Photo contest. Matte or Glossy paper?

MTT · Jul 31, 2005

What does the judges prefer, or does it even matter? What about printing your own, or having it professionally printed? I have a HP photo printer that does a great job printing on matte paper. Can't even tell a home photo printer printed it. I planning to print my own on matte paper and enter it. Any reason why I shouldn't do this?

Just curious,

Mark

--

This is me. To see what I'm looking at click here.
http://mtt.smugmug.com/gallery/482165/1/27071871

I'm a mechanic to survive, but a photographer for fun. Just wished it were the other way around. Mark Thompson/MTT
Louisville, KY. USA

http://mtt.smugmug.com/

MTT · Jul 31, 2005

--

This is me. To see what I'm looking at click here.
http://mtt.smugmug.com/gallery/482165/1/27071871

I'm a mechanic to survive, but a photographer for fun. Just wished it were the other way around. Mark Thompson/MTT
Louisville, KY. USA

http://mtt.smugmug.com/

Marian Smit · Jul 31, 2005

I also have an HP photo printer which does a great job on satin-matte photo paper; I prefer my own prints over the ones from the print shop.

So in my opinion there is no reason why you should not present your own print to the contest.
I wish you a lot of success!
Marian

CKirk · Jul 31, 2005

Howdy Mark,

I must admit all the prints I have entered and have seen entered into contests have been on glossy paper, and sometimes a satin, but I don't think I have seen a matte finish entered.

The Rule of Thumb here is, it's your picture, what do you want it to look like, does the print on matte paper meet your expectations? If it does then that's all there is to it.

Good luck and let us know how your entry comes out?

--
Take care,

Craig

Burleson, Texas

R2D2 · Jul 31, 2005

Your choice. Just make sure it is presented perfectly.
Good luck,
R2

--
Good judgment comes from experience.
Experience comes from bad judgment.

http://www.pbase.com/jekyll_and_hyde/galleries

Mark Prinz · Jul 31, 2005

Must you submit a hard copy? A lot of contests these days accept submissions online, or at least saved onto a disk. If you're worried about the print, maybe that will be the best option. If they don't accept that, I agree with what was said above, print it on whichever type of paper, and whichever type of printer (home inkjet or professional chemical/thermal processing) makes your image look the best.

Good luck!

-Mark

--
http://www.photobird.com/prinz/

Don Roney · Jul 31, 2005

Personally, I like the look of the matte finish. I'd also use your HP printer if you can get the print the size you want.

Are you going to enter them in the KY state fair?

Don
http://www.pbase.com/northtnguy

Manfred L · Jul 31, 2005

Hi Mark,

My 2 cents, glossy isn't so good, the spot-lights will reflect off the print,
But what do judges prefer? I really don't know . . .

Manfred

MTT said:
What does the judges prefer, or does it even matter? What about
printing your own, or having it professionally printed? I have a HP
photo printer that does a great job printing on matte paper. Can't
even tell a home photo printer printed it. I planning to print my
own on matte paper and enter it. Any reason why I shouldn't do this?

Just curious,

Mark

--

This is me. To see what I'm looking at click here.
http://mtt.smugmug.com/gallery/482165/1/27071871

I'm a mechanic to survive, but a photographer for fun. Just wished
it were the other way around. Mark Thompson/MTT
Louisville, KY. USA

http://mtt.smugmug.com/

MTT · Aug 1, 2005

Marian Smit said:
I also have an HP photo printer which does a great job on
satin-matte photo paper; I prefer my own prints over the ones from
the print shop.

I use HP premium plus matte paper, which looks great. Haven't tried satin-matte. Are you using HP paper?

Member said:
So in my opinion there is no reason why you should not present your
own print to the contest.

Seems like everyone else feels the same about this and that is what I will do.

Member said:
I wish you a lot of success!

Thanks Marian and thanks for your thoughts,

Mark

Member said:
Marian

--

This is me. To see what I'm looking at click here.
http://mtt.smugmug.com/gallery/482165/1/27071871

I'm a mechanic to survive, but a photographer for fun. Just wished it were the other way around. Mark Thompson/MTT
Louisville, KY. USA

http://mtt.smugmug.com/

MTT · Aug 1, 2005

CKirk said:
Howdy Mark,

I must admit all the prints I have entered and have seen entered
into contests have been on glossy paper, and sometimes a satin, but
I don't think I have seen a matte finish entered.

I don't recall seeing matte, but I mostly paid attention to the compositions of the winning pictures not what paper they used. Never really thought about it until now if paper would make a difference.

