Metallic Heaven

You may think that it sounds more like a rock band name than a state of mind, but that is what I thought when I saw my portfolio prints on metallic paper. Heaven. The color was amazing and the black & white and sepia prints were simply astounding.

I am developing a new portfolio and I decided to try the new metallic paper for the prints. I have them printed from inkjet and they were beautiful. But I had seen a few prints at a lab that were truly amazing in the sharpness and color saturation. I wondered if there would be a big difference in my work, so I took a few files over for some test prints.

Wow. Ok, that did it. The metallic prints are amazing at the larger sizes (my new portfolio is 16 x 20), and the difference was dramatic enough that I decided to switch. So my new portfolio (15 prints) will be on the Kodak metallic paper.

I asked Stephanie at Mighty Imaging (who I have worked with for years) if I needed to readjust my files for the metallic paper and she said no. “The metallic papers work well with the profiles you already have,” she said, “ but most important thing you can do is to really calibrate your work space and know what the print will look like.”

Mighty Imaging’s owner Peter showed my some samples of work they had printed on the different mediums and the metallic. I gotta tell you, those metallic prints are really amazingly sharp and colorful. And the papers are pretty durable. “You don’t really have to laminate them or anything,” Stephanie told me, “they are amazingly easy to maintain. Just keep them out of direct sun like you would any photograph.”

Opinion here, but I think that the metallic paper would be perfect for large display prints and wall art, scenics and landscape. My work is people in location and I am loving the look of the skin tones, hair and fabric. My favorite look is the black & white and sepia prints that I have. They have a look that is difficult to describe, so you should get a file and have your lab make an 11 x 14 or 16 x 20 print for you on the metallic paper. (I know Fuji has a metallic paper, and I have no idea if it reproduces the same. I would imagine that it must be very similar. I am referring to the Kodak paper here.)

Put it side by side with one of your prints on glossy or matte and see what you think.

(Full disclosure: While this happened, I took the project of redesigning the Mighty Imaging Web site. However, please know that the above is a personal experience, and not necessarily an ad for Mighty Imaging. Many labs use the metallic paper, and while I work with and like Mighty Imagings work, the point should be about the look of the paper and how it may work for you.)