Matte vs Glossy

[Leah]

I'll just put in a plug here for photobox.co.uk for those of us in the UK. They consistently come top of the photographic magazines' comparative tests, are competetively priced although not the cheapest on the market, have a choice of matte or glossy, deliver very quickly, and have a nice easy-to-use site. I have always been very happy with anything I've ordered from them... so much so that I don't use my nice photo printer anywhere near as much as I thought I would.

[kbeatrice]

After sending one digital file to Wolf Photo online and getting two differently shaded B&W prints from one file printed at the same time, I was totally frustrated. I happened to be researching icc profiles online and came across this website:

http://www.drycreekphoto.com/Frontie...erDatabase.htm

They provide icc profiles for different labs in your area and they also say what paper they print on. They provide a profile for matte and glossy if available.

I haven't tried this out yet but it seems that it should be very helpful. I found this thread trying to decide what type of paper to use for my prints, the the color restorations from the 1950's don't look quite right on glossy so I wanted to see everyone's opinion.

Karen

[inskip]

Has anyone tried mpix.com? I haven't yet, but it looks promising. The offer professional grade papers and will even send you samples. They also say they have a fast turnaround...???

As far as matte vs glossy, I always prefer matte for the finished product. But, I like glossy for scaning.

[rainbowlucky2]

We can print for you at great prices up to 13 x 19
on Matte, luster, glossy or even on canvas

Prices vary from $4 per print up to $23 per print (13 x 19 Canvas) in full color

Doesnt include shipping

Hilary Appell
Rainbow Graphics
design@mountain-air.com

[Lampy]

Hi everyone,

I hadn't ordered prints from Shutterfly in ages. I had been using Ofoto but have recently been dissapointed with their customer service since their name change and decided to go back to Shutterfly. I was happily surprised to find the choice of matte or glossy prints for my pictures. I chose the matte to test it out and got amazing results. The before and after photographs looked like professional prints (the actual shots were pretty good I admit) I was just wowed by how nice the color and finish was . So if you're still looking for a good matte source give them a try.

--Heather

[kschulz]

I've been on the lookout for a decent matte luster finish for quite a while, and recently tried Epson's Premium Luster photo paper on my Canon i9900 printer. Awesome! The prints look incredible, and the surface finish is exactly what I was looking for, which is similar to what you get with quality wedding or portrait studio prints. Right now it can be found on Amazon at $27 for 50 sheets (normally $35 - $38). If you're printing your own, I highly recommend you give this a try

- Kurt

[Nanls]

Originally Posted by Juliana Ross

Hi there everyone,

At my lab we do mail for a lot of our customers.
website is www.showcaseinc.com
and you can reach processing at 800-325-7676
we do both glossy and matte all the time six days a week, and our techs have at least 16 years experience.....
I'll check with the boss lady and see if we can set up a discount for RetouchPro members if anyone is interesed
and heck I can personally print your stuff if you send it to my attention


Juliana

I would be interested if we can do everything online... let me know what you find out. Regards,
Nancy

[Nanls]

Originally Posted by kschulz

I've been on the lookout for a decent matte luster finish for quite a while, and recently tried Epson's Premium Luster photo paper on my Canon i9900 printer. Awesome! The prints look incredible, and the surface finish is exactly what I was looking for, which is similar to what you get with quality wedding or portrait studio prints. Right now it can be found on Amazon at $27 for 50 sheets (normally $35 - $38). If you're printing your own, I highly recommend you give this a try

- Kurt

Hi Kurt,
Have you tried printing on Canvas with the Canon? I found this and was wondering if you would agree: http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/re...ssage=16649602

[kschulz]

Hi Nancy,

I haven't tried that, but I'm glad you posted the link. I've been looking for recommendations for printing on canvas with the i9900. I'll have to give that a try. I have used Arches Infinity Tex 230GSM paper for other artistic effect prints, such as watercolor, with good results.

Thanks,

- Kurt

[Mica]

I only tried 2 prints at Mpix and used their metallic paper. It's glossy, but with my product protography, it looked awesome. The chrome parts really looked chrome. Also, the photos were packed very well - each in a glassine sleeve, then shrinkwrapped on cardboard, image inward. Don't know if that's typical or only for the metallic paper, but it was appreciated.

For printing we do ourselves, we love the KromeKote Studio Photo Satin Finish paper. I buy it at the local Paper Plus, but wasn't able to find it on their website. On Smart Paper's website, it's described only as "Studio" paper:

http://www.smartpapers.com/10_digital/10d_retail.asp

Of course, now that I looked that up, I need to special order the items Paper Plus doesn't have in stock, like that linen laser paper - my HP 8550 really needs to try that out.