Matte or Glossy? Digital Photo Printing Guide

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Matte or Glossy? Digital Photo Printing Guide

When printing digital photos you have a choice between matte and glossy photo prints. Glossy photo prints have a shiny finish while matte ones have a more subtle neutral one. So which one should you choose? There is no right answer - there are pros and cons to both.

Again matte and glossy simply refer to the finish to the photo paper digital photos are printed on. To achieve the finishes, different chemicals and processes are used when printing. Matte finishes do not reflect the viewing light and appear darker and less bright than their glossy counterpart. Glossy photos appear shiny, reflect viewing light and are more vibrant and colorful.

Let's take a look at some of the pros and cons that come with both glossy and matte digital photo finishes.

Glossy photo prints: Glossy photo prints are shiny and are more appealing to the eye. They look fancy and convey a high quality feeling. Glossy photo prints have vibrant colors. Colors also look rich and deep on glossy photo prints. On the downside glossy photo prints "shiny" attribute can be a problem when photos are viewed using intense light sources such as daylight sun or strong light bulbs. Light reflected from the photo print can blind the viewer making it hard to see the photo. Glossy paper is also more likely to attract dust and fingerprints and is thus more likely to get dirty over time. Black and white glossy photo prints do not look as good as matte ones.

Matte finish: Matte photo prints do not reflect light and are therefore easier to view in almost any light condition. Matte photo prints are also less likely to attract dust and fingerprints and are less likely to get dirty over time. Black and white matte photo prints look better than black and white glossy photo prints. Drawbacks of matte photo prints are that they do not have the fancy high quality look that glossy photo prints have. Colors in matte photo prints are less animated and less rich than on glossy photo prints.

How do you know which finish to choose? The answer depends on you and what your plans for your photos are. A general rule is that glossy is for color prints and matte is for black and white but there are exceptions. If you photos are going to be touched frequently, matte is the smartest choice unless you don't mind cleaning your glossy prints every so often. Matte is also a better choice in the event that you want to enlarge a photo for the wall for example as a glossy finish would act as a large glossy and shiny light reflector.

Since the decision between glossy or matte is up to you, experiment with both if you have never tried before. Take some photos in both color and black and white and print them in both glossy and matte finishes to see what combinations you like best. By knowing what you like and what the end result will look like you can best choose in the future which one will work best for you.

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