Comments on: Why Glossy Paper?

By: Mark M. Hancock

Mark M. Hancock — Sat, 11 Aug 2007 03:36:03 +0000

BTW, if you need the best quality print, find a lab with a LightJet laser printer. It’s a photo-chemical process from a digital image. The reproduction quality is finally what I’d consider acceptable.

By: Mark M. Hancock

Mark M. Hancock — Sat, 11 Aug 2007 03:30:01 +0000

Shoot a Zone III and below image (the tred of a car tire). Set the black point and ignore the white point. Next, print it with (equal quality) matte and gloss surface papers with high-quality photo ink. Then, look at Zone I in each of the prints.
Matte surfaces scatter light and take the richness out of the black areas. This is because stray light is refracted over the dark areas. Meanwhile, the glossy surface should produce a deep, dark void. It’s reflective, but it reflects light in direct lines rather than diffusion.

By: John Setzler

John Setzler — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 15:36:38 +0000

Mark, thanks for the response. You are the first person who has ever been able to give me a decent answer to this question. I still don’t understand the detail though. A majority of the prints I make myself are black and white, and ‘flat’ is hardly the description I would make, when comparing matte vs glossy from my own printing system (Epson 2200). I do use Epson papers and inks.

By: Mark M. Hancock

Mark M. Hancock — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 14:43:28 +0000

When enlarging images (traditionally), glossy paper adds one or more zones of tonal gradation over matte. Matte rhymes with flat and it is. :-)
The surface qualities are particularly important in the Zone III and below range (blacks). If the goal is Zone V. Go with matte. If the goal is to show the full dynamic range of the image, go with glossy.
Part of the problem you may experience is the difference between F surface resin-coated paper and F surface fiber. RC paper is cheap, highly reflective and sticky. High-quality fiber papers require more work and don’t have these problems.
As far as consumer printer paper, it’s important to match the paper to the printer. This eliminates many of the problems associated with both surfaces. However, it’s vital with F surfaces.