Which Print Paper to Use ??

Highsurf03 · #1 (**permalink**) 14-04-2008, 09:04 PM

Hi - I want to print some landscape pictures I took in Death Valley, California, and around Santa Fe, New Mexico. I live at the beach in Southern California, so I also have seascapes. I'm looking at 8x10 and larger.

I have an Epson Stylus Photo R1800 printer. I'm also thinking that I may order prints from some commercial producer. In either case, my question is the same:

What is the best kind of paper to have them printed on?
I don't know whether to go with glossy, matte, metalic, or something else.

Is there some paper that is best for portraits? I also have six grandchildren, so you can imagine how many pictures I may take.

I'm pretty new to this, so any advice you have would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance.

Gary

Gary Hartzell
ghartzell@mail.unomaha.edu

Mello · #2 (**permalink**) 14-04-2008, 11:13 PM

EY UP Gary,
i'm not a pro by any stretch of the imagination so have no idea if certain papers lend themselve's to certain topics....

But i think it comes down to personal preference???
I always used to go for a semigloss finish but have recently gone to glossy which i always thought would be a bit much.
A good thing to try is a trial pack,lots of manufacturers will do a pack with one of each of their most popular papers they produce.
PermaJet do a nice one and it comes with a little book (like a wallpaper sample thingy)which has one of everything they do.
So it's just a case of trying different pics with different paper to see what you like....

Highsurf03 · #3 (**permalink**) 15-04-2008, 12:12 AM

Hi, Steve -- and thank you. That's pretty much my plan: to get some sample packs of different papers and just see how things turn out. I appreciate your taking the time to help me. All the best to you. Gary

G8PSR · #4 (**permalink**) 17-04-2008, 06:36 PM

Epson Photo Printer Paper Test

How We Tested

Print quality
When it comes to quality, we are looking at the sharpness and colour of the print.

We test basic and premium A4 glossy photo paper by printing a range of photographs including people, landscapes and everyday scenes.

A photography expert examines the pictures closely to assess the quality of the colour, the detail and whether there are any imperfections.

For example, we look at whether large areas of the same colour have been printed consistently. To judge the level of detail, we examine particular parts of the print-out, such as the weave on a cotton shirt.

Technical tests
This is where we look for resistance to over-inking and smudging.

We leave a print-out to dry for at least 24 hours and then spray it with several droplets of water. The droplets are dabbed with a paper tissue, allowing us to judge whether the ink will smear or run.

And we print a photo taken at sunset that includes a lot of dark areas. This lets us asses whether the paper struggles to reproduce detail when lots of ink is applied and whether the dark colour produced is consistent.

Source
Which? report : Photo printer paper | 06 March 2008