Member said:
The Rule of Thumb here is, it's your picture, what do you want it
to look like, does the print on matte paper meet your expectations?
If it does then that's all there is to it.

It does, so that's what I will use.

Member said:
Good luck and let us know how your entry comes out?

Thanks and you probably know which one I'm entering, the tombstone cemetery shot with the big tree.

Thanks again,

Mark

Member said:
--
Take care,

Craig

Burleson, Texas

--

This is me. To see what I'm looking at click here.
http://mtt.smugmug.com/gallery/482165/1/27071871

I'm a mechanic to survive, but a photographer for fun. Just wished it were the other way around. Mark Thompson/MTT
Louisville, KY. USA

http://mtt.smugmug.com/

MTT · Aug 1, 2005

R2D2 said:
Your choice. Just make sure it is presented perfectly.
Good luck,
R2

--
Good judgment comes from experience.
Experience comes from bad judgment.

http://www.pbase.com/jekyll_and_hyde/galleries

--

This is me. To see what I'm looking at click here.
http://mtt.smugmug.com/gallery/482165/1/27071871

I'm a mechanic to survive, but a photographer for fun. Just wished it were the other way around. Mark Thompson/MTT
Louisville, KY. USA

http://mtt.smugmug.com/

MTT · Aug 1, 2005

Mark Prinz said:
Must you submit a hard copy? A lot of contests these days accept
submissions online, or at least saved onto a disk. If you're
worried about the print, maybe that will be the best option. If
they don't accept that, I agree with what was said above, print it
on whichever type of paper, and whichever type of printer (home
inkjet or professional chemical/thermal processing) makes your
image look the best.

They don't what a hard copy. The size of the print must be 7.5X9.5 or larger mounted on a foam core board or something like that. All they want is a mounted print. I will use my printer to print the image.

Mark Prinz said:
Good luck!

Thanks, I feel good about my pic's I'm entering this year.

Mark

Mark Prinz said:
-Mark

--
http://www.photobird.com/prinz/

--

This is me. To see what I'm looking at click here.
http://mtt.smugmug.com/gallery/482165/1/27071871

I'm a mechanic to survive, but a photographer for fun. Just wished it were the other way around. Mark Thompson/MTT
Louisville, KY. USA

http://mtt.smugmug.com/

MTT · Aug 1, 2005

Don Roney said:
Personally, I like the look of the matte finish. I'd also use your
HP printer if you can get the print the size you want.

I do to. Plus, my HP printer does a better job on matte paper then glossy paper.

Don Roney said:
Are you going to enter them in the KY state fair?

Yes I am and this is the third year. So far I haven't even won an honorable mention Ribbon. I'm just trying to improve my chances.

Thanks for you thoughts Don,

Mark

Don Roney said:
Don
http://www.pbase.com/northtnguy

--

This is me. To see what I'm looking at click here.
http://mtt.smugmug.com/gallery/482165/1/27071871

I'm a mechanic to survive, but a photographer for fun. Just wished it were the other way around. Mark Thompson/MTT
Louisville, KY. USA

http://mtt.smugmug.com/

MTT · Aug 1, 2005

Manfred Lai said:
Hi Mark,

My 2 cents, glossy isn't so good, the spot-lights will reflect off
the print,

And that is a very good point. I send my prints off to Wal-Mart when family members want them. They use high gloss paper, which looks great. But when you look at them, you can see your reflection in them. That includes any near by lights.

Manfred L said:
But what do judges prefer? I really don't know . . .

Hopefully matte.

Thanks Manfred,

Mark

Manfred L said:
Manfred

--

This is me. To see what I'm looking at click here.
http://mtt.smugmug.com/gallery/482165/1/27071871

I'm a mechanic to survive, but a photographer for fun. Just wished it were the other way around. Mark Thompson/MTT
Louisville, KY. USA

http://mtt.smugmug.com/

CKirk · Aug 1, 2005

Howdy Mark,

I forgot to add, the mat and backing is very important also. Out judges always make sure and complain when someone's backing falls off, or they have to hold it together to show the presentation for awarding points. Keep it in a plastic bag until the last min. and make sure and wipe and keep those fingerprints off of it .

Best of Luck, it is exciting entering things, I will be interested to know how you did.
--
Take care,

Craig

Burleson, Texas

Higgmeister · Aug 1, 2005

First, good luck on your entry. I too am entering a state fair with the VC dead tree shot as well as several others. Just a side note that many photo printers do not do B&W all that well. There are a few out there that actually have a few different black ink carts (shades) which do B&W well. I used MPix to print mine as they have a true B&W print on photo paper (really nice job) so no color shifting down the road. An 8x10 ran $2.50 and the 10x13 ran $6.50, then there's always the shipping charges, but not bad if you have several prints done at once.

