What print paper to use?

[occifer nick]

Hello everyone,

I would like some opinions please on what type of paper to have my photograph printed on. I am wanting to print this image;
77770
and I will be making the frame myself from old fence palings. The image will probably have a black card border and a glass front.
From your experience (the people who have had their images printed) what paper would you recommend for this image behind
glass? I have read the articles relating to paper selection that came up when I did a search on here but thought I would put
up a post to get some specific opinions for my photo. Also I have never had a photo printed other than just going into Big W
and ordering a print. I intend on printing the picture first at home on my ink jet as a test before ordering a print from an online
supplier with a decent quality paper. I just have no idea what it would look like on some of the papers they sell, ie; metallic etc
Also, should it be matte, gloss, lustre etc? Your opinions would be appreciated.

Regards,

[I @ M]

With the vibrancy from the reds and reflections in this shot I would look at a metallic print.

What I would suggest however is to skip the print at home stage and simply have a small sample printed by the company you choose on the desired media to give you a more accurate idea of how their printing will look when and if they do the final full size job.
Seeing that this image is close to the native 2:3 ratio, depending on your desired final size I would look at getting a sample printed at 8x12 as a guide to colours and detail.

[DNP]

Now, my choices purely came down to the following factors (in order of importance):
1. Cost.
2. Quality.
3. Support.

I chose Ilford as my paper of choice, they have ICC profiles to help you get started which usually do require a little tweaking. Cost isn't too bad overall. I mean, it all depends on how long you want you image to last (I'm assuming forever for some) so with the Epson Claria ink and Ilford paper they say it lasts for "99 years". I guess that would be in optimal conditions too.

So, here's some more info (copied from various sites):
Gloss paper:
Glossy photo quality paper is designed to make printed photos look sharp, vibrant and more like a traditional photograph. Handling of glossy paper is important as the paper can quickly and easily be marred by fingerprints and dirt. Glossy photo paper comes in several varieties including a specialty color protect or color life paper, semi-gloss and premium (professional) grade.

Matte Paper:
Unlike glossy paper, matte paper produces nice quality prints but does not have that vibrant color finish. Matte paper is not vulnerable to being marred by fingerprints and it produces a non-glare photo. Types of matte inkjet paper include photo quality matte, premium (professional) grade, double-sided matte, and semi-matte.

Now if you're going to go get it printed, PLEASE for the love of god and all that is holy DON'T go to Big W, Hardley Normal or any other mass chain. While sometimes they turn out a decent print, their color profiles are crap at the best of times.

[William]

Morning Nick, I just had some images printed on this paper http://www.fujifilmusa.com/shared/bin/4225.05-PerlPaper.pdf The one I used for the comp was printed on this , Works really well on Sunrises, Gives it a Holographic look ;)

[occifer nick]

Thanks heaps for the replies guys. I will have a look at the other threads to see who they are getting to print and possibly order a small test print from them.
:th3:

[rowdy23]

another option..
ive done a few on this , i love it

http://www.ehow.com/list_6197182_photo-rag-printing-tips.html

[occifer nick]

I've never used a proper printing facility before so I am keen to see what a few different papers look like. I might try a small print using just a couple of papers to see what suits it the best. Thanks again everyone for your valuable input :th3:

[virgal_tracy]

HJere is a recommendation for you. Contact Daniel Capobianco at Mentem (http://www.mentem.com.au/print_prices/) who is a wonderful retoucher and professional printer. He does everything by hand, on fine art paper especially chosen for the image to be printed and printed on an epsom 9990 printer.

Maybe give him a call discuss it and send a copy of the image and he can recommend the best paper for the image. The office is at Stanmore in Sydney and Daniel loves nothing more than talking about images and printing.

[occifer nick]

Thanks Vince I might give him a call and see what he says :)