Choosing The Right Paper For Prints

Fine Art America (FAA) gives its customers many great paper choices for art work sold on this site, but I have been asked a few questions concerning the subject. The answer really depends on the type of artwork being sold so everything I’m about to say is focused on my own fine art photography.

When given a choice, there are several paper characteristics you should consider when choosing a paper. Your choice of paper can make as big an impact as the art work itself. Think about the effect you want to achieve, consider the paper types available and then make your selection. Here are some guidelines concerning paper types for photography.

A thicker paper is usually preferred for printing photographs. You’ll have the feel of a traditional photograph and thicker paper is more durable. Thickness is usually measured in “mil” and most inkjet photo papers are between 7 and 10 mil. Opacity is also important so you should look for higher opacity ratings if you are going to mount your photographs. There is nothing worse than seeing something behind your print like a marking on the mounting board. Opacity is not an issue with the papers offered by FAA so there is no need to worry about this.

Color brilliance is also important with a fine art print and this can be affected by the brightness of a paper. There are two scales that measure the brightness or light reflectivity of paper: the ISO Brightness scale and the TAPPI scale. The higher the rating, the whiter the paper will appear which yields photographs with higher contrast and more accurate color. Papers that are exceptionally bright probably have been treated with whitening agents that may degrade inks over time. Since you want your fine art print to last you should avoid high ISO values. Again, this is not an issue with the papers provided by FAA.

This brings me to the most important paper characteristic when it comes to purchasing prints at FAA. Since brightness and thickness are not an issue we come to the topic of paper finish. While paper finish is mostly a matter of preference, I favor the matte finish and most of my photographs have been proofed using matte papers. Choosing a glossy paper will improve contrast and yield more vivid colors, but because I have proofed my images using matte paper, glossy papers may produce versions of my photographs that are over saturated. Matte papers also tend to be more stable over time meaning the colors will not fade or bleed.

To finally answer the question of which paper is best, I highly recommend that you choose the Premium Archival Matte Paper offered by FAA. It is a long lasting, heavyweight paper that gives excellent contrast and detail. It is also acid-free which will produce long lasting prints. Another point to consider is that once the print is framed behind glass, the glass will give the print a glossy look anyway.

If you decide that you must have a glossy print I recommend choosing the Epson Premium Luster Photo Paper. The luster finish is a happy medium between matte and glossy finishes.