.
I would be more inclined to use a matte paper for smaller prints, say for a folio or similar, where viewers might actually look very closely, even hold the print, and thus be more aware of the paper’s qualities.
If you are not sure which way to go, why not initially make small versions fo the prints on both of the paper types under consideration? You’ll likely be able to better judge that way.
By the way, I don’t think many people in the photoraphy world are using the term “giclee print” any more. “Giclee print” is basically just a highfallutin’ way of saying “ink jet.” (Some will refer to them as “pigment prints,” which seems a bitt more, uh, midfallutin’.)
Good luck, and I hope your print turns out well!...Show more →
Thanks! If I understand you are saying that the difference between a semi-gloss and a matte fine-art paper under glass will not be noticeable?
