"I firmly believe a printed photograph is the ultimate form of this art, yet printing is an art in and of itself.” I’m quoting myself on this one, ya’ll.
I mentioned this in my last post and that couldn’t be more true. The average person has no idea what goes into making a fine art print come to life. Even for myself, I didn’t know until I dove head first into this art. I pulled the trigger about a year ago and bought a small scale professional printer by Canon. I suppose it was a little more methodical than “just pulling the trigger” but it was nonetheless a big investment for me as I was somewhat unsure at the time whether this was a path I really wanted to venture down. But I’m glad I did because I have learned so much. A few notable things I’ve learned: 1. There are probably hundreds of different types of paper and variations of those types between about a dozen mainstream manufactures. Each paper gives a unique look and some can get more expensive than you would think. 2. In my limited investigation, it seems most photographers don’t print their own photographs and I think that’s a shame because it is the last step that brings this art together full circle. If you’re a true photographer I think you should do it all. Sending your digital images off to some print lab across the country is not an art and probably does an injustice to what your art could be. I’m amazed at the number of high end photography galleries that don’t print their own work in house. 3. There is actual math that goes into printing a photograph because there is, to put it simply, a loss in colorspace between a digital image and what can be physically printed with ink…and choosing the correct mathematical model when printing is important so that’s pretty cool and nerdy.
Let me now define some paper qualities and briefly describe the thought process I go through when selecting a paper for any given image. In a subsequent post(s), I will review specific papers I use and describe more thoroughly how I choose when to use each paper. I will use this as an overview for that process and as reference for those future posts.
Paper Qualities Defined:
Finish - glossy (satin) or matte with semi-gloss (lustre) falling in between but leaning more towards satin
Texture - the texture or roughness of the paper
Dmax - the amount of black ink the paper can hold…how dense dark tones appear - Dmax is more of a quality found in paper descriptions, it is not a quantified number - this can make it difficult to compare papers and requires experimentation on your part
Whiteness - how well the paper reflects all wavelengths of light…how white the paper appears - whiteness is measured on a scale from 0-100 with 100 being pure white
OBAs - optical brightening agents - artificial chemicals used to enhance the whiteness of a paper - these can degrade the paper over time and are most commonly found in cheaper papers
My thought process when choosing a paper:
Many paper qualities go hand-in-hand so while I’ve listed this process in steps, the process is a little less sequential.
Satin v. Matte - This is where I start. Determine whether the photograph wants to have a glossy or matte finish. A few things I consider when thinking about this are:
Do I want really dark shadows or a contrasty/moody look?
Is the image black and white?
Is there water or other features in the image that I want to have a slight shimmer?
If the answer is yes to any of these, then I typically choose a satin or semi-gloss paper. These papers offer a higher Dmax and sheen that would give those desired looks.
Smooth v. Rough. This is where my mind goes next. Similarly, there are several questions I ask myself when choosing the texture of the paper:
Are there elements in the image with natural texture like rocks or brush that I want to preserve or enhance with a textured paper?
On the contrary, is there smooth water or sky that I want to keep smooth?
To contradict the contrary, is there smooth sky or calming fog for which I want to add texture. Adding texture to smooth elements of an image can often enhance the image by making it more dimensional but it’s a personal preference and I don’t always do it; that’s one way that printing is an art.
Dmax. After choosing (1) and (2), you are typically left with only one or two options for a differing Dmax, mostly because the Dmax is primarily derivative of the finish of the paper (satin v. matte). Having said that, if you are looking for a more contrasty, moody look, a higher Dmax is preferable. For example, I have two matte papers that offer nearly the same roughness but one has a slightly greater Dmax.
Whiteness. Similar to Dmax, this is often the result of the type of paper you have already chosen, so you usually don’t have too many options but it can influence your choosing if you have more whites or highlights in your image for example. It can also influence your decision depending on the color mat you are framing your print. I stray away from pure white mat boards so in reality, I have found the whiteness of the paper not to have much of an effect on the finished look.
Keep taking photos.