Ordering your photos can be overwhelming. There’s a lot to choose; which photos, what sizes, and then, the ultimate confusion, what paper type. Paper type? Yep. So here’s a little run down to make sense of it.

E-Surface Paper (Matte Finish)

Example print from lab of E-Surface Print

Kodak Professional Supra Endura VC Digital Paper (yeah, just call it Traditional E-Surface Paper from now on) is by far the most popular paper. Accurate color, realistic saturation, excellent neutral flesh reproduction and brighter colors are just a few of the attributes to describe E-Surface paper.

You will see excellent skin-tone reproduction, as well as brighter blues, cyans, purples, and reds.

With this paper don’t worry about prints fading. The standard archival value is 100 years in home display and 200 years in dark storage. Trust me, that’s a lot of Supra Endura.

Metallic Paper (Pearlescent Finish)

Example print from lab of Metallic Print

Endura Metallic features a unique pearlescent surface. I think you will agree when I say this paper is truly spectacular.

Endura offers natural looking flesh tones, sharp details, and beautifully saturated colors. Plus, Endura is strong – resistant to tearing and curling without any additional lamination.

This paper uses a patented combination of film and laminate layers that result in striking, three-dimensional, lasting images on an ultra-bright background.

Same as the E-Surface Paper, this print won’t fade. The standard archival value is 100 years in home display and 200 years in dark storage.

True B&W Paper (Matte Finish)

Example print from lab of True B&W Print

There is a difference between B&W and true digital B&W prints! This panchromatic, resin-coated paper is specifically designed for making continuous-tone B&W prints directly from digital images in digital exposing systems.

This paper also provides excellent tone reproduction from digital camera files, scanned color slides or negatives. Because the emulsion is silver-based rather than dye-based, the imaging performance and characteristics of this paper are the same as traditional b&w continuous-tone papers. That translates to neutral tonal characteristics that provide the paper with display and archival qualities.

One added benefit is that the resin-coated paper is specially coated on the back to accept ink, making it a good surface for crop lines or writing notes.

Making a Decision

While I’m always here to help, ultimately, of course, the decision is yours. Since I do all of the editing prior to uploading the photos for ordering, you’ll see that there’s a combination of color, sepia-tones, and black & white already there for you to choose from. Each paper, however, will give your print a slightly different overall finish.

I hope this helps!

-E