How To Choose A Paper Type For Your Photos

If have gone on vacation and taken pictures with your smartphone or just celebrated your nephew's first birthday and was dubbed the photographer at the party, chances are good that you are going to want to print out your photographs. However, you might not know what type of photo paper to use. Here are some tips for determining the type of photo paper that you should use based on your situation and your priorities.

1. If You Need the Photos to Be Handled:

If your photos are going to be handled by many people because you're sending out a stack of photographs from your trip that your relatives can pass around, then you are going to want to go with high gloss photo paper. High gloss photo paper gets its shine from the finish that is applied to the paper. However, this shine can also double as a protective measure against permanent damage from fingerprints and the oil from people's hands. Although high gloss photo paper will show smudges if a person handles the photos, it is relatively easy for you to simply take a microfiber cloth and wipe down the prints to remove the fingerprints without causing damage.

2. If You Are Scrapbooking:

If you are planning on using your photos to scrapbook, you need your photos to be printed on a type of paper that will allow you to handle the photos without totally ruining the. You also need a type of paper that will not have glare behind the protective plastic cover that many scrapbooks have. In this situation, semi-gloss photo paper is your best bet because you get the best of both worlds. You get the reduced shine that normal paper has, but you also get the protective qualities and high color resolution that high gloss photo paper has. 

3. If You Need a High Level of Detail:

Finally, if your prints are going to be on display on a bulletin board or sent to a photo publication that accepts amateur photographs, then you to need to be sure that all of the fine details are perfectly visible. If this is the case, then you will want to choose high gloss photo paper because it offers the widest selection of color choices, allowing you to avoid having to dull your original colors, as well as the highest resolution.

4. If Your Photos Will Be Displayed in Harsh Lighting:

If your photos are going to be displayed under harsh lighting, then you will want to go with semi-gloss photo paper in order to be certain that the glare does not detract from the viewer's experience.

For more information, talk to a company that specializes in photo paper and printing services.