A Naive Question on Printing Formats

[redhed17]

I've hardly had any printing done of my images, but feel I want to have couple of pics on the wall, so a naive question, and one that may have been answered before, but do certain types of images suit certain print formats, on paper, Matte, Glossy, on Aluminium, on Acrylic, on Canvas? I'm aware there are many paper types, but just looking at the broad overview for now.

Do B&W images suite certain formats? Does it change if they are high or low contrast? Colour images, do they suit certain format, and does colourful high contrast image suit certain formats, and low contrast less colourful something different?

I know you can print anything on anything, but I'm planning on printing quite large and want to make the most of the images.

 

[Kodiak Qc]

do certain types of images suit certain print formats, on paper, Matte, Glossy, on Aluminium, on Acrylic, on Canvas?

This is the ultimate question when cooking:

"how to season and present?"​

I often refer to cooking analogies in photography since,
in both, lots of final decisions are taste or experience de-
pendent, and choices and possibilities are endless.

There are no rules but trends… based on looks, materials,
final destinations and what not.

Before spending time and money, if you're not sure, simply
visit galleries, exhibits and framers presenting collections
to educate and orient your choice.

 

[redhed17]

Thanks for taking the time to reply Kodiak. Something to think about.

I'm drawn to the Aluminium prints for some reason, but then I have seen some very eye catching colour Acrylic prints in a local photo shop.

I thought with the amount of printing people would be doing in this section there maybe trends for different types of images.

 

[ancient_mariner]

IIRC aluminium prints tend to be crisp & bold with sharp detail - at some stage I'll get some done, but they're a bit spendy just to have them sat around most of the time.

This is just IMO & just what I've observed:

Glossy finishes give the greatest amount of detail and tonal range, but can suffer with reflections and show fingerprints easily.
Satin/lustre slightly softens detail and reduces the depth of colour intensity and blacks slightly, but offers a little more resistance to reflections & finger marks.
Matt as for satin, but more so, sometimes to the extent that blacks can sometimes look attenuated and felty.
Canvas finish is like satin, but with greater reduction in fine detail and stronger resistance to reflections and finger prints caused by the texture.

Personally I really like canvas for a large (30"X20") hung print, and the texture can help a little if the image is not able to stand very close scrutiny in terms of sharpness and fine detail. However lustre/satin can work well with a fine detailed image that has a 3D quality about it, when framed and presented well.

 

[TLR-330]

I would personally go for paper prints and mount and frame as inexpensively as possible. Stick them on the wall and see what you think ... if something would look better on a different surface you have not lost much and you can use the frame for the next photograph that you want printed.

 

[redhed17]

IIRC aluminium prints tend to be crisp & bold with sharp detail - at some stage I'll get some done, but they're a bit spendy just to have them sat around most of the time.

This is just IMO & just what I've observed:

Glossy finishes give the greatest amount of detail and tonal range, but can suffer with reflections and show fingerprints easily.
Satin/lustre slightly softens detail and reduces the depth of colour intensity and blacks slightly, but offers a little more resistance to reflections & finger marks.
Matt as for satin, but more so, sometimes to the extent that blacks can sometimes look attenuated and felty.
Canvas finish is like satin, but with greater reduction in fine detail and stronger resistance to reflections and finger prints caused by the texture.

Thanks for taking the time to reply. This was the kind of insight I was hoping may come from this area of the the Forum. Some things to think about. I have in mind a few images but they are varied in colour and B&W and bright and saturated and dark and moody.

 

[redhed17]

I would personally go for paper prints and mount and frame as inexpensively as possible. Stick them on the wall and see what you think ... if something would look better on a different surface you have not lost much and you can use the frame for the next photograph that you want printed.

Thanks for taking the time to reply.

I've procrastinated for so long that if I were to get test prints done I'd most likely to stick with something once it was done. I'm not a big fan of frames too. But it is something to think about.

 

[TLR-330]

I've procrastinated for so long that if I were to get test prints done I'd most likely to stick with something once it was done. I'm not a big fan of frames too. But it is something to think about.

If you go for large prints then a frame is irrelevant. If you go for a smaller image say up to 15" (i am trying not to overthink this) a border + frame give more space to the picture and they will help draw the eyes. What I found many years ago (before computers) was that the only way for me to judge if I liked a picture was to hang it on the wall (mounted straight on board no frame), if 6 months later it was still there then I liked it. If you want more modern "frames" clip frames may help,

 

[redhed17]

If you go for large prints then a frame is irrelevant. If you go for a smaller image say up to 15" (i am trying not to overthink this) a border + frame give more space to the picture and they will help draw the eyes. What I found many years ago (before computers) was that the only way for me to judge if I liked a picture was to hang it on the wall (mounted straight on board no frame), if 6 months later it was still there then I liked it. If you want more modern "frames" clip frames may help,

Thanks again.

I will be going large, about 40-50cm+. Probably three images at least at that size. A paper print could be put in a borderless clip frame, and the Aluminium, and Acrylic prints have various wall mounting options. It is one of those things that could become more complicated the more one looks into it. I know the one type I really don't like, and that is the canvas print on a wooden frame with the folded corners.

I just thought different types of images may suit different types of printing media to nudge me on one direction or another.

 

[TLR-330]

It is one of those things that could become more complicated the more one looks into it.

And the more they cost relative to what you can afford the harder it will become. Look at the space you got too, and if you get to like the prints you might want to hang a few more ;-)

 

[ancient_mariner]

Might be worth having the images printed small in the 7X5 or 12X8 range for a pound or so each on a couple of different finish papers to see if they work as well printed as on screen. I still find it a little difficult to judge, though complex images often fail when small but work when large.