Picture printing paper, also known as art paper or picture printing board, is a specially coated paper that is mainly used for high-quality printed products. Picture printing paper is characterised by several special properties that make it ideal for reproducing images and graphics.
The most striking feature of art paper is its coating. This usually consists of a combination of pigments such as kaolin, calcium carbonate or titanium dioxide and binding agents such as latex or starch. The coating can be on one or both sides and gives the paper a smooth and even surface. This coating enables precise colour acceptance and ensures sharp and clear printed images.
Another important characteristic of picture printing paper is the gloss level. A distinction is made between high-gloss (glossy), semi-gloss (semi-gloss or silk) and matt. High-gloss paper reflects the light strongly and makes colours appear particularly strong and rich in contrast. Semi-gloss paper offers a compromise between gloss and legibility, while matt paper has a non-reflective surface and is therefore particularly suitable for texts, as the colours appear less intense.
The weight and thickness of the paper are also important. Picture printing paper is available in different grammages, which are usually between 90 g/m² and 350 g/m². Heavier papers are thicker and stiffer and are therefore particularly suitable for book covers, postcards or high-quality brochures. The dense coating and higher weight also give the paper a high opacity, i.e. it is less translucent and therefore more suitable for double-sided printing.
Thanks to its smooth and even surface, image printing paper can absorb the printing ink precisely, resulting in sharp and clear printed images. It is particularly suitable for offset printing, digital printing and other high-resolution printing processes. The coating prevents the ink from penetrating the paper so that it remains on the surface and ensures high colour intensity and sharpness.
The feel of art paper varies depending on the gloss level. High-gloss papers feel smooth and almost three-dimensional, while matt papers have a more velvety texture. These different textures offer different experiences that can be selected depending on the intended use and personal preferences.
Picture printing paper is used in a wide range of applications. These include high-quality magazines and catalogues, illustrated books and art books, brochures and leaflets, flyers and posters as well as business cards and postcards. Its ability to reproduce colours vividly and accurately makes it the first choice for print products where high image quality is important.
Many manufacturers now also offer environmentally friendly versions of picture printing paper. These are made from recycled material or are produced using sustainable production methods. Such papers often carry environmental certificates such as FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) or PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification), which guarantee sustainable forestry and environmentally friendly manufacturing processes.
In summary, image printing papers are special printing papers that are particularly suitable for high-quality print products due to their coated surface and their ability to reproduce colours precisely.
More articles related to this topic:
New feature: Orders & individual items can now be reordered with a single click
From now on, it’s much easier and faster: in the Proof Shop, you can call up and reorder entire orders or individual proofs directly from your order history. This saves you from having to re-enter every detail and gives you the assurance that all settings will be exactly the same as last time. With just a few clicks, your proofs are reordered – reliably, easily and in no time at all. What exactly is new? You can find your order history in your customer account. There are two new options … read more
Cross-media colour management really works
Peter Jäger is an expert in colour management that reliably works across the boundaries of printers and monitors, web and print – essentially: cross-media.
Incorrect grayscale display in Adobe Photoshop and InDesign
Adobe products are ideal for image retouching and layout and handle RGB and CMYK colour profiles very well. However, when editing and retouching grayscale images, for example for a black-and-white photo book, the experience is quite different. Suddenly, images look completely different in InDesign than they do in Photoshop, and even when exporting the image to PDF, greyscale images are suddenly treated differently. This article explains where the problems lie with black-and-white images and greyscale profiles in InDesign and Photoshop layouts, and how you can work in a more ‘colour-accurate’ … read more
Proof GmbH 2025 once again Fogra and Fogra “Spot Cert” certified
This year we once again created proofs for Fogra certification and sent them to Munich-Aschheim for testing. With these proof prints, which we print according to three different proof standards and on three different papers, we point out that we not only deliver excellent proof quality through internal quality controls and checks, but that the quality of our proofs is also measured and confirmed by external experts. We have now had test prints certified by Fogra for the 12th time. We have also been “Spot-cert” certified for the display of … read more
RGB colour spaces explained
RGB colour spaces are colour systems that represent different hues with the three primary colours red, green and blue. RGB colour spaces are used in digital image processing, photography and computer technology to precisely define colours. The most important RGB colour spaces and their special features are: sRGB sRGB is the most widely used RGB colour space and is used by most monitors, printers and digital cameras. It was developed by HP and Microsoft in the 1990s to create a standard for colour representation on the internet and on various … read more
New certified proof papers at proof.de
In recent years, various problems have arisen with our previous proof paper supplier. On the one hand, we sometimes had to wait more than three months for paper deliveries; on the other hand, we sometimes had significant problems with batch-to-batch discrepancies, surface defects and much more. After lengthy deliberations, we decided in December to replace all the paper. We therefore received pallets of new paper at the turn of the year, which we are now gradually incorporating into our production. There will be no hard cut, but the new papers … read more
X-Rite i1Profiler no longer supports i1Pro2 and i1iO 2
Anyone who has reinstalled or updated their i1 Profiler app in the last few weeks has been confronted with disturbing news: X-Rite announced directly in the start window that it would no longer support its enormously popular i1Display and i1Pro2 devices. Users of the i1Pro 2 devices and i1iO 2 tables, which are extremely popular in printing and colour management, will be particularly hard hit by the announcement: An investment of €6,000 is quickly consigned to the electronic scrap heap. But what can you do if you own such a … read more
PANTONE surveys users online about product and service direction
Today I received an email in which PANTONE asked how it should orientate its products and services in the future. The users were asked which countries, industries and company sizes they come from, but also what PANTONE products should look like in the future and what customers would be prepared to pay for PANTONE services in the future. Question: How much can PANTONE services cost? PANTONE appears to be orientating itself on the PANTONE Connect prices: All price queries have the lowest price category < $ 7,- / month, i.e. … read more
Colour deviations in 2023 PANTONE Color Bridge Guides
After Eddy Hagen pointed out in this posts, that there were some major colour deviations between the brand new PANTONE Solid Coated Guide 2023 and the previous version especially for the PANTONE 2635 C, I was curious to lookup the same colours in the new PANTONE Color Bridge Coated Guide of 2023 and compare the colours with the previous version. I measured a dE00 of 8,15 between the two colours that Eddy mentioned, which is really far apart from how accurate PANTONE colours should match between the different PANTONE guides. … read more
“Digital First” often means “Colour Problems Second!”
Whether it’s a large global corporation or a small company, the following often applies to designs or redesigns today: we develop everything for digital first.