| Paper Surface:
Both RC and Fibre based paper come in a range of paper surfaces. Recently
there has been a tendency to limit the surface to two or three surfaces,
but at one time there may have been up to 4 or 5 surface available. Glossy
paper produces prints with the sharpest reproduction of the image and a
more reflective surface while semi-matt paper has a less reflective surface
and because the surface of the paper is slightly more irregular produces
prints of less apparent sharpness. The surface qualities of the paper are
also important. The term "Surface" actually refers to two properties, texture
and finish textures are generally referred to as "smooth", "fine grained"
or "rough". Finish refers to shininess and is distinct from texture, commonly
available finishes are glossy, lustre and matt.
A very smooth surface in
terms of both texture and finish, looks bright since it reflects most of
the light falling on it, because of this it also reveals maximum detail.
The rougher surface scatters light and tends to obscure detail. This scattering
of the light not only dims highlights, but also makes black parts of the
picture look greyish.
Manufacturers: There
is a range of manufactures that produce photographic paper and as each
of the papers have various qualities, different photographers prefer different
papers. Here it is best to carry out a range of experiments to find the
papers that suit your work.
In the appendix is
a list of various papers and their attributes.
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