Customer Support

How to choose an inkjet fine art or photo paper

Ever had trouble deciding what paper to use for your Fine art Limited Editions or reproductions?

With so much choice even in high end digital fine art ranges, it can sometimes be a daunting task to select the correct paper for the artwork or photograph you are printing; glossy, semi-gloss, satin, matte, textured, smooth, OBA or no OBA, natural or ultra white, cotton or alpha cellulose etc., etc.!

Obviously you can narrow down some of the choices, as usually you wouldn’t want to print a portrait on a very heavily textured paper, as they will look like they have bad skin! Similarly you probably wouldn’t want to re-produce a watercolour painting on a glossy paper…but dig down to the next level of glossy or a matte, textured or smooth and there is still a lot of choice. Whilst a lot of this will come down to personal preference and the look and feel of the paper, other factors such as the cost or weight of the paper may also play a part. For instance if your customer wants an economical option for an open edition print run, or you have a printer that can only feed up to a certain weight (gsm) of paper.

Luckily, there is a solution that is both helpful and cost effective: Inkjet Fine Art and Photo Sample Packs.

A sample pack contains one or two sheets of each paper in a specific inkjet fine art or photo paper range. They are usually A4 in size so can be fed through every printer type. As they contain most surfaces available from a specific range, you are free to test multiple varieties of inkjet fine art paper, without having to invest in large quantities or spend a lot of money. It is a great way to find an inkjet fine art or photo paper whether you are new to inkjet fine art printing or just looking for something different.

Click here to see the full range of inkjet sample packs available from Fine Art Foto.

General tips for testing inkjet fine art and photo papers

• Once you have received your sample pack, we suggest you pick one or two images that best represent your creative style.
• Use Adobe Photoshop or similar to size these images to fit on the sheet size in the sample pack you recieved.
• Print this file onto each paper in the sample pack, there are two ways you can do this:
• If you are comfortable using ICC profiles, visit the manufacturers website and download all the ICC Profiles for the sample pack you have. Use ‘Photoshop manages colours’ and the correct ICC profile for each paper in your sample pack.
• If you are not familiar with using ICC Profiles, or just want a general feel for how the papers look, use the ‘printer manages colours’ option. Make sure to select the most appropriate media setting for each paper in your sample pack.
• Once you have printed the same file onto every sheet in your sample pack, lay all the prints out on a table top. Ideally, every print should be seen under the same lighting condition.
• Which print or prints look the best to you? Take a look at the name of the paper that each of your best prints are on (usually found on the back of the sheet in most sample packs).
• Visit FineArtFoto.co.uk and stock up on your new favourite inkjet fine art or photo paper!

If you need help with testing inkjet fine art or photo papers, give us a call on 0203 968 3333 (9am – 5pm, Monday- Friday) or click here to send us an email.