Paper types

Learning goal

You will be able to choose the paper you will print a photo on by looking at the photo's character, the place it will hang and the light. You will explain how glossy, semi-matte and matte surfaces reflect light, and how this affects how deep the blacks and how vivid the colors can look. You will get to know the warmth of the paper's own white, the additives used in some papers to brighten the white and how they behave over time, and know what textured, long-lived papers made from cotton or similar fibers do differently. You will remember that every paper should be printed with its own color profile, and see that choosing paper is a matter of taste: there is no right or wrong paper, but a paper suited to the photo and the place. You will decide by testing with a test print how the paper's surface and white affect different skin tones.

The question

On the counter at the print shop lie three small samples of the same photo: the baker handing bread to their neighbor. One is slick and glossy; the blacks are pitch black, the orange oven light vivid, but the ceiling lamp shines on the surface like a white stain and covers part of the baker's face. The one beside it is a matte paper; there is no reflection at all, it can be seen comfortably from every angle, but the blacks lean toward a dark gray and the frame is a little softer. The last is thick and slightly textured, and in the hand it is like a fabric; its white is a little warm, the tonal transitions soft and deep.

The baker looks at all three for a long time and asks which one is better. Your friend from the club can't give an answer; each shows the same photo with a different character. Matte, glossy or fine art? Why does the same photo feel different on different papers?

Context

While carrying colors from device to device, we discussed that the printer works with a separate measurement file for each paper, and that some saturated colors don't fit on paper (Lesson 25.2). In the previous lesson, too, we calculated how big the print can be according to the distance of the eye that will look at it (Lesson 25.3). Once size and color management are settled, one question remains: what will the photo be printed on?

Paper isn't only the photo's carrier. How it reflects light, the color of its white, how deep a black it can hold and how it feels in the hand change how the viewer will perceive the photo. The same frame can stand like a sharp, glossy poster on one paper, and like a soft, quiet painting on another. That is why choosing paper is one of the photographer's last interpretive decisions, and needs as much care as all the decisions on screen.

Simple explanation

How does the surface change light?

Paper surface is the degree of glossiness of the coating on a printing paper, roughly divided into glossy, semi-matte and matte. A glossy surface is smooth; the ink stays on top of the surface and reflects light in a single direction like a mirror. This makes blacks look deep, colors vivid and details sharp; but a lamp or window in the room shows up on the surface as a bright stain, and the viewer has to look at the print from certain angles.

A matte surface is rough; it scatters light in every direction. That is why it doesn't make reflections and the print can be seen comfortably from every angle, but the scattered light adds a fine lightness over the blacks and the darkest tones lean toward gray. Colors look a little calmer, the frame a little softer. Semi-matte or satin surfaces stand between the two: while keeping the blacks at a depth close to glossy paper, they reduce reflection.

Black density describes how deep the darkest black a paper can print is. On glossy papers this value is usually highest; on matte papers it is more limited. The depth of the black decides the print's contrast range: a deep black, together with the lightest white, offers a wider tonal range. A photo full of dark tones can lose the detail in its shadows on a paper with a limited black, or the shadows can lift to gray as a whole.

What do the white and the fiber change?

Paper white is the unprinted paper's own color and decides the lightest tone in the print. Some papers have a cool, bluish white, some a warm, creamy white. The whites in the photo, for example the neighbor's headscarf, can't be whiter than this white of the paper; a warm paper adds a slight warmth to the whole print.

An optical brightener is an additive added to some papers to make the white look brighter and bluish, which turns ultraviolet light into visible blue light. A paper with brightener shows an eye-catching white in daylight, but its white changes with the light source, and it is often said that these additives can lose their effect over time and the paper can yellow slightly. For a print that will hang for a long time, this is a factor to keep in mind.

Fine art paper is the general name given to printing papers usually made from cotton or similar natural fibers, with a textured or smooth surface, thick and designed for a long life. Most of these papers have a matte or semi-matte surface and often a natural white without brightener. Their weight and texture in the hand give the print the quality of an object; tonal transitions look soft and deep. But their black density is often more limited than glossy papers, and they are more expensive.

How is paper chosen?

There is no right or wrong paper; there is a paper suited to the photo, the place it will hang and the desired character. A photo with deep shadows and vivid colors can stand strong on glossy or semi-matte paper; a quiet portrait in soft light can look warmer and more intimate on matte paper. The place it will hang matters too: on a wall facing a window, a glossy print makes constant reflections; in a print going behind glass, the surface's glossiness matters less because the glass will make reflections anyway. Every paper should be printed with its own color profile; printing on one paper with another paper's profile shifts the colors.

