What is the difference between photographic and fine art papers?

Are you wondering what the difference is between a Photo paper and a Fine Art paper and which you should be printing your photographic work on?

Are you wondering what the difference is between a Photo Paper and a Fine Art paper and which you should be printing your photographic work on?

Photo Paper

Photo papers are the standard paper choice for everyday photo printing.?It comes in different finishes in Gloss, Lustre and Matt and within these finishes they each have their own unique qualities. Photo paper is not necessarily archival, meaning your work won?t last as long as it would if it were printed on Fine Art Paper. Photo papers are great for using when longevity doesn?t matter and with a huge range of finishes on offer you really can add that bit of extra lift to an image with the right choice of paper.

Fine Art Paper

Fine art paper is usually acid free and mostly either made of cotton rag or alpha cellulose or a combination of the two. It can also be made from other natural materials though, such as Bamboo. Fine Art paper is always PH Neutral or Acid Free, which means that when printed with pigment inks, your image is going to last a very long time and it is even said that if you keep your image in ideal conditions that it could have a lifespan of 200+ years! Fine Art papers can also come in Gloss, Lustre or Matt finishes, however Fine Art papers are not as ?glary? as photo papers and can be displayed behind glass. Compared to photo paper, fine art paper is generally thicker. If you want to display your work, for an exhibition or in a gallery for instance, then a Fine Art paper is a more appropriate way to go.

Conclusion? ? ?

Photographs are no longer something that is kept in a box and viewed periodically, as with the advent of digital photography huge numbers of images are now kept on hard drives. This being said though, there is increasingly a return to enjoying printed photographs and enjoying them as art.

Here at GDS we stock a large range of both Photo and Fine Art papers.?

For our full range of Photo Papers click HERE.

For our full range of Fine Art Papers click HERE.

If you still feel unsure about what paper you are looking for, feel free to call or email the team at GDS and we will be happy to help you find your perfect paper.

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