Since we released the matte paper option for  press printed PhotoBook and PhotoBook Plus products, many of our customers have given it a try. While many customers sing it’s praises recognizing, as we do, the richness of the pebble texture and the ethereal, almost water-color reproduction of color and contrast, other customers have questioned the print quality or have been unhappy with the tonal range of the paper.

We recognize these opinions and, given that it is not in our best interest to deliver a product that a customer is unhappy with, it is perhaps wise to review the different paper surfaces and print methods.

We run two different print processes here at Zookbinders. Our premium album products, including the Zook Book, Matted Albums and LustreBook are true photographic albums printed on photographic paper, sometimes called silver halide paper. Photographic printing means that the prints are made by exposing chemically sensitized paper to light. The photographic printing process has existed in one form or another since the dawn of photography, and it remains the gold standard for image reproduction with the richest and truest colors and widest tonal range.

Other products we offer including PhotoBook Plus, PhotoBook and Soft Cover Press books are all press printed products. They are printed on high-speed digital presses that apply four color inks to a variety of paper surfaces and thicknesses including the matte paper surface available in PhotoBook Plus and PhotoBook. The efficiency of the digital press together with the lower cost of paper materials are largely responsible for allowing us to offer books at a much lower price point than photographic albums. This cost savings has resonated with our customers and these products have found their place in the market as add-on “parent” albums for weddings and bar/bat mitzvahs, as well as the high school senior and portrait markets.

Although the HP Indigo presses we use are state-of-the-art, press printed material has its limitations and cannot always compare to photographs. This is the trade-off for speed and lower cost. The full spectrum of colors that can be achieved in the RGB world of photographic printing are simply not possible in the CMYK press world. You can see this for yourself in Photoshop by opening an image with bright, saturated blues or greens and clicking image > mode > CMYK Color. The diagram below also shows the spectrum of light that is available to both RGB and CMYK color printers.

Getting back to matte papers they, as a whole, also tend to be less contrasty than glossy or satin finishes. Matte paper’s ability to show tonal range in the darkest areas of an image is limited. This is in part what gives the “water color” look to the finished product.

If accurate, saturated reproduction of color at the edges of the color gamut is most important to you, or your clients, selecting from our photographically printed product line of Zook Book, Matted or LustreBook is your best bet. On the other hand, if you or your customer is more price sensitive, or you desire the matte or glossy paper surfaces,  then the press printed PhotoBook Plus and PhotoBook product lines may be just the ticket.