The paper's surface and white also affect skin. On glossy paper a reflection stain on the face can cover a cheek or a forehead with a white glare. On matte paper the shadows of dark skin either lift to gray or lose their detail because of the limited black density; this can reduce the face's depth and warmth. A paper with a warm white can make light skin a little yellow, while a paper with a cool white can dim the reddish-brown warmth in a dark face a little. These effects are small but noticed at once in a face; that is why the decision needs to be made with a test print, examining the face up close.

Visual evidence

You put the three samples side by side under a neutral lamp that shows colors faithfully. On the glossy paper the lamp shines as a white stain on the baker's forehead; when you tilt the print a little the stain disappears, but the shop's wall is directly opposite a window. On the matte paper there is no reflection, but the shaded half of the baker's face leans slightly toward gray and the skin's depth decreases.

On the textured fine art paper the tonal transitions are soft; the paper's creamy white makes the headscarf look slightly warm. The baker's skin is warm and deep, but on the shaded cheek the darkest area isn't as deep as on the glossy paper. When you print it again with this paper's own profile, lightening the cheek's shadow a little, the detail in the shadow comes back and the skin keeps its natural warmth.

You show the baker the three samples and the last attempt side by side. For the wall opposite the window they want a warm paper without reflections; they say the photo on the textured paper feels to them "like the shop's bread." The choice becomes not a technical necessity, but a decision made according to the character of the photo and the place.

Common mistakes

Summary

Paper surface changes the print's character through how it reflects light: glossy paper gives deep blacks and vivid color but makes reflections, matte paper has no reflections but its black density is limited and shadows lean toward gray, and semi-matte stands between the two. Paper white decides the print's lightest tone and overall warmth, optical brighteners brighten the white but change with the light, fine art papers give the print the quality of an object with their texture and natural white, and every paper is printed with its own profile. There is no right paper, there is a suitable paper; the decision is made by examining up close on a test print the reflection on the face, the shadows of dark skin and the effect of the paper white on skin.

Mini assignment

In this assignment you will compare the same photo on different papers.

1. Choose a photo with deep shadows, a light white and if possible a face.
2. Print the same photo small on at least two different papers, for example glossy and matte, or ask a print shop for samples.
3. Put the prints side by side under a light that shows colors correctly; compare the reflection, the depth of the blacks, the warmth of the white and the tonal transitions.
4. Note the light of the place where you plan to hang the photo, and decide which paper suits that place. If there is a face in the photo, write how the skin's shadow and color look on each paper.

Check yourself

• Can you explain why glossy and matte surfaces affect blacks and reflection differently?
• Can you justify your paper according to the photo's character and the place it will hang?
• On the paper you chose, did you check up close that the face's shadow and the skin's color stand correctly?

Glossary

Mini quiz

1. Why do the blacks of glossy paper look deeper?

• A) The smooth surface reflects light in a single direction and no scattered light is added over the black
• B) Because more ink is put on glossy paper
• C) Because glossy paper's white is warmer
• D) Because glossy paper is thicker

2. For a print to be hung on a wall directly opposite a window, which surface usually causes fewer problems?

• A) Glossy
• B) Every surface gives the same result
• C) Matte or semi-matte
• D) Mirrored

3. Which is true for a paper containing optical brightener?

• A) Its white stays the same in every light
• B) It makes the white look bright by turning ultraviolet light into blue light; its white can change with the light
• C) It deepens the blacks
• D) It doesn't need a color profile

4. On matte paper, the shaded half of the dark-skinned baker's face leans toward gray. What is the most suitable step?

• A) Never using the paper
• B) Printing with another paper's profile
• C) Darkening the whole photo
• D) Examining the face on a test print and adjusting the shadows for that paper, with its own profile, and printing again

Answers

1. A — On a glossy surface light reflects in a single direction; no scattered light is added over the black as on a matte surface.
2. C — Matte and semi-matte surfaces scatter light and don't make a reflection stain opposite a window.
3. B — Brighteners work with ultraviolet light; that is why the white's appearance changes with the light source.
4. D — Matte paper's limited black lifts shadows to gray; an adjustment made for that paper brings back detail and warmth.

Summary card

• Glossy: deep black, vivid color, reflection.
• Matte: no reflection, blacks lean toward gray.
• Paper white decides the lightest tone and the warmth.
• Every paper is printed with its own profile.
• There is no right paper, only a suitable one; examine the face on a test print.

Bridge to the next lesson

The baker chose the textured paper. But the print shop reminded them that this one-meter paper was expensive, and that changing it once printed would be costly. Your friend was worried that the matte surface would lift the blacks to gray and that the baker's face would again come out in an unwanted tone. There had to be a way of knowing in advance what the result would look like on this paper, without printing the whole print. Is it possible to see a print before you print it? The next lesson tells about on-screen viewing that imitates paper, and about working with small test prints.