Question for those of you who print at WHCC

[Nettio]

Ok, so I got my test prints back this week and I have to say that while they're nice, I wouldn't say I'm overly wowed by them. The color is good but it's not as vibrant as I would have liked. I had some smaller prints (5x7s) printed by ScrapbookPictures at the same time on glossy paper and those seem much better, so I'm wondering if it's partly the paper they used. (I think the test prints are on Lustre?) I also have the little paper samples they sent and the colors on the glossy paper seem much more vibrant. The only thing I worry about is whether the glossy paper would show too much glare?

So anyway, I'm curious as to what paper you love best for your prints?

If it helps, these prints are all 8x10 or bigger and going in frames on shelves in our living room which is why I was concerned about the glare. I know I'm totally overthinking it but I've been wanting to get prints for over a year now and some of the prints are from our wedding 4 years ago, which we have no printed photos from so I just want to get it right. Ugh, it's moments like these I really miss having my DH around because I know he would look at the prints, give me his opinion, and then tell me that I was being ridiculously picky and they'll all look great. :p

[heatherbird]

I use WHCC, although mostly for printing on cardstock. I have noticed that the lustre prints are much darker than the glossies for me... I had some pages printed on glossy just for fun and they were nice and bright. :) IMHO when photos are in frames it doesn't really matter, ya know? I don't find that they have much more of a glare on them whether they're printed on lustre or glossy paper. That being said, I haven't had many photos printed by WHCC, but only because I can't make a decision to save my life about which ones to print! I'm not sure if any of this helps, but for what its worth I felt the same way when I got my test prints back. Calibrating my monitor helped a bit. :)

[mrs_jb]

I typically like the lustre best because it is what's typical of professional photos. I don't have much experience with their glossy, but I will say that the metallic can be really fabulous for invitations, announcements, etc.

Are you thinking that the photos aren't accurate to what you are seeing on screen? I have found that WHCC is one of the most accurate printers color-wise... so long as my monitor is calibrated properly. I had one nightmare after another with monitor calibration on the PC... one of the reasons why I love the MAC!

[Sari]

I always get the lustre. I just prefer it over the glossy finish.

[Nettio]

I typically like the lustre best because it is what's typical of professional photos. I don't have much experience with their glossy, but I will say that the metallic can be really fabulous for invitations, announcements, etc.

Are you thinking that the photos aren't accurate to what you are seeing on screen? I have found that WHCC is one of the most accurate printers color-wise... so long as my monitor is calibrated properly. I had one nightmare after another with monitor calibration on the PC... one of the reasons why I love the MAC!

I don't have my monitor calibrated but it's a Mac and pretty dead on as is. Plus it's a laptop so you move the screen like half an inch and the colors change anyway, haha. But I'm pretty sure it's not a calibration issue in this case because really the colors are pretty dang close. I'm probably the only one who would even notice. :D I think it's really more of a personal preference issue that's why I was curious what other people liked.

[mturnidge]

I much prefer lustre, personally. I've never ordered glossy from them though. If you are really concerned about accurate color, calibration is important because you'll never know whether it's you or the printer if you aren't calibrated. :)

[Nettio]

I much prefer lustre, personally. I've never ordered glossy from them though. If you are really concerned about accurate color, calibration is important because you'll never know whether it's you or the printer if you aren't calibrated. :)

Except ALL my prints from Scrapbook Pictures, photos and layouts, are spot on, seriously perfect. So I'm pretty sure it's not a calibration issue. If you compare the sample paper prints WHCC sends out (like they sent a little packet of all their papers), the same print on the glossy and metallic version is brighter and more vibrant than on the lustre paper. Not good or bad, they're just different. :)

[ColleenSwerb]

I prefer luster paper as well. But if you're putting them in frames, the glare will be on the glass, not really on the paper, so to me it seems kind of irrelevant. If you like the colors on the glossy paper, then get glossy paper :)

There's no right or wrong, and you're being too picky. Did that help? Did I sound like DH at all? ;)