metallic paper, what is it good for?

[arthur]

I was reading a bit on mpix.com. they say that the new metallic paper is great, makes the photos "pop". They also say not recommended for portraits (huh?).

I want to print this photo, at least 11X14. What paper would be best?

[AlexMorse]

Mpix has a paper specifically for b&w that might do well with that shot (great one by the way.)

I haven't tried their metallic yet, but I did get the samples. It's... well, get the free samples. I don't trust myself to describe it accurately. It gives the apperance of a saturation boost, and it's very glossy/reflective. I think it would be very good for abstract or texture based images.

[Trey Neal]

The metallic paper is an excellent choice for certain types of images - I use it exclusively on my youth sports prints and posters. Flesh tones however can be problematic as all the colors are rendered with a metallic sort of appearance so you might not like that characteristic. The majority of my sports stuff is comprised of brightly colored uniforms with a minimum of flesh tone to deal with due to helmets, gloves, etc., so it really works nicely. I've also used it for a number of wildlife images and if the creature is colorful the metallic really makes the image pop off the paper. Side-by-side comparison of the same image printed with traditional methods vs. metallic leads most viewers to prefer the metallic, in my experience.

[Clayton Wallace]

I just got my first metallic prints yesterday. It is actually an an/coupon I made and has a combination of photos, images, and text. It looks fantastic for that purpose. The color is best decribed as WOW as it nearly jumps off the print. Black is rich and makes the text really jump. One thing I wasn't expecting is the white wasn't pure white as the metallic paper has a sort of 'creamy aluminum' base color that is very light but not quite white. I'm sure there are metallic types of paper as well. I had one b+w portrait on that paper and the results were very nice indeed. I suspect yours will really look nice as well. Very nice shot, btw.

[zargon20]

I think that one would look vey nice in metalic. The flowers should really pop on the metalic paper. Where are the best places to find metalic paper and get it printed.

[Clayton Wallace]

My local pro lab prints metallic. I'm sure one of these guys can recommend a place in Austin. Maybe check the thread on printing labs...and of course mpix.

[xseption]

a very interesting shot ... I think I like it!

[skdupre]

I had some Senior Portraits wallets printed on metallic and the kids really liked them. Maybe because it is new and they can show them off, but it does give a soft 3D effect. I used Pounds (they are in Dallas, Houston, and Austin).