Choosing Photo Print Paper

[mama_fluxus]

I was just reading this thread and it made me think. How do you choose what type of paper you print on. In my photography experience all of my clients are using the photos for web or I'm not connect to the printing so I've never put much thought into it.

 

Along with that.. How should I edit in lightroom differently for print than web?

 

I am getting this photo printed as a christmas present for my friend. What kind of paper should I chose and why? 

[AkiraDaarkst]

42 minutes ago, mama_fluxus said:

 

B&W photos, I generally go for satin, silk or luster finish papers.

 

Choosing what type of paper or finish to use, it''s harder to say and I don't have any fixed rule.  You have to think about

• color or monochrome
• location where the print will hang
• will it be framed behind a glass/plastic or something transparent panel or exposed
• size of the print

In LR, you generally want to softproof your photos before printing.  If you're using a lab, go to their website or call them up and ask for their color profiles.  If you print them yourself, color calibration and profiling both your screen and printer is very important.  You don't edit any differently.

[.spider.]

I'd choose cotton rag paper it feels much more valuable than regular paper and it would hide wrong focus of the image a little bit. 

[Swndlr]

While I have no idea what the answer to your question is, I thought Id stop by and say that this is a very nice close up portrait

[AkiraDaarkst]

4 hours ago, Swndlr said:

While I have no idea what the answer to your question is, I thought Id stop by and say that this is a very nice close up portrait

There's no set rule for using photo paper.  You can decide to use something that has a glossy finish, semi glossy, no gloss, canvas, it's your judgement call.  Use the one you feel that makes your photo look good.  But if you use nice paper, make sure you use nice ink.  Using cheap consumer printer ink on something like Ilford's gold fiber silk is not going to make the best use of what that paper can do.  Look at the kind of pigmentation ink that printers like Epson's Stylus Pro 4900 uses.  It uses more dyes than the standard RGB or CYM of a consumer printer.

 

If you're going to hanging your prints in a gallery, ask the gallery if they have any preferences.  Same with if you use a lab to print, they can advise you.

[mama_fluxus]

13 hours ago, Swndlr said:

While I have no idea what the answer to your question is, I thought Id stop by and say that this is a very nice close up portrait

Thanks, I missed focus but I still like it.