What is The Difference Between Matte and Glossy Printing?

When you are in a photo printing outlet to have your photos printed, there are two options you’ll have to choose from—matte and glossy. If you have never heard of these terms, then you likely will leave it to the salesperson to decide the matter for yourself. But you must also familiarize yourself with matte and glossy printing so that the next time you are in a photo printing outlet such as CVS Photo and Office Depot, you’ll know which finish your images will look good on.

Printing on a glossy paper makes your images look vibrant, with its colors richer and the light reflecting well. On the other hand, a matte finish looks duller and darker compared to a glossy finish. But apart from this major difference, there are cons and pros to choosing either glossy or matte digital photo prints.

Glossy Photo

You’d think that the shiny, glossy photo prints are the more attractive option compared to matte finish. In a way, yes, because glossy photo prints look lavish. The colors are more vibrant, richer and deeper. At first glance, you will get this impression that a glossy photo printout is of superior quality compared to a matte photo print.

However, there are also downsides to glossy photo prints that can make the matte finish a more viable alternative. One is that the shiny quality of a glossy photo paper can pose a problem when you look at the photo under the daylight sun, or when the lighting inside the room is too bright. You can’t fully appreciate the image printed on glossy photo when the lighting is too intense.

Also, glossy paper attracts more dust as well as fingerprints compared to matte paper. So the images that are printed on glossy paper will look dirtier than photos on matte finish. Likewise, black and white images are not as impressive when printed on glossy paper.

Matte Finish

The pros of matte finish are essentially the cons of glossy photo prints. Matte photo prints won’t have the smudges and fingerprints that its counterpart is notorious for. It is also ideal for framing, because it won’t develop the patches that glossy photo paper is infamous for. Thus, photos that are printed in matte paper are more likely to be preserved longer.

The downsides of matte photo prints is the absence of the fancy, superior quality look that people have associated with glossy photo prints. Photos printed in matte finish also look less impressive compared to those on glossy photo paper.

So when should you choose matte, and when should you opt for glossy? It all depends on your needs and what you’ll do with your pictures. The general rule is that color printouts are best for glossy finish while black and white images are more suited to matte photo printing. If you are to print large photos that will be hang on the wall, then you must opt for a matte finish. If the photos you are to be shared with your friends and family members then you should go with glossy photo printing.