Whether you are printing photography, display graphics, or artwork, selecting the proper material is critical. You should find the proper balance of functionality and aesthetics to highlight, preserve, and transport your visuals.

Photographic and Fine Art Printing

Let us now take a look at photographic and fine art printing. Usually, photographers or artists ask us what kind of paper they should be using. With a multitude of various photographic and fine art papers on offer, making a choice may be more challenging than you’d think.

Here’s a brief guide:

Inkjet Prints vs. Digital C-Prints

First, you’ll want to decide whether you’ll be using inkjet prints or digital c-prints.

In a C-print, the C stands for chromogenic, referring to the procedure through which color photography is developed. C-prints include color photographs. A digital C-print is generated on an RGB scale and has a specific aesthetic set that most photographers prefer. They’ll carry the exact same DNA as the original photographic laboratories, except the refined technology of today of exposing film with light is done through the use of a digitized file as its negative; and the end print is the photo sensitive paper that receives the light-transferred picture.

On the flip side, inkjet prints are pigment based and generated on a CMYK scale. Therefore, these colors are bolder and have more of a “pop.” An inkjet printer is common in an office and personal setting, though specifications are amazing for commercial usage.

Photographic Papers

The staples of photographic paper include glossy and matte. Matte papers feature non-glare finishes that are good for photos that have detail and texture, whereas glossy papers are coated and feature shiny looks that work well for images that have high contrast. If you’re frequently handling your photographs, matte paper probably is the better choice because it does not pick up fingerprints the way glossy paper does.

Metallic paper gives photographs a pearly, three-dimensional effect. Additional popular photograph papers are fiber, luster, and deep matte. And there are display films, too, like duratrans and duraclear.

Inkjet Papers

Inkjets, AKA a fine art giclée print, is generated on a broad array of fine art canvases and papers that range from rag paper to photo paper, vinyl and watercolor paper.