When is your fair? I like to know how you faired with your IR.

Thanks and keep posting,
Chris
--
A picture is but words to the eyes.
Comments are always welcome.

http://www.pbase.com/higgmeister/

Marian Smit · Aug 1, 2005

Hi Mark,

Yes I use HP premium plus satin-matte paper for the best results.

I sometimes use cheaper glossy paper for prints that do not matter that much, but HP paper simply is the best.

I hardly ever use matte paper for photographs, but I do use it to make calendars, and again the HP paper is the best; the cheaper paper turns greenish over time.
Once again, good luck with your entry.
Marian

MTT · Aug 1, 2005

CKirk said:
Howdy Mark,

I forgot to add, the mat and backing is very important also. Out
judges always make sure and complain when someone's backing falls
off, or they have to hold it together to show the presentation for
awarding points. Keep it in a plastic bag until the last min. and
make sure and wipe and keep those fingerprints off of it .

Thanks Craig, I make darn sure that won't happen. I will be mounting the pic on a 16x20 foam core mounting board with an overlay matt glued to the board holding the pic in place. So far, I never had one come apart.

Member said:
Best of Luck, it is exciting entering things, I will be interested
to know how you did.

Thanks Craig, I will probably know on the 22, that's when I'm planning to go to the fair and see if there's a Ribbon tape to my mounting board.

Member said:
--
Take care,

Thanks for the reminder,

Mark

Member said:
Craig

Burleson, Texas

--

This is me. To see what I'm looking at click here.
http://mtt.smugmug.com/gallery/482165/1/27071871

I'm a mechanic to survive, but a photographer for fun. Just wished it were the other way around. Mark Thompson/MTT
Louisville, KY. USA

http://mtt.smugmug.com/

MTT · Aug 1, 2005

Higgmeister said:
First, good luck on your entry.

Thanks Chris.

Higgmeister said:
I too am entering a state fair
with the VC dead tree shot as well as several others. Just a side
note that many photo printers do not do B&W all that well. There
are a few out there that actually have a few different black ink
carts (shades) which do B&W well. I used MPix to print mine as
they have a true B&W print on photo paper (really nice job) so no
color shifting down the road. An 8x10 ran $2.50 and the 10x13 ran
$6.50, then there's always the shipping charges, but not bad if you
have several prints done at once.

You know, that never crossed my mind. The only B&W I have printed with my printer is of the church steeple that you liked. It turned out pretty good. I print the tombstone pic tomorrow morning and see how it looks. If it doesn’t look as good as it does on my monitor, then I will have MPix print me one. For color, which do you use, traditional color paper or metallic paper. MPix do have very reasonable prices.

Higgmeister said:
When is your fair? I like to know how you faired with your IR.

Fair starts August 18, but I won't make it there until the 22nd. What date does you fair starts? Good luck with your entrees and let us know if your IR wins.

Thanks for letting me know about B&W prints and printers. And also suggesting MPix. I had two 8x10's printed at Kodakgallery.com, but both times my prints came back damaged. Kodak puts the prints in a thin cardboard envelope and they expects that to prevent bending of the photo during the mailing process. Well, it doesn’t. How does MPix protect their pic's?

Mark

Higgmeister said:
Thanks and keep posting,
Chris
--
A picture is but words to the eyes.
Comments are always welcome.

http://www.pbase.com/higgmeister/

--

This is me. To see what I'm looking at click here.
http://mtt.smugmug.com/gallery/482165/1/27071871

I'm a mechanic to survive, but a photographer for fun. Just wished it were the other way around. Mark Thompson/MTT
Louisville, KY. USA

http://mtt.smugmug.com/

MTT · Aug 1, 2005

Marian Smit said:
Hi Mark,

Yes I use HP premium plus satin-matte paper for the best results.
I sometimes use cheaper glossy paper for prints that do not matter
that much, but HP paper simply is the best.
I hardly ever use matte paper for photographs, but I do use it to
make calendars, and again the HP paper is the best; the cheaper
paper turns greenish over time.
Once again, good luck with your entry.

Next time I buy a pack of HP photo paper, I will try satin-matte. I just can imagine it looking any better then premium plus matte paper. But, I will try it and see.

Thanks Marian,

Mark

Member said:
Marian

--

This is me. To see what I'm looking at click here.
http://mtt.smugmug.com/gallery/482165/1/27071871

I'm a mechanic to survive, but a photographer for fun. Just wished it were the other way around. Mark Thompson/MTT
Louisville, KY. USA

http://mtt.smugmug.com/

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