At KeenART Media, we offer a wide range of fine art and photographic papers for inkjet Giclée prints. The following article discusses the properties of papers used in printing, and lists many of the most popular types.

SUMMARY

PAPER TYPE	IDEAL USE	PHYSICAL PROPERTIES	VISUAL PROPERTIES
Resin-Coated	General photographic prints	Smooth texture, thin and lightweight	Glossy finish (satin, luster, semi-gloss), very white/bright
Metallic	Photographic prints of metal objects, black and white images	Smooth texture, mid-range thickness and weight	Glossy finish with metallic sheen, mid-range brightness
Baryta	Black and white photographic prints	Smooth texture, mid-range thickness, heavyweight	Glossy finish, very high brightness
Cotton	High quality fine art or photographic prints for sale or exhibition	Smooth or rough texture, range of thicknesses and weights	Matte finish, natural brightness
Canvas	Fine art reproductions and some photographs	Rough, traditional texture, thick and heavyweight	Semi-matte finish, very high brightness

Often, the manufacturer's specifications about a paper will look something like this:

These specs are for Hahnemuehle brand German Etching paper.

While some of the terms shown here are pretty self explanatory (Drying behavior: instant, for example) or unnecessary for basic paper selection, others are essential to understand when choosing the ideal paper for a specific image.

WEIGHT

Paper weight is determined by a uniform measurement system. The weight in pounds that you will see on many reams of paper is based on 500 sheets of 17x22" paper (that's four letter-sized, 8.5x11" pieces). If a ream of 500 8.5x11" sheets of paper is marked as 20 lbs (regular bond paper), the stack itself weighs one quarter of that - 5 lbs - and each sheet weighs 0.01 lbs.

Just to confuse things, though, fine art papers are often weighed by grams per square meter (39.37 square inches), instead of pounds. In the example shown above, you can see the weight is 310 gsm. This weight is approximately equivalent to an 87 lb paper.

In the end, all you need to note is the difference in weight between the papers - the specific weight doesn't really matter. If you have lifted and felt a 310 gsm paper, then you will know that a 190 gsm paper will be somewhat lighter. It will most likely be thinner as well, though it is important to note that weight does not directly correlate with thickness.

CALIPER

Caliper is really just a fancy word for thickness. Fine art paper thickness is measured either in "mil": 1/1000th of an inch, or in millimeters: 1 inch = 25.4 mm. The example above shows a thickness of 0.5mm, which is equivalent to 20 mil.

Much like the paper weight, being able to envision the exact thickness of a paper isn't important. Rather you can recognize that a 15 mil (0.38 mm) Hot Press paper will be slightly thinner than the German Etching paper above.

Generally, regular printer papers have thicknesses of 4 to 10.5 mil, and photo papers 7 to 10 mil.

TEXTURE

Texture refers to the feel of the paper, which can range from a silky smooth velvet to a bumpy, pockmarked surface. While photographic papers are all of a smooth finish, many fine art papers have some sort of uneven texture. This has to do with how fine the wood or cotton pulp was when it was formed into the paper, and the texture of the press that made the paper into the flat sheets used for printing.

Etching papers (like the spec example above) and watercolor papers usually have a more textured surface than Baryta or basic Cotton Rag papers. Hot Press papers will have a smooth finish, while Cold Press denotes texture.

The texture of the paper will affect how your final image appears. Textured papers can hide some slight pixelation or noise, and tend to give images a painterly quality. Smooth papers showcase your image very much as it appeared on the screen, and allow for sharp contrasts and lines.

WHITENESS AND BRIGHTNESS

The light reflectance of the paper. Whiteness considers all wavelengths (colors), while Brightness is specific to the wavelength that creates blue light. Both properties are measured on a scale of zero to 100, where a 90 bright paper reflects more light than an 80 bright paper.

Some papers are labelled with brightnesses of more than 100. This implies that chemical OBAs (optical brightening agents) have been added to artificially enhance the white paper.

SHADE

Shade refers to the color of the paper or specifically, as defined by Xerox, the "subtle differences in color within the visible spectrum." Much like paint chips at the home decor store will have many white options - eggshell, off white, pure white, snow white, etc - papers can have different shades as well.

White is generally broken down into three broad categories, to which countless different names may be applied. These categories are True White, Cream White, and Blue White. This comes down to wavelengths again. Cream whites reflect (show off) warmer colors like yellow, blue whites reflect cooler colors like blue, and true whites reflects the entire color spectrum equally.

Like all colored objects, the shade of a certain paper will look different depending on the type and amount of light to which it is exposed at any given time. Our example paper is described as natural white and has a brightness of 92 (not shown in specs). As you can see in the specs, the OBA content is very low in this paper.

OPACITY

Opacity is the opposite of transparency; in other words, the higher the opacity, the less see-through the paper is. This is determined by how much light can pass through the paper, or how visible the printed image is from the back when the paper is held up to the light.

Opacity is measured, like brightness, on a scale of zero to 100. Inkjet photo papers are usually 94 to 97 opacity. The German Etching paper in our example is 99 opacity, which is common for fine art papers, which tend to range from 97 to 99.

FINISH

This term refers to the shininess of the paper, and is one of the qualities that will most strongly affect the appearance of your print. There are two basic categories of finishes.

• Glossy Finish: This finish gives the paper a high shine, reflective appearance and will have a smooth, glossy feel, just like the family photographs you probably have around your home, in picture frames, albums, or on the refrigerator. As such, this paper used primarily for printing photos, and rarely used for painting or pencil art reproductions.

  There are many sub categories of gloss papers, including high gloss, soft gloss, semi-gloss, and satin (less shiny). When selecting a paper for your image, it is important to remember that glossy papers are the least forgiving of imperfections in the picture, such as pixelation, dust spots from the lens, or noise.

• Matte Finish: This finish has no reflective quality, and may be smooth or textured, though matte photo papers are always smooth. Matte papers create a soft, rich color and are usually intended to display images behind glass. Semi-matte papers are available, and the satin paper mentioned above will fall somewhere between a matte and glossy paper.

Left: Matte finish; Right: Glossy finish

RESIN COATED (RC) PAPER

Though they are more water and scratch resistant than matte papers, they are thinner and can therefore appear "cheaper" when examined. Some professional photographers recommend avoiding these papers for prints you may wish to sell, as museums, galleries, and collectors will generally not accept them.

For regular use, though, they are perfectly suitable. They can deliver deep blacks and white whites, with excellent contrast and sharpness (assuming, of course, that the digital image is high resolution to begin with).

METALLIC PAPER

Blacks will appear very rich, and with high contrast, on metallic paper, and the color gamut (the range of colors the paper can support) is very wide. This paper is ideal for images of objects made of metal: vehicles, farm silos, etc.

COTTON FIBER/ALPHA CELLULOSE PAPER

• Etching papers (textured)
• Hot Press papers (smooth)
• Cold Press papers (textured)

FIBER-BASED BARYTA PAPER

CANVAS

SPECIALTY PAPERS

• Bamboo
• Sugarcane
• Mulberry
• Hemp

To read more about the different substrates beyond paper that can printed with inkjet technology, read our Types of Print Media article. If you have any questions about our products or services, please don't hesitate to contact us. Our knowledgeable staff can walk you through the process and provide suggestions and advice.

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