Photo Paper Choice

Which paper to pick? Lustre, Metallic and gloss previewed

You’ve got your beautiful images, you know how big the print will be, but you’re struggling to work out which of our many paper types will perfectly compliment your photograph. Let us help with our comparison of Lustre, Metallic and Gloss – the three most popular pure photographic papers used here at Prolab. All three are archival Kodak light-sensitive material that we use with a traditional chemical process to print from digital files, but what’s the difference between them?

Our lustre paper has a subtle pearl texture, this slight gloss is perfect for bringing out colour saturation and contrast. Its stipple surface is anti-glare and reduces the visibility of fingerprints. Lustre is professional looking and durable all round performer that is ideal for framing but works just as well in any number of finished applications.

Our gloss paper, is as its name suggests, smooth, untextured and features a brilliant shine that is great for commercial and fine art portfolio work. The reflective sheen brings out extra depth and sharpness to images whilst still retaining the durability of the lustre paper.

Our metallic paper has a chrome-like burnished finish. Its striking and distinctive look comes from its increased colour gamut. This paper can produce a wider range of tones than any of our other papers. It is specially designed to allow your images to ‘pop’ off the page and shimmer as though printed on metal. The Kodak metallic is the paper of choice.