It wasn't that long ago that inkjet printers made it possible for photographers to forego the wet chemical processes of traditional photo printing in favor of inkjet printing their images. It was faster and much, much easier.
Here are a few thoughts on the nature of paper to help you make prudent design and print buying decisions:
Custom Printing on Colored Paper Changes Ink Colors
When you print on white paper, the white substrate reflects the light back to the viewer without changing it. It does not add or subtract anything from the ambient light, except where the actual commercial printing inks provide color. In contrast, when you print on colored paper stock, the substrate changes the hues of the inks. A yellow or beige paper, for instance, will add a yellowish tint to the inks printed on it.
I've been getting mobile phone invoices for several years now, and I'm noticing an increasing sophistication in what would now be generally termed this “Transpromo” or “Transpromotional” printing material.
I'm starting to see firsthand the trade-offs that come from the migration of print books to e-books. A print brokering client of mine recently produced a 9” x 12” print book of his family experience of the Holocaust. It was printed on an HP Indigo: a short run of 65 copies (soft-cover, perfect bound), just for the family and close friends.
Large format inkjet printers are all the rage these days, with environmental graphics, vehicle graphics, and point of purchase signage sprouting up all over the nation. The custom printing process seems rather straightforward, albeit increasingly fast and accurate. But what happens after you print your job?
In addition to installing “standees” and large format print signage at movie theaters, my fiancee and I install environmental displays for a high-end cosmetics firm. As an example of large format printing, custom screen printing, and the overall marketing effect of a sophisticated environment, I have found these installations to be very instructive.