> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://darkroom.happychases.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Choosing paper for a limited-edition print - URL: https://darkroom.happychases.com/choosing-paper-for-a-limited-edition-print/ - Published: 2026-01-12T09:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-01-12T09:00:00.000Z - Description: The paper a photograph is printed on changes everything — its warmth, its depth, even its mood. How we choose paper for each Darkroom edition, and what to look for if you're buying a print. - Author: June Park - Tags: Journal, Prints, #Import 2026-11-03 19:44 When people buy a print from Darkroom, they usually think they're buying a photograph. They are, of course. But they're also buying a piece of paper, and that paper does an enormous amount of quiet work. It decides how deep the blacks look, how warm or cool the whites feel, how much texture you see when you lean in close and how long the print will last. Choosing the paper for each edition is one of my favourite parts of the job. Here is how we do it, and what I'd suggest anyone buying a photographic print should look for. ## Two families of print Our editions come in two broad types. **Silver gelatin prints** are made by hand in the darkroom, on light-sensitive photographic paper. We use fibre-based papers, which have a heavier, more substantial feel than resin-coated alternatives and are generally preferred for archival work. The choice here is mostly between warmer and cooler papers, and between glossy and matte surfaces. **Pigment inkjet prints** are made on a large-format printer using archival pigment inks. Here the choice is much wider, because inkjet printers can print onto a huge range of fine art papers, from smooth, bright white surfaces to thick, textured cotton rag that feels almost like watercolour paper. ## What we consider For each series, we print the same image on several papers and pin them all to the studio wall for a few days. We look at them in morning light, afternoon light and under lamps in the evening. Things we consider include: - **Tone.** Some papers are bright white; others are softer, creamier or slightly warm. A warm paper can make a landscape feel gentle. A bright white can make architecture feel crisp and modern. - **Surface.** Glossy papers produce deeper blacks and more vivid detail but can reflect light. Matte papers are softer and easier to view from any angle, but the blacks are less intense. - **Texture.** Some cotton papers have a visible grain. It adds richness to some images and distracts in others. - **Weight.** Heavier papers feel more substantial in the hand and are less likely to cockle or wave over time. > A print is a photograph that has decided what it wants to feel like. ## Examples from our editions For **Salt Flats at Blue Hour**, we chose a smooth, bright-white cotton rag paper. The blues needed to stay cool and clean, and any warmth in the paper made them look slightly green. For **Faces of the Fish Market**, we chose a matte paper with a subtle texture. It suited the faces — soft, tactile, honest — and avoided reflections that would have made the darker portraits hard to view. For **Fog Studies**, Theo printed by hand on a warm-tone fibre-based silver gelatin paper, which gave the greys a gentle, pearly quality. ![paper cotton](https://picsum.photos/seed/darkroom-paper-cotton/1600/1067) ![paper matte](https://picsum.photos/seed/darkroom-paper-matte/1600/1067) ![paper warm](https://picsum.photos/seed/darkroom-paper-warm/1600/1067) Left to right: bright cotton rag, textured matte and warm-tone fibre. Same studio, three moods. ## Archival quality Above all, we only use papers that are designed to last. For inkjet prints, that means acid-free papers made for archival use and printed with pigment inks, which tend to be considerably more resistant to fading than dye-based inks. For silver gelatin prints, it means thorough washing and toning, which we describe in more detail in our journal entry on darkroom printing. How long any print lasts also depends on how it's displayed. Direct sunlight, high humidity and poor-quality framing materials can all shorten a print's life. ## If you're buying a print My advice for anyone buying a photographic print, from us or from anyone else: 1. Ask what paper and process were used. A reputable printer will happily tell you. 2. Ask whether the paper is acid-free and designed for archival use. 3. Frame it with acid-free mounts and UV-filtering glass if you can. 4. Hang it out of direct sunlight. 5. Keep the certificate of authenticity somewhere safe. ## Edition sizes People also ask why our editions are the sizes they are. The short answer is that smaller prints are released in larger editions, and larger prints in smaller ones. A large print takes considerably longer to make, uses more expensive paper and is harder to get exactly right, so we make fewer of them. We also never reprint a sold-out edition at the same size. That promise matters. When someone buys print number 7 of 10, they need to know there will never be an eleventh. ## Testing for longevity Before committing to a new paper, we print a set of test strips and keep them in different conditions around the studio: one in a drawer, one on a sunny windowsill, one in a frame on the wall. We check them every few months. It isn't a scientific test, but it has occasionally saved us from a paper that looked beautiful on day one and noticeably less so a year later. ## Every edition is chosen by hand There is no single correct paper for every photograph. Every edition we release is the result of a small, slow argument between Theo and me, carried out over several days, with test prints pinned to the wall. I usually win. Theo disputes this.